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“Connie?” Buckee and Cali ask in unison, and I nod.
“Of course you’d know her; it’s a tiny town.”
“Actually,” Cali grins, shooting Buckee a look. “I live a few mountains over. I only know about Connie.”
I smile back. “Connie’s the best. I don’t know what we’d do without her. After our mom died, Zander and I got used to being each other’s only family until Connie showed us so much kindness.”
Buckee fiddles with the remote, shutting Connie’s doppelganger off. “Well,” he says, lightening the mood of the conversation. “It’s a good thing there’s a crap ton of us Foresters then. Now your family can get even bigger.”
“Speaking of more Foresters,” Cali says, turning around to look out the window. Outside a truck is pulling into the driveway. “Looks like more have just arrived.”
Two men emerge from the truck a second later, and even if I hadn’t been told they were all related, I would’ve guessed. They’re both as tall and broad as Cole, with dark hair, beards, and tattoos peeking out of their collars and sleeves. How many of these hot giants are there?
The two men are having a heated debate as they head for the porch.
“What’s their problem?” Buckee asks Cole, who shrugs.
“I haven’t spoken to either of them in a few days. I’ve been busy.” His eyes fall on me, and I swallow.
He’s doing such a convincing job of playing a blissful newlywed that even I’m starting to believe it. Could this actually be real? What other reason would there be for Cole to let his family believe he’s in love with me even months before we made our deal?
“Ash, Kai, this is my wife Zoe and her little brother Zander,” Cole says, gesturing to Zander and me as both men enter the living room.
They pause their bickering to give each other shit-eating grins before extending their hands to me and shaking mine in turn. Did Cole let them in on our ruse? They sure seem to know something I don’t, as they nudge each other before settling on the loveseat opposite us.
“What were you two arguing about,” Buckee asks.
Kai, the one with blue eyes as piercing as Cali’s, sighs. “The venue for the Twynam Twins concert.”
Immediately I sit up straighter. That’s right—Cole told me his cousins acted as bodyguards for the twins whenever they were in town.
“What’s wrong with the venue?” Cole asks, sitting forward so my back connects with his chest again. It’s like he doesn’t want to lose contact with me for even a second. At least physically, we’re entirely on the same page.
“Permit issues. Again.” Ash says. “As a part of the security team, Kai and I have been trying to get it sorted out at the permit office, but it looks like a no-go. Something about red tape and a bunch of legal jargon.
“The bottom line is that the crowd’s larger than we expected,” Kai says. The local park doesn’t have enough exits to the main road. It’s a safety issue amongst other technicalities.”
“So, if the venue doesn’t get sorted out soon, there’ll be no concert?” I ask, my stomach sinking like a stone. I don’t think I’d ever looked forward to an event so much in my entire life, barring Zander’s birth. As Cole squeezes my thigh, I gaze down at the black stainless steel band around his ring finger.
Ok, there was one other event, I’d looked forward to more than I care to admit. My wedding.
My wedding—my fake wedding.
Cole's gaze lands on me and I'm surprised at the amount of concern in his eyes. I don't think anyone's ever looked at me that way before.
“The tickets," he says. “You worked so hard to get them last week.”
Kai's looks between us. “You got tickets recently? The concert’s been sold out for months.”
“Zoe stayed up all night just to call in to the radio station. She won them,” Cole says proudly as if I’d done something spectacular.
“You stayed up too,” I point out.
“But you needed the rest.” He brushes a curl away from my cheek and I shudder at his touch. His eyes are burning into me with such intensity that for a second, the entire room fades away and it’s just us.
“I bet,” Ash sniggers before clasping his hands together and resting his cheek on them. “Aaah, to be young and in love.”
“Shut up, Ash. I’m older than you are,” Cole grunts.
