Page 3 of The Fake Husband
I nod and shrug, remembering the ring Derek gave me for my birthday. It was too big. He had never asked my size because hehadn't thought to, and I smiled and said it was beautiful because I'd been doing that, building things over the parts that didn't fit.
River turns back to the stove and says, "Exactly the thing I would expect from a guy who refused to carry that treasure chest you bought at an estate sale."
I smirk. "The one you carried four flights of stairs and claimed it was haunted?"
"Something in it rattled."
"That was a loose hinge, River."
"Spirits sound exactly like loose hinges, Nadine. That's how they get you."
"I had no idea you were scared of ghosts."
"I wasn't scared. No way! I hated them because I hate everything that lingers when they ought to be gone."
"Okay, sure. Whatever you say."
"And do not tell me it was coincidence Kevin almost died a day after you brought that blasted thing home."
Despite myself, I laugh. It really was one of the funniest things ever. Derek refused to accompany me because the whole estate sale was not his vibe. Rachel was busy, but River was not. Interestingly, River is never busy whenever I ask him. It doesn't matter if it's a call at 1 AM when I have a flat tire or running to my favorite taco place early in the morning. He is always available to me.
Rachel flicks her eyes from River to me. "Are we telling the Derek story or the haunted chest story?"
Right. Derek.
We were together for six months. Then, he came home after a work trip abroad with Alice and broke up with me. He said I was boring, that I played everything safe, that he couldn't imagine me doing something that scared me. That I'd probably never get married because I'd never let anyone close enough.
One week later, I saw them having dinner at my favorite restaurant. Derek was and will always be a scumbag.
I sigh. "He basically wanted me to acknowledge I was going alone to his wretched wedding."
Rachel makes a noise that could charitably be called a sound of disgust. She was never a fan of Derek. Her and River. They hated him because Derek liked the sound of his own voice. He never noticed when everyone else was uncomfortably quiet and it was just him monopolizing the talk.
"And he said, 'you're bringing someone?' I snapped after that."
Rachel's eyes widen, and she rests a hand over mine. "What happened?"
"I told him I was bringing someone. My husband."
If I told them I met Poseidon and he was about to whisk me away to his kingdom in the middle of the ocean, I wouldn't have gotten a better reaction. River whirls so fast I almost lean back, his hand clutching a stirring spoon so hard, his knuckles are white. His forehead furrows, a strand of his hair slides loose just above his eyebrow.
A flick of hot liquid arcs from the spoon and plops onto the kitchen island right in front of me.
His gray eyes scan my face as if he can't believe what I just said.
God, Rachel's twin is really hot. I noticed it the first time I saw him in freshman year, and I'm still noticing it today.
Clearly, as I raise my eyes from the dollop of River's cooking, and lock onto his.
But no. He's off-limits.
Rachel grabs my arm, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets. "You said what?!"
"That I'm bringing my husband to the wedding."
She shakes her head slowly, exchanging a look with River. They always do this unspoken telepathic twin thing, and it's always jarring to witness. "You told Derek you have a husband."
"I told Derek I have a husband. Priyanka and Alec heard it, too. It seemed the right thing to say in the moment. It ... just came out. Now, I'm not so sure."
