Page 147 of Just One Fake Date

“Good plan. Everything finalized with your mom?”

“All arranged, and she can’t wait to meet you. You two are going to plan circles around each other.”

Tyler lifted his phone and gave her a wicked smile. “Then let’s do it.” And Shannyn smiled as he pushedSend.

Epilogue

Lauren didn’t knowhow anyone could imagine that Shannyn and Ty didn’t belong together. The heat between the pair of them was enough to boil asphalt in their vicinity. When Ty had led Shannyn into the church, Lauren felt like lightning crackled between them. Watching them together over the course of the day made her own toes curl.

It was intoxicating to see two people so wildly in love, especially her big brother. She’d always known that if and when Ty lost his heart, he’d fall hard.

And she’d been right.

His happiness should have made Lauren happier than it did. Instead, it made her realize how empty her own marriage was. It wasn’t as if Mark was interested in anything she might say or do. He’d shown more fascination with his dinner than anything else, and she was beyond even expecting a duty dance from him.

Lauren had noticed that Shannyn spent a lot of time with her phone during the day, and had thought she was just one of those people who treat a cell phone like another appendage.

But by the time the speeches were underway, Lauren suspected that something was being orchestrated. If Ty and Shannyn were as perfect for each other as she suspected they were, something was in the works.

Lauren wanted to know what it was.

Not for the first time, Shannyn paused in her tapping and cast a sidelong glance at Ty. Jared’s best man was giving his speech. Ty started, then reached for the interior pocket of his tux, the one where his phone was. He pulled it out of the pocket just enough to read the screen, then glanced at Shannyn, his look hot enough to singe her panties.

He smiled a secretive smile, then quickly tapped a reply and dropped the phone back into his pocket.

Lauren heard Shannyn’s phone chirp. Shannyn had it under the table and then she smiled a similarly mysterious smile. She bit her lip, flicked a glance at Ty, and nodded minutely.

Ty looked satisfied, if not smug.

Whatwerethey up to?

Lauren wouldn’t know until ten that night, when the dancing was well underway and the happy couple had departed for their honeymoon. Shannyn and Ty were dancing together, laughing at some private joke. That just made Lauren feel more lonely. She was still watching them and having yet another glass of wine. Mark had disappeared somewhere, possibly down the hall to the bar where the game was playing.

Ty pulled out his phone and tapped once, then put it away.

And the music was interrupted by the chirping, ringing, beeping and music emitted by fifty cell phones receiving a message simultaneously. Ty and Shannyn grinned at each other in triumph and kept dancing, maybe a little closer than before.

Lauren pulled out her phone, and knew she shouldn’t have been surprised that it was a wedding invitation, from Ty. He and Shannyn were tying the knot on September 16, apparently, and the arrangements had been made. The ceremony would be held someplace called Harte’s Harbor, and there was a hotlink to a hotel and a map, as well as a date to RSVP.

This was what Shannyn had been doing.

Evidently, the two of them had planned it out in advance. Lauren saw her mother’s disappointment that she wouldn’t be organizing the festivities. She watched Ty and Shannyn dance, so delighted with each other that it made her heart ache.

Her brother had taken his time, but he’d found his perfect partner.

As glad as she was to see Ty so happy, Lauren wished she could have said the same thing for herself.

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