I held Heath Hunter in my arms, smiling as he babbled.

 

He’d come into this world early, derailing plans for my sister’s wedding and pushing it back six months. He’d also convinced Tatiana and me to purchase a Manhattan condo so we could help out with him as much as possible.

 

“Where is my little ring bearer?” The wedding coordinator poked her head through the door. 

 

“Is he awake yet?”

 

“He is.” I handed him to her. “Are you planning to make him crawl down the aisle with the rings?”

 

“No.” She kissed his forehead. “The groom bought a custom baby Rolls Royce. It has a remote that’ll allow him to ride down the aisle.”

 

“Do I even want to know how much something like that costs?”

 

“At least half a million. He bought him one for when he’s a toddler, too.”

 

I rolled my eyes. “Of course, he did.”

 

She shut the door, and I walked through the groom's suite, searching for Hayden.

 

When I reached the balcony, I spotted him leaning against the railing.

 

“For the rest of my life…” He read the last of his vows and looked up at me. “If you’re trying to talk me out of this, you’re wasting your time. You’re also far too late.”

 

“I came here to wish you well.” I patted his shoulder. “I think you’ve rehearsed those lines enough. They sounded good yesterday.”

 

“Thanks, man.”

 

“I also want to let you know, that brother-in-law or not, if you so much as harm a strand of hair on my sister’s head, I will beat every fucking breath out of you.”

 

“You mean, again?”

 

“No, next time you won’t recover, and they’ll never find your body.”

 

“I was wondering when your psychotic side would rear its head again.” He smiled. “How does it feel to be back?”

 

“Like I never left.”

 

“Good to know.” He set down the paper. “I need to ask you something, but you have to promise to be one hundred percent honest.”

 

“Always.”

 

“How long is it?”

 

“What?”

 

“You heard me,” he said. “How long is it?”

 

I blinked. “Look, Hayden. I know we’ve always been close and all, but I draw the line at comparing each other’s dick sizes.”

 

“Grow the fuck up, Travis.” He scoffed. “I was referring to your prenuptial agreement with Tatiana. How many pages is it?”

 

“You should’ve worded it that way the first time,” I said, pausing, “I didn’t ask her to sign one. I doubt we’ll ever need it. How long is yours?”

 

“About nine inches from what Penelope’s told me.”

 

“Fuck you, Hayden.”

 

He laughed. “We don’t have one either. I love her too much.”

 

“Mr. Carter?” The second wedding coordinator stepped into the room.

 

“Yes?”

 

“The bride is asking for you. She says it’s urgent and it can’t wait.”

 

“See you at the altar,” I said to Hayden. “Congratulations.”

 

 

* * *

 

I held back a sigh as I watched Penelope twirl in front of a mirror. She smiled and adjusted the diamond tiara in her hair, and then she smoothed the lace on her veil.

 

It hit me for the first time in forever that she was no longer seventeen.

 

“Hey, Travis.” Her eyes met mine in the glass, and she motioned for me to move closer.

 

I obliged and pulled out a chair for her.

 

“I always wanted Dad to walk me down the aisle,” she said. “Even after the accident, long after the funeral, I still dreamt of him being here on my wedding day, you know?”

 

“Yeah.” I pulled the handkerchief from my pocket and dabbed her eyes. “I know.”

 

“Do you think he’d approve of Hayden?”

 

“Probably so.”

 

“What about Mom?” She shook her head. “I specifically remember her saying, that I should never ever date anyone like my brother or ‘that Hayden Hunter boy.’”

 

“She said that?”

 

“All the time.”

 

“Interesting.” I leaned against a dresser. “Can I tell you a secret?”

 

“Absolutely.” She nodded.

 

“One night, during my senior year of high school, Dad caught me and two girls having sex in the back of his Mercedes. It was my very first threesome.”

 

“I take that back.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to know your secret. Get out and tell Tatiana I’d rather talk to her before the ceremony instead.”

 

“I have a point, I swear.”

 

“Tati!” She called for Tatiana anyway, and I laughed.

 

“Anyway,” I said, continuing, “Dad drove both of those girls home and told their parents what we’d been up to. Then he took me to a bar with a fake ID.”

 

“I don’t believe that…Dad was the most straight-laced guy ever.”

 

“Maybe with you.” I smirked. “Never with me. He told me that he’d given up on me finding the point in monogamy anytime soon, but he was betting on it happening in my eighties.” I paused. “Since I was ‘fucking hopeless on being a good guy,’ he made me promise that I would make sure his ‘favorite child’ found one.”

