I wish I’d never set eyes on Archer Stratton. I wish I had kept my head down that night and walked right by the mysterious man staring at a Manet. Because now I’m at my best friend’s wedding, and all I can think about is him. His eyes. His lips. His fingers brushing across my skin. And the wounded look on his face as the elevator doors shut between us.

“Ready, Quinn?”

I snap my head and see Holly standing in front of me. “What?”

She frowns at me. “Are you okay? You’ve been distant all day.”

“I’m fine,” I answer, standing up and adjusting my lavender maid of honor dress. The rest of the bridal party are forming into pairs outside the door to the reception hall. “Don’t worry about me, this is your day.”

“That doesn’t mean I stop being your friend.” She looks around at the crowded hallway, then tugs me into a quiet corner.

“Won’t we be late?”

Holly snorts. “I’m already married, it’s my right to hold up my reception. Now dish.”

I take a deep breath and tell her about this morning—and last night—with Archer. Holly’s eyes get bigger and bigger until I think they’re going to pop out of her head.

She whistles. “You naughty girl! I’m glad you two finally sealed the deal.”

“Um, what?”

Holly plants her hands on her hips. “Come on, it’s obvious that you two have feelings for each other.”

“I swear I don’t.”

“Then why are you so upset about sleeping with him?”

“I—well, we have to live together and it’ll be awkward…” I swear my reasoning sounded better in my head.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Holly turns as her name is called, holds up her hand, then turns back to me. “I think you like Archer more than you believe. In fact, I think you love him.”

“What? Even if I did, he doesn’t feel the same.”

“You sure about that? I’ve seen you two together. He’s gaga over you, Quinny.”

I laugh. “If gaga means ‘months of sexual frustration,’ then sure.”

“You’ve never cared this much about a guy,” Holly points out, grabbing my arm and hauling me back to the group.“Now be an adult, and admit you love your fake fiancé!”

Holly moves toward the doors, and the bridesmaids fly into action. We fix her bustle, reapply lip gloss, and tuck a hair back in place. Tears tug at my eyes as I watch her. I already bawled during the ceremony, so how do I have any left?

“Okay, ladies and gentlemen,” her mom hisses. “You’re on!”

I look around for Shawn, the best man, and spot him a few heads away. I sidle up to him, and he offers me his arm.

“M’lady,” he says, flashing me a smile. “You ready?”

I nod. I might not be ready for a lot of things, but I’m ready to help Holly celebrate the happiest day of her life.

The music cues up, the doors open, and the first bridal pair dances out to a cheering crowd. While Shawn and I wait our turn, I scan the crowd. I hadn’t seen him at the ceremony, so maybe he decided not to come after all…

Another bridal pair begins their dance.

I told Archer not to come today, but it was said in anger and fear, and I had regretted the words the moment they left my lips.

The third bridal pair moves into the hall, which means Shawn and I are next. I glance behind me to wink at Holly and James, and then up at Shawn. He nods right as the DJ announces our names, and we start dancing. I shimmy my way into the room, laughing and grinning at Shawn and our ridiculous dance moves. For a moment, I’m happy.

“And now introducing, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. James Callahan!”

Holly and James burst into the room. Whistles, cheers, and even a few catcalls come from the crowd as the music changes to a Frank Sinatra favorite. The couple gets into position and then begins their first dance as man and wife.

Shawn nudges me a minute or two later. “Want to dance?” he whispers into my ear.

“Should we?”

“James told me to join in once they were two minutes in. Said after that, he’d die of embarrassment.”

“Sounds like James,” I say, stifling a laugh.

Shawn smiles down at me, takes my hand, and leads me out onto the floor. He pulls me toward him, wraps his arm around my waist, and begins gliding us around in a graceful foxtrot. We receive a grateful look from James as we pass by.

“You’re not bad,” Shawn says, after the rest of the bridal party’s joined us.

“You’re doing all the work. I’m just following your lead.”

He chuckles. “Well, you’re a good dance partner. Hopefully we can dance again later tonight?”

“Yeah…maybe.” My mind flies to Archer.

Shawn releases my waist, spins me, and then captures me again.

“Okay, you’re really good,” I say, a little breathless.

“I’m good in other ways, you know…”

Uh oh.“In what ways?”

He smirks. “I think you know.”

I flush and hope anyone watching chalks it up to dancing. It’s right about now that I wish I wore my engagement ring. I’ve been leaving it off most days, the flashy thing reminding me that my fiancé is a sham. Plus I hated all the attention it got me, especially at work.

But I wouldn’t have minded flashing it right now as Shawn gazed down on me, clearly thinking with his pants. “I’m engaged,” I say plainly.

