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  There didn't seem to be any cons to the idea. It's not like she was dating anyone else or interested in someone she might miss out on. She didn't date, or even try to date anymore. Not since the accident. She hadn't found someone she was even remotely interested in since long before. With her scars now, she was too self-conscious to even bother trying to date and show anyone what she looked like. It wasn’t like she was a monster or anything, but the scarring on her back from the accident was rough and she couldn't expect a guy to fall in love with that.

  But a guy to marry that just for the company? Seemed feasible. Seemed…incredible, actually.

  "We need to get you out of these clothes." He groaned against her skin, pulling at the hem of her sweater to lift it over her head. She was still wearing a camisole beneath it when he tossed the sweater to the floor. "Fuck. More clothes underneath."

  Holly laughed, nervously planning how to avoid him seeing her back. "I like to be difficult."

  He smirked at her, raising one brow. "That might be the truest statement you've ever made."

  She giggled, shifting her weight forward and pinning her knees to either side of his body. "How many drinks have you had exactly?"

  "Not enough to confuse what we're doing now…"

  That was the answer she was hoping for, even though she could taste the whiskey on his breath when he let his lips brush past hers. To be fair, she tasted of whiskey, too. "Are you sure? I don't want you doing something you'll regret, Sam."

  "The only things we regret in life are the things we don't do." He captured her mouth with his, sliding his tongue across her lower lip.

  She whimpered lightly, leaning closer as he coaxed her mouth open. Her arms snaked around his neck, wrapping tightly around him. When she parted her lips for him, his tongue plunged in between, capturing everything she had to offer.

  "Holly…" He groaned against her, his fingers digging in to her hips and pulling her even closer to the edge of the bar.

  She teetered against the edge, just balancing by pressing her palms against his broad chest. "Sam…" God, she wanted him. She wanted to be closer. Closer than they even were now. Closer than they ever had been before.

  His tongue swirled in her mouth, and his hand clasped the back of her neck. The motions were dizzying, and she found her hands sliding on their own accord down his front to the zipper on his jeans. He couldn't seem to contain his groan of relief when her hands slid across the front of his pants and then pulled down his zipper.

  She gasped when his cock sprang free into her hand. "Holy shit…"

  He wasn't small. Hell, he wasn't even average. He wasn't anything like the men she'd been with. Nerves swelled in her chest at the thought of taking all of him inside of her—but, hell, if she wasn't up to the challenge.

  She shimmied out of the jeans and panties she was wearing, dropping them on the floor of the bar.

  Sam growled when he spread her legs. His gaze roamed across her. "Fuck, you're beautiful." His tongue slid across his lower lip. "Are you on the pill?"

  She nodded. Despite her lack of a sex life, that was something she always maintained. "I was tested not too long ago—clean."

  "Same here," he told her. "Are you sure about this?"

  Surprisingly, she was. It wasn't like her to throw caution to the wind like this, but with Sam she wanted to be reckless, and knowing that they both were safe and precautions were in place…well, she was ready.

  She nodded her head. "Yes."

  His lips crashed down on her as he captured her mouth with his, his arms circling around her back. "Good, because I've been dreaming of fucking you since the moment I saw you."

  Her heart squeezed in her chest, unbelieving that that could really be true. And yet she could tell from the way he kissed her…devoured her…that it was.

  He pushed her knees apart and stepped in between, lining his cock up with her entrance. Sliding himself against her, he wet himself with her slickness. She was eager for him, and when he pressed inside her, she groaned and leaned into him. They melded together as one with long, thick strokes as she tipped over the edge of the bar and he stood against it. Her knees pinned to either side of his hips, anchoring herself to him as their lips locked and they kissed as if they were never going to stop.

  Sam reached a hand between them and found the bundle of nerves that drove her crazy and rubbed his thumb against it, causing her to nearly bounce off the bar top. Her orgasm hit her swift and hard as she clenched around his cock, thrumming and pulsing with every wave. He wasn't far behind as he exploded, emptying himself into her with everything he had as he burrowed his face in the crook of her neck.