 

“He called me his favorite?”

 

“You were Mom and Dad’s favorite.” I kissed her forehead. “Anyway, he said that he wanted me to stalk the hell out of whoever you brought home and assure him that the guy was worth it. He wanted the guy to be the complete opposite of me and my ‘terrible best friend’ in the morals department, but in the driven and brains department, anything less than Hayden would be unacceptable.”

 

“You’re lying.”

 

“I have no reason to.” I shook my head. “As a matter of fact, six beers in, he started researching lobotomies to see if it was possible for the playboy side of Hayden’s brain to be removed since he liked everything else about him.”

 

“I see.” Her voice cracked. “Is that the end of the secret story?”

 

“No.” I pressed a Kleenex against her eyes. “Mom showed up around three in the morning to get us since we were both too drunk to drive home. She yelled at us the whole way back, and when we brought up the lobotomy thing, she said if it was ever possible for Hayden to remain the same in every other way except with girls, she’d pay for the procedure since she thought he’d be good for you.”

 

“Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this before?”

 

“I never thought about it until now,” I said. “I also never thought you’d actually date my best friend behind my back.”

 

“You mean, in the same way you dated my worst enemy behind mine?”

 

“I guess we’re even on that.” I smiled. “They would both approve of you marrying Hayden, Crown.”

 

“Do you approve?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You promise?”

 

“Yes, Crown.” I pulled her into my arms. “I fucking promise.”

 

 

 

Penelope looked like she was floating on air. She was a literal angel, dressed in a white A-cut gown with sparkles woven into every wispy feather.

 

Travis held her arm as she walked down the aisle, and New York City’s skyline glittered in the distance.

 

The small crowd of guests stood to its feet and whispered words of approval with her every step.

 

While she stared at Hayden, Travis stared at me. When they made it to the altar, I adjusted her train.

 

Suddenly, the oversized screen behind them played pictures of their relationship, from her days on the ice to his early development days with Cinder. The scenes slowly transitioned into the moments when they finally realized what everyone else around them had seen all along. (Well, everyone except Travis.)

 

When the film ended, the guests applauded.

 

“Dearly Beloved,” the minister said, “We are gathered here today to—”

 

“Wait!” Madeline stepped into the aisle. “Wait! I have something to say.”

 

What the hell? Murmurs filled the crowd.

 

Hayden and Penelope exchanged confused glances.

 

“You’ll have your chance to object to these proceedings, Miss,” the minister said. “I’ll get to that point shortly.”

 

“No, no,” she said, walking forward. “This isn’t about that. I would’ve tripped the bride on her way down the aisle if that was the case.”

 

“What the hell are you doing, Madeline?” Travis glared at her. “You said you weren’t coming.”

 

“As if I would ever miss out on the biggest event the gossip blogs will be chatting about all year.” She smiled, then slipped behind the minister, tapping on a tablet. “There must have been a glitch because the entire video didn’t play.”

 

“Well, no one noticed,” Travis said. “Get back to your seat.”

 

“I thought you said she was becoming more sane now, Travis.” Hayden shook his head. “I vividly remember that.”

 

“Can you tell me why no one is stopping this woman?” Penelope whispered to me. “Is this something you and Travis planned?”

 

“She’s been crazy since the day I met her,” I said. “I have no idea what she’s doing.”

 

Before I could ask Madeline to save whatever she was doing for later, the screen came on again, this time with Penelope’s parents.

 

The video was grainy, and the date was marked for two years before their deaths. A small watermark was on the screen: Time Capsule Project, Center High School Reunion, Class of 1980.

 

 

“Which of your children will get married first?” A voice offscreen said.

 

“Penelope,” they answered in unison, laughing.

 

“Do you think she’ll retire first or find love during her career?”

 

“She’s a bit too young to be dating now, and she better not be dating anyone for awhile,” her father said, but her mother rolled her eyes and stared into the camera.

 

“I don’t know what she’ll do, but I know that whoever she dates will be the luckiest man on earth, and he better treat her right or he’ll have to deal with this man right here.”

 

“You mean, our older son Travis.” Her father laughed, and Penelope began to cry. “He’ll have to deal with Travis.”

 

“Whenever we open our class time capsule years from now, can you give a guess as to what her life will be like?”

 

They looked at each other, and then her mother spoke.

 

“Well, she’ll have either broken my figure skating championship record or come very close, or decided to pursue something else that fulfills her life,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll be telling her how proud I am of her every day, and we’ll be taking trips every weekend to hang out because she’ll be that successful.”

