Melinda's phone burst into song, startling her from where she sat in the stairwell, Daniel's arm still wrapped around her. Despite the cold concrete, she hadn't been that comfortable in a long time. She pulled her phone out of her purse and saw that it was her mother.
"I better take this," she told Daniel, and unraveled herself from the floor. She stepped back into the hallway to avoid the echo in the stairwell. "Hi, Mom. I know we should have been there ages ago," she said. "We had a wardrobe malfunction and—"
"None of that matters now," her mother said in a voice that was unusually shrill, even for her. "Your sister, it appears, has come down with something—she's 'puking her guts out,' as Mark put it. So, it looks like we won't have a rehearsal and will have to cross our fingers that she can hold it in for twenty minutes tomorrow—just long enough to get married."
So, Mark was stalling for time. Did he really think he was going to convince Bree to marry him in the next twenty-four hours? "That's rotten luck, Mom," Melinda said. "Would you like me to check on her?"
"That would be lovely, dear. Thank you," her mother said. "I would do it myself, but I don't want to come down with whatever she has."
Apparently, she was okay with Melinda coming down with it, though.
"Are we still having the dinner as planned, even though we weren't able to have the rehearsal?" Melinda asked, hoping the answer was “no.”
"We have no choice," her mother said, as if this was something Melinda should have known. "We already have the restaurant reserved, and besides, we have all of your aunts and uncles and cousins arriving. Your grandmother is already here and won't stop complaining about how 'quaint' the resort is. Apparently, the best resorts in the world all have slot machines for her to entertain herself with when she gets bored. I'm not sure what resorts she's talking about, but she won't stop going on about them. I thought that was bad enough, but now all of your father's business associates and their wives are showing up, expecting to meet the lovely bride-to-be."
Melinda took advantage of the momentary pause when her mother stopped to catch her breath. "That sounds so stressful, Mom. I'll go check on Bree and then will be right down to help out with whatever you need."
"As the maid of honor, and sister of the bride, I would expect nothing less."
Melinda looked to the ceiling, pleading with God to give her the strength to make it two more days in this circus. "See you soon."
"Dinner starts in forty-five minutes, so I need you here in twenty at the latest—"
"Okay, Mom. Bye." Melinda hung up before her mother could give her any additional instructions. She turned and saw Daniel leaning against the wall next to the elevator, his lips pulled into a half-smile.
Melinda's cheeks heated and she asked, "What are you so happy about?"
"Nothing," Daniel said, his smile widening.
"You have to tell me," Melinda said, walking up to him. "As the maid of honor, I demand it."
"You're the maid of honor to a fake wedding; you have no power over me," Daniel said.
"Want to make a bet?" she asked. She stepped closer—his eyes were intoxicating. He was right; she had no power over him. But he sure had some over her. Melinda knew she should walk away and go comfort her sister before her mother had more of an anxiety attack than she was already having. But when he had held her in the stairwell, she had felt something that made her realize that Daniel was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Not only was he the best friend a girl could ask for—selfless, kind, funny—but he was also the best fiancé she could ever hope to have, fake or otherwise.
"You think you're going to stare it out of me?" Daniel whispered, his gaze locked on her.
"No, but maybe I can kiss it out of you," Melinda said. And before she could change her mind, she closed the gap between them, wrapped her arms around Daniel, and pressed her lips to his. She hoped it wasn't a mistake. It couldn't be, though, not when she felt so strongly that Daniel was the only one for her. Relief flooded through her when Daniel wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer, his lips crushing against hers.
"No one is here to watch," Daniel mumbled against her lips.
"I'd be a bit embarrassed if they were."
Daniel's fingers pulled through Melinda's hair, his lips moving from her lips to her jaw, and her breath shuddered. "I was thinking how beautiful you are," he said. "Not just on the outside, but on the inside too. If only everyone else knew how amazing you are—your mother would give you their entire fortune."
Melinda pulled back, her hands on both sides of Daniel's face. "You mean that?"
"Of course," he said, running a finger up Melinda's arm. "I've always known it. But it's been solidified the last few days." He paused and leaned his forehead against Melinda's. "Please say that no matter what happens today and tomorrow, we can continue what we've started here. I couldn't bear to go back to just being friends."
Melinda's legs felt weak and she had to hold onto Daniel for strength. Her lips tingled, wanting to connect with his again. "I wouldn't want it any other way." She was about to kiss him again when someone cleared their throat from behind. When she turned, she found herself face to face with…her grandmother.
"Hello, Grams," she said, her face on fire with embarrassment. "It's lovely to see you."