  "Holy shit…" he gasped, still trying to catch his breath. "You're amazing."

  She leaned her hands back on the bar, trying to balance herself as he was placing most of his weight against her. "That was incredible."

  "Spend tonight with me," he whispered. "I need more of you."

  Holly bit the corner of her lip. "But the wedding is in the morning…"

  "We can get up early so you have time to go home and shower and get ready," he assured her. "I just need to have you with me tonight." His fingers caressed her cheek, pushing a few stray hairs behind her ear. "I need to hold you."

  And after everything they’d just done and said, she needed to be held.

  She nodded. "Okay…let's sleep together."

  Chapter Eight

  Holly could hear Sam's truck coming up her driveway, knew it was his before she even looked out the window. Loud and raucous, it was every bit the epitome of him. She quickly hurried through the rest of her makeup, finishing prepping her look for the wedding. Even though they had spent the night together, she'd left early in order to come home and get ready to be his date for the wedding. He'd told her he would come pick her up.

  Unsurprisingly, he was fifteen minutes early.

  The man was nothing if not regimented. It was one of the things she liked about him, though. His dedication to being scheduled and careful was even more ironclad than hers was. For her job, she had to be professional and clear-cut. But in her personal life? She left nothing to chance. After seeing the worst life had to offer and staring in the face of death, she clutched on to life with two fists.

  The doorbell rang right as she finished shimmying into her dress, but despite her best efforts, she couldn't reach the zipper in the back. Letting out a deep sigh, she held the edges together with one hand and headed to the door.

  "Hey," she greeted him, swinging open the door. "Come i—" Her words came to an abrupt halt when she saw Sam.

  He was in a tuxedo on one knee, holding an antique diamond ring in the air with the widest grin she'd ever seen on his face. "Holly Glen, will you marry me?"

  She let go of her dress, laughing and holding a hand over her mouth. "Didn't I already say yes?"

  Sam pushed up onto his feet. "Yeah, but I had to make it official." She held out her hand and he slid the ring on to her finger. "This is my grandmother's ring. As the oldest son, I was always the one who would be allowed to use it when I got married one day. Pissed my brothers right the fuck off." He chuckled. "When everyone sees you walking in today wearing this…goddamn, it's going to be the most epic thing to hit River Ridge since Evie's Exotic Pets accidentally dropped a tank of piranhas in the town pond."

  Holly laughed at the memory—one of the hundreds of crazy stories their town boasted. "I don't know if we'll ever be at Evie's level. She's special."

  "Well, we can try." Sam linked his fingers with hers and kissed the back of her hand. "But, honestly, I thought this ring would look perfect on you. I considered going out and just buying you some sparkly new ring this morning, but that didn't seem your style. I thought you'd like this more."

  She held her arm out, admiring the ring. Honestly, it was one of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry she'd ever seen. Old fashioned styles fit her despite her more eclectic look with brightly colored red hair and flashy tattoos. It was disarming and opposing—re
bellious against who she was, and yet melded perfectly with her personality. The dichotomy spoke to her and she loved that Sam had somehow picked up on that, even if the decision hadn't really been based solely on her.

  "You're right," she replied. "It's absolutely perfect. Thank you."

  Sam grinned then took a step back and looked her up and down. "Damn. We are really going to make a statement at this wedding."

  "What?" She could feel her cheeks heating.

  "You look fucking fantastic," he said, fingering the sleeve of her dress and helping her zip up the back of it. "I'm about to suggest we skip the wedding and just take this off…"

  Holly chuckled, batting his hand away and grabbing her purse off the side table by the door. "With a one-track mind like that and you wonder how you're thirty and still single."

  "Technically, I'm not single anymore," he reminded her, taking her hand and leading her to the truck. "I'm an engaged man, Ms. Glen. And you—you're an engaged woman."

