Page 64 of The Spare

In a flash, all of them move closer, crowding around me on the sofa and at my feet. They place their glasses onto the outdoor coffee table.

“Oh my gosh, Lexi, what is it?” Lilly asks, wrapping an arm around my trembling shoulders. “What on earth happened? Are you okay?”

“I’ll fucking rip his balls off,” Claire spits.

“No, no.” I throw my hand up to Claire, trying to stop her from assuming the worst. Because who could possibly guess what I’m about to share? I squeeze my eyes shut, taking a ragged, shuddering breath. The secrets and the stress of walking on eggshells in my own home all spill out.

“I… I… I can’t keep this secret anymore,” I choke out, my voice cracking under the emotional strain. I look up at them, wiping at my wet cheeks. “You have to promise me… you have to swear on The Holy Swifture that you’ll never repeat a single word of this to anyone.” The Holy Swifture is a playful, fan-made term which combines the words Swift and Scripture, referring to Taylor’s entire lyrical library. It’s basically our equivalent to swearing on The Bible. “Because this can’t come out that I told you. There would not only be legal implications for me, but for the winery.”

Their faces all gaze back at me in shock.

“We swear, Lex.” Georgia is adamant, her hand raised as if she’s being sworn in to a court of law.

My eyes land on Lilly. They are wide with worry. “You know you can trust us. Whatever it is, just tell us.”

I take a steadying breath, swallowing down the painful lump in my throat. “My marriage to Sam isn’t real. It’s a marriage of convenience.”

Silence falls over the patio. You could literally hear a pin drop.

“What?” Lilly whispers, blinking in absolute shock.

“It’s a contract,” I confess, the truth pouring out of me in an unstoppable rush. “Sam needed to be married for a full year to fulfill a clause in his grandfather’s trust so he could inherit the capital to save Sutter Creek, his family vineyard. If he didn’t do it, the business would’ve gone bankrupt. And the land would’ve been sold to commercial developers to settle their debts. And his greedy mother is waiting in the wings to cash out. If she can prove the marriage isn’t real.”

I pause, wiping away another stray tear as the deep emotional connection to the land swells in my chest. “That vineyard and the land connecting our families’ homes were such a massive part of my childhood. Some of the happiest memories from before my parents died were spent running through those vines with Sam. I couldn’t live with myself if I sat back and watched it be destroyed, knowing I had the power to help him save it.”

“Lexi,” Summer breathes, reaching out to squeeze my hand.

“But it’s been so hard,” I cry, looking down at my lap. “Because I’ve been in love with Sam my entire life. I’ve never understood why he turned his back on our friendship… on me.” I sniffle. “We were best friends until one day it all stopped. But he never shared why.”

I bat away another stray tear, anger replacing some of my hurt. “And he didn’t simply move on without me. He tormented me. But once high school was over, and we went our separate ways to attend college, I tried to move on. And I thought I had. But with each new man I’d date, I compared the lack of chemistry to what I always felt for Sam. And those relationships were doomed from the start.”

Everly hands me a tissue while her sister, Emilia, rubs my back.

I take a fortifying breath and try to continue. “Living with him now… the time we spend together is so confusing. Every now and then, he’ll do or say something that makes me think there are moments between us that are real. But then the dust settles, and I’m reminded that it’s all a show. A means to an end. An arrangement solely to save Sutter Creek.”

Lilly and Georgia exchange a stunned, disbelieving look before turning back to me.

“Alexis, are you serious?” Lilly asks, her voice shrill in her disbelief. “There’s absolutely no way this is only a business move for him. He looked utterly and completely in love with you during your vows.”

“I know. The words he spoke had me weeping,” Summer adds.

“All of us were. Even Claire!” Georgia blurts, pointing in Claire’s direction. Emilia and Summer chuckle.

“We were sitting there genuinely happy that you’d found someone who was so devoted to you. I refuse to believe that was all fake.” Lilly crosses her arms over her chest, wearing an overly dramatic pout.

“Well, there is no way that kiss on the dancefloor during the reception was fake,” Claire chimes in adamantly, shaking her head. “I watched him hold you. He deserves an Academy Award if that wasn’t real.”

I stare at my friends, my heart aching with a volatile mixture of hope and fear.

Lilly takes my glass off the coffee table, refills it to the brim, and forces it into my hands. “Okay, drink. And then listen to us, because you are way too close to this to see it clearly.”

“Lexi, you’re a doctor,” Everly says, pointing a finger at me with fierce emphasis. “You analyze data for a living. So let’s look at the actual evidence instead of whatever self-sabotaging narrative you’ve got running in your head.”

I take a tiny sip of the wine, wiping my bloodshot eyes with the back of my sleeve. “There is no narrative, guys. It’s a contract. Black ink on white paper.”

“Screw the contract,” Summer scoffs, waving her hand dismissively. “Let’s talk about how the man behaves. When you two were standing at the bar during the reception, did he leave your side once? No. When those smug older doctors from your clinic were giving you backhanded compliments, who shut them down before you even had to lift a finger? Sam, that’s who.”

“And what about the way he looks at you when he thinks you’re not paying attention?” Claire chimes in. “At the engagement dinner, I scrutinized him from across the room. And trust me, I was looking for him to slip up. But every time you laughed, his entire face softened. You don’t fake that kind of thing, Alexis. That’s not playing a part. That’s genuine devotion.”