"I doubt that," her grandmother said, her expression holding no amusement. "It seems you're up to the same…behavior…you were the last time I saw you. I guess the diner hasn't been as good for you as I thought it would be."
Melinda hadn't thought she could be more embarrassed, but she now found herself wanting to run back into the stairwell and hang out on the cold concrete for another couple of hours. She'd last seen her grandmother seven years earlier when she'd found Melinda with a boy in a closet at Bree's high school graduation party.
But then her grandmother's words registered. "Did you have something to do with me managing the diner?"
Her grandmother nodded. "Certainly. Hard work and sacrifice—those are what build character—in most people, anyway. I suppose you were a lost cause from the beginning."
To both Melinda and her grandmother's surprise, Daniel stepped forward. "I find that completely unfounded and unfair."
Her grandmother squinted her eyes. "What gives you the right to have a say in this? You are nothing but a stand-in—someone Melinda can lock lips with for an afternoon before flitting off to the next boy. You'll never know anything about her except how her Chapstick tastes."
Daniel's jaw tensed. "If you had spent any time with Melinda over the last few years, you'd know that she's the most selfless and brave one in your whole family. She deserves your respect."
Melinda's grandmother stepped forward, glaring. They were now blocking the elevator, and when an unfortunate couple walked up and asked if they could get by, she barked, "Take the stairs." Once the couple had skittered by and out of sight, her grandmother said, "So, you've fallen in love with the girl, have you?"
Daniel hesitated, then with a look of resolution said, "I have."
Melinda's grandmother burst into harsh laughter. "Don't come knocking on my door when she leaves you tomorrow for the handsome brute that is staying on the second floor."
"She won't, because she's not like that," Daniel said. "I don't know if you've heard, but I'm her fiancé. And she kind of likes it that way." He tossed a small smile Melinda's way, and she returned it, her breath catching in her chest.
Her grandmother's head whipped toward her. "Is this true?"
"Yes, Grams," Melinda said, taking Daniel's hand.
Her grandmother studied her. "So…you've finally decided to settle down." Her gaze migrated to Daniel. "And I suppose you have been enjoying yourself at this resort the last couple days, compliments of Melinda's parents. They have more money where that came from, and you probably like the idea of that too."
Melinda squeezed Daniel's hand, appalled. "That's enough, Grams. He's not like that. Daniel is here because he wanted to support me and meet the family. He didn't even know about their money."
"Of course not," her grandmother said with a scowl, before glancing at her watch. "Shouldn't you two be heading down to the rehearsal dinner?"
"I was just going to check on Bree," Melinda said, her voice strained. "She hasn't been feeling well."
Her grandmother's eyebrows lifted. "Yes, and you've been doing a fabulous job taking care of her," she said, sarcasm lacing each word as she looked meaningfully between Melinda and Daniel. She stepped around them and touched the down button on the elevator. "See you two at dinner."
The elevator doors opened and her grandmother stepped in.
Melinda didn't dare speak again until the elevator had descended a few floors. "Welcome to the family," she said with a bitter laugh. "Bet you're looking forward to when the engagement is called off."
"Now, why would you think that?" Daniel asked, grabbing Melinda's hand and spinning her toward him.
She laughed and held his shoulders to steady herself. Looking into his eyes, she said, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For standing up to my grandmother like that. No one, not even my mother, talks back to her, which I suppose explains how I ended up managing the diner in the first place. It hasn't been my parents we've needed to convince—it's been my grandmother. Either that, or wait until she dies off. But that will never happen—she won't allow it. You know what she tells everyone? ‘Death is unbecoming for someone like me.’” Melinda looked down at the ground, feeling the enormity of it all.
Daniel placed one finger under her chin and lifted until she was looking at him again. "We aren't giving up. Devon and Claire will have their dream, and so will you."
"I don't even know what my dream is anymore," Melinda said, her voice quivering.
"You have time to remember," Daniel said. "But for now, I know what mine is." He bent and kissed Melinda gently on the lips. "Now, how about you go check on your fake-sick sister."
"There's been a lot of that going on this weekend," Melinda said with a shake of her head.
"What, being sick?"
"No—faking. I can't wait to get back to Amor, where honesty prevails."
"You and me both," Daniel said, his expression grim. It quickly cleared and he said, "Meet you at the elevator in thirty minutes?"
"Better make it twenty—I don't want to anger both my mother and grandmother at the same time."
"You got it," he said before walking down the hallway toward his room, his suit just as wrinkled as before.
"You might want to use the blow dryer again," she called after him.
He turned and saluted, then disappeared into his room.
Man, she was really falling for him.
But first things first. She needed to cure her sister of her ailment.