Shawn falters on the next step. “Oh, I didn’t see a…” he trails off.

“I didn’t wear it tonight, but I am, and he’s here,” I say, even though I don’t know if it’s true.

The music ends and Shawn releases me. Holly and James take a bow, then go to sit down. I’m about to follow when a hand grabs my arm.

“I’m sorry for earlier, Quinn,” Shawn says quietly into my ear. “Your fiancé is a lucky man.”

Shawn pulls away and leaves me for his seat. I stand there for a moment and try to regain my composure. My skins begins to prickle, and I whip my head around.

Archer’s sitting at the bar, staring at me like I’m the only girl in the room. The murderous look on his face staggers me. I glance back at Shawn and realize that Archer must have seen everything—and drawn his own conclusions.

Before I can do anything about it, the DJ picks up his microphone to ask everyone to take their seats. “Good evening! We’re here to celebrate a very special couple who just killed it on the dance floor.” A cheer rises around me as I sit down next to Holly. “Before we chow down, we have a few champagne toasts…”

My stomach flips. That means—

“… and first up is the lovely maid of honor, Quinn East!”

I stumble to my feet. The last thing I feel like doing right now is talking about everlasting love in front of 130 people. At least, not with Archer staring daggers at me from his perch at the bar.

The DJ hands me the microphone, and my knuckles grow white as I grip it. I try to remember my opening line. I swallow, look at Holly and James’s smiling faces, and it all falls into place.

“Holly and James are the most important people in my life. I found Holly during a dark time in my life, but she picked me up, dusted me off, and told me that it would pass…and it did. Then came college, where she picked me up again, dusted me off, and told me that finals too would pass…and they did. Without her to lean on and laugh with and get pizza with at 3am, I wouldn’t have survived NYU or life.”

The room laughs, and Holly gives me a huge smile.

“Then along comes James, the sweetest, kindest man I’ve ever met. You make my best friend so happy, though I never would’ve put you two together. You’re total opposites. One is loud and annoying—”

“Hey!” Holly shouts.

I laugh along with the crowd. “Alright. One is…feisty and spirited—”

“Much better,” Holly grunts.

“—and the other is quiet and reserved.” I pause, realizing that I could be talking about Archer and me. “But they’re two halves that form a perfect whole…”

I look toward the bar and meet my fiancé’s eyes. “You complement each other, keep each other on their toes…”

Archer’s stare holds me captive. My breath gets tight, and I force myself to look away. “And so, in the proper Callahan way, I’d like to propose a proper Celtic toast. ‘Always remember to forget the troubles that passed away, but never forget to remember the blessings that come each day!’”

Holly jumps up and wraps me in a big hug as the guests clap and raise their glasses in a toast.

“What a speech, am I right?” the DJ cries, amid the tinkling of glasses. “And now, we’re going to hear from the best man, Shawn Whalem…”

“I’m going to step outside for a moment,” I whisper into Holly’s ear. “Catch my breath.”

Holly squeezes my hand. “I’m here if you need me.”

I nod and walk out onto the pier. I turn left and follow the patio until I find an empty room. I let myself in and look around. It’s the groomsmen landing pad where they hung out before heading to the reception. Looks like they also partook in some cigars and tumblers based on the mess around me.

I slide into a chair. It doesn’t need to be spotless, it just needs to be quiet.

I get exactly two minutes of quiet before the door crashes open. I glance up to see Archer standing in the doorway.

“Quinn,” Archer snarls, marching toward me, “what the hell do you take me for?”

I rise slowly from the chair. I can smell whiskey on his breath. “Excuse me?”

“You were out there throwing yourself at that groomsman in front of everyone!”

“I-I was what with Shawn?”

“Shawn?” Archer scoffs. “I saw you dancing and whispering—”

“You have the wrong idea. It was an innocent dance, and when he asked me out, I told him I was here with my fiancé.”

Archer goes still. “He did what?”

“It was nothing,” I hurry to explain.

“He knew you were someone’s girl, my girl, and he propositioned you?” His voice is dangerously calm. A chill goes up my spine.

“I wasn’t wearing my ring—” I stop, knowing that I stepped on another landmine.

“Why not, Quinn?”

“I don’t know.”

Archer narrows his eyes. “Why?”

“It…”

“Say it,” he orders.

“It reminds me that we’re not real,” I say in a rush.

Archer reaches out a hand and grazes my bottom lip with his finger. “This isn’t real?”

It feels real.

“I don’t know,” I whisper, my lip tingling from his touch.

Archer leans in and kisses my ear softly with his lips. “I’m sorry I yelled,” he says softly, “but the thought of you with someone else…with Shawn or Zach or some other man—”

Archer pulls back. His eyes are hot with desire and heavy with fury. “No one can have you but me, East.”