  She looked down at the ring on her finger again, a thrill running through her body at the thought. Calm your tits, she tried to tell herself. It's just a ruse. It's just for the insurance. It's for Suzie.

  After Sam helped zip her up into her dress, they left the house together hand in hand. He opened the car door for her and helped her up into the passenger seat. Within fifteen minutes, they were pulling into the River Ridge Christian Church parking lot. It was already packed full of cars and people walking in wearing their finest Sunday best.

  "Ready to do this?" Sam asked.

  She shrugged. "I'm pretty sure it's too late to say no."

  Sam turned his entire body to face her, a stern expression on his face. "Holly, if you don't want to do this at any time, you need to tell me. I would never want to force you into doing something you don't want to do. I proposed this arrangement because it benefits us both, but the moment that changes—tell me. I want you to be happy with this as much as I am."

  "I—I didn't mean I wanted to say no. I'm happy," she assured him. Truthfully, she was happier than she'd been in a long time and that's what scared the shit out of her. "Let's do this. Let's freak everyone out."

  Sam grinned. "Kiss for good luck?"

  "Is that our thing now?"

  "It should be."

  She smiled, leaning toward him in the cab of the truck. "I like it."

  They kissed softly, a small peck on the lips that almost could have been romantic if she didn't know that they were just friends doing each other a favor.

  "Time to kick some cheating ex and asshole brother ass," Sam said, clapping his hands together.

  "Or say nothing and just watch them get married like responsible adults."

  Sam rolled his eyes and groaned. "Fine. We'll do your thing, but next time someone in my family fucks me over—I make no promises."

  "Fair enough." Holly laughed, opening the truck door and hopping down with Sam's assistance as he rushed around the truck to help her down.

  Sam took her hand and they walked side-by-side toward the church. He lowered his voice as he whispered to her. "Remember, we've been dating for the last year. You were living in Nashville so that's why people didn't see us around here much. We got engaged last month on our one-year anniversary. I popped the question to you at the bar we met at and it was all very romantic, blah blah blah."

  "I remember." She squeezed his hand. "The story is air tight. We got this."

  "I've barely spoken to my family since this shit went down with Grady and Jane, so they're not going to be too shocked I've kept something big from them," he mused. "But, damn, they're going to be pissed."

  "Good." Holly lifted her chin. "They should be after everything they've put you through. It pisses me off, to be honest."

  Sam glanced sideways at her, giving her a crooked smile. "Feeling protective of your man already, babe?"

  "Ugh, babe. We're gross. Stop it."

  "Baaaaabe, it's so cute how you love being called baaaabe," Sam continued, this time wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug and lifting her off the ground.

  Holly laughed, giggling and pushing off him as she tried to get free. "Sam, stop it! You're insane!"

  "What is going on here?" A booming voice came from beside them.

  Sam put her down quickly and they turned to stare up at Doc Wylde, Sam's father, standing next to Grace Wylde, Sam's mother. They were dressed to the nines, but their expressions were dumbfounded. "Mother. Father. How are you doing today?"

  "We're great, but we're wondering why our oldest son is acting like a fool with a total stranger outside of the church his brother is getting married at." Sam's father crossed his arms over his chest. "Who exactly are you, young lady?"

  "And why are you wearing my mother's ring?" Sam's mother asked.

  "She is not a stranger," Sam intervened. He took half a step in front of Holly, as if to block her from their barrage of questions. She appreciated the gesture, because she was already feeling short of breath at the confrontation and she knew her face was probably turning pale. She'd expected questions, but the hostility was surprising. "This is my fiancée, and we've been together for quite some time."

  His parents looked between the two of us, confusion etched on their faces.

  "Fiancée?" Doc repeated. "Since when?"

  "I guess about a month now?" Sam continued. "Though we've been together over a year."

  "And you just never told us?" Grace put her hand on her chest. "For over a year!"

  "You all have been pretty busy planning my ex-girlfriend's wedding. My life is really none of your concern." With that, he grabbed Holly's hand and led her into the church.