 

I grabbed a handkerchief and dabbed Penelope’s eyes.

 

“You think so?” Her father asked.

 

“I know so,” her mother continued. “She’ll probably be married by then, too. Remember, we have a running bet on a certain someone we can’t name.”

 

“Why’s that?” The interviewer asked.

 

“Because one, we’ll have to see if a certain brain surgery comes back in style. And two, he’s best friends with our son Travis and I don’t want to give him the kiss of death just yet.” She and Penelope’s father laughed, and then the screen went black.

 

While “Awwww” and “That’s so sweet” filled the crowd, the wedding coordinator moved up front and refreshed Penelope’s makeup.

 

Hayden pulled Penelope into his arms the moment she finished and kissed her as if they were the only two people here, as if he honestly didn’t care about the rest of the ceremony.

 

Madeline slipped behind me, whispering. “You think they’re still mad about my intrusion now?”

 

“I doubt it.” I wondered if they were ever going to stop kissing. “How the hell did you find that video?”

 

“A woman in one of my old ‘I Hate Travis Carter’ forums went to high school with Penelope’s mom and sent it to me last night,” she said. “It truly pays to be a hater sometimes.”

 

“Don’t ever change, Madeline.” I smiled as she returned to her seat.

 

“Okay, that’s enough, you two!” The minister finally separated Penelope and Hayden, making everyone laugh. 

 

“Anyone else have anything they want to reveal before we begin?” he asked. “If not, let’s pick up where we left off, shall we?”

 

 

Travis linked his arm in mine as Penelope and Hayden walked down the aisle amidst tossed rice.

 

“What did you think?” he asked.

 

“They’re really meant to be together.”

 

“I was talking about the wedding.”

 

“You’re still not used to seeing them together, are you?”

 

“No, but I’ve finally accepted it.” He slipped his arms around my waist. “They’ve clearly been in love for a long time.”

 

“They are.” I smiled. “Well, regarding the ceremony, it wasn’t as classy as the one we had. They needed strippers and blowup dolls to give it some flair.”

 

“I can’t believe the priest had the audacity to wear a real cloak and collar. Such a shame.” He laughed.

 

“Do you think we need to redo our wedding?” I asked.

 

“Not unless you do,” he said. “I honestly thought it was perfect.”

 

I raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

 

“It was just like the night we first met. Utterly unpredictable, but clearly meant to be.” He tilted my chin for a kiss, but a photog interrupted us.

 

“Hey! Best man and maid of honor!” He called out. “We need you over here for the next set of photos, please!”

 

“Remind me where I left off later.” He kissed my forehead and walked me over.

 

* * *

 

After dancing and wishing Penelope and Hayden well at the end of the night, Travis held the door to his car open for me.

 

He looked as if he wanted to say something, but there was something I needed to say, too.

 

 

“I had a good time,” I said.

 

“I did, too.”

 

“Her dress was stunning.”

 

“Everything was perfect.’

 

“Are we staying in New York for the weekend or returning to Vegas?” he asked.

 

“Vegas. They’re flying to Italy tonight so there’s no point in staying.”

 

“Okay,” he said. “What do you want for dinner?”

 

“Something good.”

 

“Could you be slightly more specific?”

 

“I’m pregnant.” I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

 

“What?” He stared at me. “When did you find out?”

 

“I wanted to tell you last week, but we both got super busy with maid of honor and best man stuff, and it’s bad manners to announce it at a wedding so…I would like spicy tacos for dinner.”

 

A smile crossed his lips, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. “You are fucking terrible at small talk, Mrs. Carter.”

 

“You are, too,” I said. “I really hope it’s a girl…”

 

“Me too.” He pulled me close, kissing me. “I love you.”

 

 

 

The You Belong with Me Collection comes out later this month (August 25th) via Kindle Unlimited, and there’s a section dedicated to all the scenes that had to be cut from the original story. Stuff like seeing Tatiana and her parents in the present day (Travis confronting them), past scenes when they fell for each other, and more! The official cover is below!

 

In the meantime, pleaseeeee leave a rating or a review for PRETEND IT'S REAL, FOR ME on Amazon by clicking here. It truly helps other readers take a chance on Travis & Tatiana’s story.

 

P.S. If you want this story on your shelf, be sure to order a signed book. Each one comes with a Vegas/Travis sticker, a Tatiana sticker, personalized bookplates, and bookmarks!

 

P.P.S. Oh, and on an unrelated note, The Office Guest is coming to give you some hilarious & steamy holiday cheer this holiday season. You can pre-order it here.