“But you know this isn’t real—”

Archer gives me a furious look. “What isn’t real?” He yanks me to him and takes my surprised lips in his, stifling the words beginning to form. My neck cranes back from the force of his kiss, and I push back, parting my lips and finding his tongue with my own.

At first, I’m too caught up in the passion and fervor that surrounds us to remember that every kiss has to end. But when I do, it hits me that I’ll be hurt and broken just like before. Maybe even more.

I throw up my hands and push hard against his chest, shoving myself away from him. “Stop, Archer,” I pant. “Just stop!”

“I will not pretend that you don’t mean anything to me,” he says, his voice shaking with rage.

“W-what are you saying?”

“You made something out of the nothing I was living in. You gave me everything I didn’t know I was missing.”

I raise a hand to my throat. “I…I don’t understand—”

“I love you, Quinn!” he bursts out.

Those four words turn my world turned upside down. “You…love me?”

“Yes.” Archer raises a shaky hand over his eyes. “I have for a while.”

I stand there, trying to process this. “Why?”

Archer gives a strangled laugh. “I just told you I love you and you ask why?”

“But I’m just me,” I say, a bit dazed. “I’m just Quinn.”

“Dammit! Do you know how sexy you are?”

“No…” I just stand there, looking at him. I see his broad shoulders, now tense with longing; his hard arms that held me when I needed it most; those piercing blue eyes that always find my softer side; those lips that captivated me for hours last night. And something clicks in me.

I love Archer more than I thought possible. I’ve been fighting this because we’re fake, but now I know that our love is real.

“I don’t…” I say, nibbling on my lip, “but why don’t you show me?”

Archer gazes at me for a moment, then crosses the space between us. He rakes his hands through my hair and tugs my head back to take my lips with his. Our tongues twist and taste each other as we kiss with unabashed greed. I pull back and nip at his lip, drawing blood.

Archer sucks in his breath. He dabs his lip with his finger, looks at it, then narrows his eyes. “You’re asking for it, East,” he snarls.

I lock eyes with him, lean forward, and lick the droplet of blood off his finger.

With a low growl, he turns and swipes his arm across the nearest table; glasses and beer bottles crash to the floor. He grabs my hips, twists me around, and bends me over the edge. I gasp as he hitches my dress up to my hips. I hear the click of his belt buckle, and then the sound of his pants being slowly unzipped.

I twist my head around and gaze into his eyes. “Are you sure you want this?” he asks, his voice gravelly and tense.

I lick my lips. “Yes.”

Archer groans and yanks down his pants, taking out his stiff cock and slipping a condom on in one swift movement. I stare at his hardness, drinking it in with wide eyes, before I’m pressed against the tabletop and mounted. I cry out as Archer pushes into my tightness in one hard thrust. His dick fills every inch of me until I feel like I might faint. He’s so big, so hard. I moan with desire and grind my hips against him.

Archer leans over me and slides his hand underneath my dress. His hand finds my breast, and he begins to gently knead its softness. I shudder beneath him as his fingers massage my pebbled nipple. I grind harder, pressing my clit against his shaft.

“I’m going to make you scream my name, East.” he growls into my ear. His steamy breath electrifies my soft skin. “And that’s the only name you’ll ever scream.”

I moan as he moves his other hand to my mound, stroking me in rhythm with each deep thrust.

“Archer…” I breathe.

“Louder,” he orders. He pulls his hand away and slaps my bare ass.

“Archer!” I yell.

Archer growls and pumps faster. His tip glides over my G-spot, exciting it, teasing it, and I let out a whimper. “There…oh God yes—”

He slaps my ass again, severing my command. I bite my lip from the stinging pain. I like it, and I want more.

I arch my back into his thrusts, and his tip finds my sensitivity again. I cry out as my walls convulse and clench around Archer’s cock. I close my eyes and let my orgasm take hold of me. “I’m…coming!”

I gasp, riding the waves of pleasure crashing over me.

Archer grunts and sucks in his breath. He grips my hips with his hands, his fingers digging into my flesh, and I feel his dick shudder and release inside me. He pumps once more, then goes still.

“Quinn…” Archer pants, pulling out of me slowly. He pulls me off the table and into his arms.

“Archer,” I breathe, holding him tight.

He buries his face into my neck. “I love you so much,” he whispers, nipping at my ear with this teeth.

My heart skips a beat. “And I love you,” I say softly.

Archer eases back and gazes into my eyes. “Really?”

I smile up at him. “Yes. I love you, Archer Stratton, with all my heart.”