  "Holy shit," she whispered to him. "That was intense."

  He just nodded.

  "Sam!" Ruby came striding up to them, her hair a bright green today. "Oh, hey, Holly! Nice to see you again."

  Sam enveloped his cousin in a big hug. "Hey, Ruby girl."

  "Are you two dating?" Ruby's eyes got big, but her smile was even bigger. "I thought I saw a spark between you two that day at the park.

  Holly laughed and leaned in to Sam's side. "Well, I wouldn't call it dating anymore."

  "We're engaged," Sam revealed, taking Holly's hand and holding it up for Ruby to see.

  "OH MY GOD!" Ruby shrieked so loudly that several people turned to see what was going on. "How did I not know you two were already together? I'm so dim. This is amazing!"

  "What's going on?" Mason, Ruby and Noah's older brother came over.

  "Sam's engaged!" Ruby spilled the beans immediately. "This is Holly. Holly, this is my older brother, Mason."

  "Hello," she greeted him, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you."

  "You, too. Sam, that's fucking amazing." Mason gave them both a hug.

  Before they knew it, a crowd had formed around them and everyone in town was congratulating the two of them and giving out hugs and handshakes. It was a regular lovefest, and the attention had definitely shifted from the bride and groom to the happy new couple. Mission accomplished.

  Okay, so she knew they were being petty. She couldn't blame Sam for wanting to be. Hell, he'd been raked over the coals for years and he'd finally found a way to come out on top. She was glad she could be there to help him do it.

  Chapter Nine

  "Let's find our seats," Sam said to Holly, taking her hand and leading her down the aisle between the church pews. "The wedding is going to start soon."

  Holly nodded and he guessed that she was definitely more than ready to get out of the spotlight for a few minutes. They found a few seats near the front and settled in. All the rest of Sam's family was participating in the wedding party, but Sam had refused. The most he'd agreed to do was come to the wedding, but that was all he’d said he could handle. His brother had asked him to be a groomsman, but the idea was insane—groomsman at your ex-girlfriend's wedding…to the man she cheated on you with…who is also your brother? No, thank you.

  Sitting in the audience was already going to be ha
rd enough.

  Glancing sideways, he took in the woman at his side. He couldn't believe he'd been insane enough to come up with this idea of getting married, but he was so happy he had. There was absolutely no way he could have gone to this wedding without Holly by his side. It seemed strange, being that he was someone who was so used to his independence, but he wanted nothing more than to welcome her into his life. There was something about knowing he wasn't going to be alone anymore—knowing that phase of his life was over, at least for now, that was incredibly relieving.

  Hell, he hadn't realized how much he'd hated the single life until now.

  He wasn't the pathetic cuckold that Jane and Grady had left stranded. He was someone's fiancé. It was like he'd given himself an entirely new identity overnight. Who cared if it was fake, because honestly…it wasn't. They were really doing it. He was marrying Holly and going to help her with something she really needed. He felt good about that. He felt like he was taking a broken part of himself and doing something useful with it. Something kind. Something that would do some good in the world.

  There was purpose in that.

  He fucking needed purpose.

  "That’s your brother, right?" Holly whispered to him, leaning in close. She was gesturing to the man walking down the aisle with the pastor. She hadn’t seen his brother or family in years before today, but she remembered them from high school.

  Sam nodded, watching Grady in his finest tuxedo proudly strutting down the center aisle and taking his place at the top. The music changed, and the wedding party began to come down in pairs. He watched his mother and father come down first, followed by his brother, Sterling, and Jane's sister. Next up was his youngest sister, Bethany, with one of Jane's male best friends—an asshole that Sam had always worried about. Turned out he should have been worried about the assholes in his own family instead. Last was his cousin Ruby escorted by one of Jane's brothers. The wedding party lined up at the top of the aisle on either side of the bride and groom in a beautiful display of champagne dresses and black tuxedos.