My Silver Lining: A Small Town, Fake Dating Romance (Rosewood River Series Book 2)
My Silver Lining: Chapter 17

Everyone was dressed to the nines, and my hand rested on Lulu’s lower back as I guided her through the space.

My boss, Joseph Chapman, married his bride, Denise, in an elaborate but brief ceremony before we made our way to the reception. He’d been talking about this wedding as if it were the event of the century for the last six months.

Once we stepped inside the grand ballroom, I glanced up at the several chandeliers that hung above.

It was a bit fancy for my taste, but I expected nothing less from him.

There was classical music playing, and round tables and chairs filled the space.

“Wow, the attention to detail is something,” Lulu said against my ear.

The smell of pear and vanilla flooded my senses.

There was no doubt I had the most beautiful woman on my arm, as every man in the room turned and followed her with their eyes as we walked toward the bar.

Large floral arrangements packed with red and white flowers sat on every table. The large dance floor in the center was a focal point, and an emblem with a large C in the middle to represent Chapman and a J and a D on each side to represent the bride and groom were painted on the dance floor. The same logo was on the cocktail napkins when we rolled up to the bar.

It was elaborate and very evident that they’d spared no expense.

“A cosmopolitan for the lady, and I’ll have an old-fashioned please,” I said when the bartender looked up at us.

“There he is.” Joseph strolled over to us, his eyes on my date, making no attempt to cover his perusal. His bride was nowhere in sight, also not a shock.

“Joseph, congratulations. This is my girlfriend, Lulu Sonnet.” The words rolled off my tongue so easily that I almost believed them myself.

His eyes scanned her from head to toe, and I found myself wrapping an arm around her waist possessively and pulling her back against my chest.

“Lulu, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Not surprised that you’re beautiful, as I figured it would take a special lady to hold this one’s attention,” he said.

It was a dick thing to say, but I forced a smile as Lulu extended her free hand to him.

“Ahhh… I’ve heard so much about you and your beautiful bride. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Where is Denise?” I asked, wanting to remind him that we were here for his wedding as he continued to eye-fuck my date, and I was losing my patience with it.

“She’s probably found a way to spend more of my money from her visit to the restroom.” He barked out a husky laugh that made it apparent he’d smoked one too many cigars over the years.

“Daddy, have you told Rafe that he’ll be giving the speech with me tonight?” Chloe walked up behind her father, and I tightened my grip on Lulu.

Did she say that I was giving a speech?

Her gaze moved from me to the woman pressed against my body, and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

“Chloe, this is my girlfriend, Lulu Sonnet. Lulu, this is Joseph’s daughter, Chloe.”

“Well, I’d say I’m a bit more than just Joseph’s daughter, aren’t I, Rafe?” She quirked a brow.

Actually, no.

We were not friends, outside of her constantly hitting on me at work events, and I’d never so much as flirted back. We’d never had an actual conversation, other than her telling me that she thought we should date.

She was an acquaintance at best.

But this was her father’s wedding, and I wouldn’t be rude.

“Hi, Chloe, it’s nice to meet you,” Lulu said, extending her hand and trying to break up an uncomfortable situation. “Did you say that Rafe is giving the speech?”

“Yes. Daddy wants Rafe and me to give speeches on their behalf.” She shook Lulu’s hand hesitantly before pulling it back abruptly. “Shall we go practice, Rafe?”

“I know nothing about a speech, Joseph. A little heads-up would help.” I took a sip of my cocktail, letting the warm liquid roll down my throat.

“It was Chloe’s idea. She thought there should be two speakers. Denise agreed, so we thought you’d be the guy to do it. My friends are all old fuckers, and they’ll be too liquored up to form a coherent sentence with an open bar tonight.” More gruff laughter.

“All right. I can say a few words. I don’t think we need to practice, as I’m sure you already have your speech prepared, Chloe. I’ll just pull some notes together on my phone.”

“I can help you.” Lulu smiled up at me, and damn, she was too fucking beautiful for her own good.

“Well, she doesn’t really know my father, so I’m not sure how she can help,” Chloe growled, and Joseph laughed some more and made a hissing-cat sound in response.

“He talks about your father every night before we get into bed. I feel like I’ve known you for years, Joseph,” Lulu purred, and Chloe glared at her.

No doubt my woman could handle herself just fine, but I still felt protective of her.

Lulu Sonnet was fierce and strong, but I’d seen the vulnerable woman beneath, and I felt lucky that she’d shown me both sides.

“We’ll be just fine. We’re going to go replace our table and put a few thoughts together,” I said.

“You’re sitting at the head table with us.” Chloe winked at me. “After all, Daddy thinks of you as family.”

Lucky fucking me.

We excused ourselves as dread filled me.

I couldn’t think of a table I’d rather not be sitting at more.

There was a table with a bunch of people from the office, and they were waving me over, and I was bummed we weren’t seated with them.

“She’s a real piece of work,” Lulu said, keeping her voice low as she placed her free hand in mine.

I nodded and led her to where my coworkers were and introduced her to everyone.

“I saw your photos on the internet. You’re kind of Instagram-famous now, Chadwick. I’m not even going to tell you off right now for keeping the fact that you’re dating the Lulu Sonnet a secret from me.” Clara was my executive assistant, and she turned to look at Lulu and shook her wrist to show off the three bracelets there before shaking her hand. “I’m Clara. I’m the big guy’s assistant, and I’m a huge fan of your jewelry.”

“Oh, wow. Thank you so much. That means the world to me. It’s so lovely to meet you.”

“How did demon Barbie take the news of your relationship?” Clara leaned close so only Lulu and I could hear her as she referenced Joseph’s daughter. Chloe had a reputation at the office for her bratty behavior when she’d come to visit her father.

“Exactly as expected.” I pulled my glass to my lips.

“Hey, boss,” Caleb said. He was new to the team this last year and a cool dude. “Is this your lady?”

I smirked because I kind of loved how nervous everyone was about meeting her.

“Yes. This is Lulu,” I said. I went around the table, and they each came over and shook her hand and gushed over her a bit.

“I see you aren’t sitting with us,” Clara said, glancing at the table in the front.

“Yeah, we just heard we wouldn’t be sitting here.”

“But we can come sneak over a lot,” Lulu said as she took a sip of her drink.

“I like this girl,” Caleb said, and then his cheeks flamed when I raised a brow at him. “Not like that. Well, I mean, not that you aren’t attractive. Shit, you’re fucking gorgeous. I just meant⁠—”

“Okay. We’re cutting this young buck off the piña coladas,” Clara said, and the table erupted in laughter.

“I know what you meant. I like this girl, too,” I said, before giving them a nod and letting them know we were going to head to our seats.

We were the only ones at the head table as we found our name tags, and I didn’t miss the fact that Chloe had been seated on the other side of me.

Lulu tracked the direction I was looking, and she leaned close to me once we were sitting, her lips grazing my ear, which was a direct shot to my dick. “Well, you’ve got to give her credit for her tenacity. It’s obvious you aren’t interested in her that way.”

“Yeah. I’ve made it clear multiple times. And I usually just brush off her behavior, but tonight, it feels disrespectful to you, and that shit pisses me off,” I said, pulling my phone out of my coat pocket to type up a few notes for the speech.

“Rafe, it’s not like we’re together,” she whispered. “This is a big night for you. Your boss chose you to speak on his behalf. He sat you at his table. That’s a compliment to how much he likes you.”

“I don’t care if this is real or fake,” I said, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. “They don’t fucking know that. It was unkind to do that to you, and that does not sit well with me. I’m also quite certain that his daughter demanded I be at this table and that I give a speech alongside her. He and I are not that close.”

“Hey,” she said, taking my hands in hers. It wasn’t for show. It was just to comfort me. “That’s not the only reason. He couldn’t get over to you quickly enough when we arrived. It’s obvious he likes you, which is probably why he wants you to date his daughter. You’ve got this. Let’s type up a few things, and we’ll get that out of the way, and then we can have some fun.”

We huddled together, and she helped me type up a few thoughts, and it felt damn good that she was here.

I liked Lulu Sonnet.

Hell, I didn’t want to admit how much I liked her because I knew it would freak her the fuck out. She was scarred from her past and trusted very few people, but for whatever reason, I wanted to be one of them.

I didn’t know what it meant.

But I knew that I felt things that I’ve never felt before.

I knew that I looked forward to seeing her.

I knew that I wanted to sleep in that bed beside her tonight.

Regardless of what it meant, if we never kissed or touched or did anything moving forward, I wanted this woman close to me.

The DJ interrupted my thoughts, letting us know that dinner would be served soon, and everyone made their way to their tables. The servers came around to fill our glasses with red and white wine, and Lulu and I were having a great time.

Joseph, Denise, and Chloe were at our table, along with Joesph’s brother and his wife and Denise’s three sisters, who were not only staring at me, but I caught them staring at Lulu just as often.

We had the option of steak or lobster, along with salad, potatoes, and rolls. Lulu and I got one of each entrée and shared. I wasn’t even sure if we were acting anymore as the conversation flowed around the table, and we took turns sharing our meals and laughing.

Everyone fucking loved her.

Aside from the diva beside me, who was sulking the entire time Lulu spoke. She had the table completely enraptured, including me.

“Okay, we’re just going to tell you,” Linda, Denise’s younger sister, said. “We’ve had a couple of cocktails, so we have no shame at the moment.”

“I love it when the no-shame feels hit,” Lulu said with a laugh.

“We’re kind of superfans of yours.” Linda shrugged.

“Yes, we follow you on social media. We were so happy you broke up with that tool. And you’ve clearly upgraded,” Mandy, the oldest sister, said, as she waggled her brows at me.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Lulu bumped her shoulder against my arm.

“It’s time to do the toast, isn’t it, Daddy?” Chloe interrupted, and everyone turned to look at her.

“Sure, sweetheart. This is perfect timing,” Joseph said.

“Come on, Rafe. It’s you and me.”

I turned to look at Lulu, and she stunned the shit out of me when she put a hand on each side of my face and tugged me close and kissed me.

Her lips were soft and sweet, and I wanted to pull her onto my lap and kiss her all night.

She pulled back and winked. “Break a leg, Rafael.”

Denise’s sisters were clapping and giggling, and that appeared to enrage Chloe.

The lines were graying for me.

That kiss felt real.

And the fucked-up thing about it—I wanted it to be real.