Gemma

I couldn’t believe this was happening. I didn’t have a choice though. I kept telling myself that. Well I did have a choice, sort of. I could be poor or get a job. Neither one of those things sounded very good to me, so I was here, standing in a dress that I was going to have to wear tomorrow for my wedding. The final alterations were done and while my mom blubbered in the corner, I was fuming inside. I wasn’t afraid, I was mad that it had come to this. I was mad at my father for it all.

I had done what he said. I hadn’t told mom the horrible ultimatum I was given. I believed him when he said that he would still not give me a dime. So I wouldn’t have done anything but break up a marriage that was stronger than most. It wasn’t worth it. He had won and I was going through with this.

Turning to the full lengths mirrors that were hanging up from every direction, I frowned at my reflection. The dress was beautiful, but not like this. It seemed almost a waste to use such a pretty thing for a ruse.

“You look amazing Gemma. Don’t you like it?”

Caroline was behind me, gushing and I knew that she wished it was her that was standing here. I wish it was her as well, instead of me expected to get married and be the doting wife that I never said I would be.

“Yes, I suppose I do.”

She shook her head and told me that I was the frowningest bride that she had ever seen.

“I don’t even think that is a word Caroline.”

“Barbara, don’t you agree?”

My mother looked at me and just waved it off. “Gemma never has been a smiley kind of person, even when she was little. I think she is just overwhelmed. The wedding is so close.”

I loved her for thinking that, but my cousin knew me better than that and she was narrowing her gaze to me, telling me that she wasn’t sure if that was it.

“I don’t know Aunt Barbara, if I didn’t know any better, I would think that she was being dragged to the altar. Who is this guy anyways? I have never met him. Have you?”

“Once, very briefly but I didn’t know that they were dating.”

This was the conversation that I was afraid of and I looked away, pretending that I was fixing something on the side of the dress. I already knew that there would be consequences if mom found out about it. This was a secret I was going to have to take to my grave.

“Oh stop Caroline. You will meet him tomorrow like everyone else.”

“Why such a secret? I didn’t even know you are dating anyone and now you are getting married? You have to admit that it is kind of strange and not like you at all.”

I was staring into the mirror, fixing the makeup on my face to see if I would get them off of the subject. I should have known that my nosy cousin wasn’t going to. I can’t say that if the roles were reversed, that I wouldn’t be acting the same way. I was going to have to convince them or it was all going to blow up in my face. I just wasn’t a very good liar, never really had been.

“I just want this to be perfect. You know how my life is, how intense dad is. I wanted to know how I felt before he started to put in his two cents. It was better this way and I am glad I did it this way instead of taking him over to the house from the get go. Dad has met him and mom.”

Mom knew that and it was just recently. I didn’t know what dad had told her and I didn’t want to be the one to reveal something that I wasn’t supposed to. I just wasn’t a good liar. I never had been.

“Your father should have told me. I have been worried to death about all of this. He doesn’t have piercings and tattoos, does he? It didn’t look like it in his suit. And he was with the most charming woman, Ashlyn.”

I shook my head and laughed. I told Caroline to take out my phone, so that they could be assured that he wasn’t a hoodlum. It was strange because she knew more about him than I did, meeting him before me, but it was just something else that I had to keep in.

“Okay, now what?”

“Do a search on Keenan Hall.”

It wasn’t the first time that I had said his name, but I wanted mom to see that the man was a billionaire and a very respected business man. I had spent hours poring over everything that I could find on him. He was handsome and rich, the perfect mate, although I wondered why he would agree to this. What was he getting out of marrying me, a girl he has never even met before? What kind of man does that?

When Caroline started to read some of the articles, it quickly got them off of me and back onto him. They were getting excited to really meet him and it was strange to realize that they were more excited about meeting him than I was. I knew what he was or rather what he was willing to do, but for what I didn’t know. I wasn’t so ready to meet the man that I was going to have to marry. There was no reason to be happy about it.

“Oh Gemma, he is gorgeous. No wonder you kept him a secret. He is absolutely yummy!”

I rolled my eyes at Caroline and I made it like that was the reason for all of the secrecy. It was easier for her to believe that it was all because of her. She was a little vain, but I did love her. We had been best friends since I could remember.

“That’s what it is Caroline. I knew I couldn’t trust you around him.”

That made her pout and I was thankful for the distraction. We were able to leave the dress shop and get home without having to talk about my mystery guy. They had seen enough to slacken their curiosity and I was just happy for a breath. All of their comments played in my head as I made my way upstairs. This was going to be my last night as a single woman and all I could think about was what that was going to mean for me. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it or not.

***

The morning arrived and I was bothered by the dreams that I had the night before. I knew that I had a lot on my mind, but I was more than a little surprised that all I could think about was Keenan. Mom and Caroline had talked about him so much that I had thoughts of him in my head that I couldn’t get out. They were going on and on about the wedding night, something that wouldn’t be a problem for us. I didn’t think so anyways. My father could expect me to marry him, but there was no way that it was going to be a real marriage like that.

But my dreams played out a lot differently than my mind let me imagine. His arms had been around me, his hands all over me and his tongue flicked and licked down my body. It was hard to think of anything else even now when I thought of how hot and bothered I was. If Keenan was anything like he was in my dreams, I was sure that I was going to have a hard time keeping up with the idea of not going all the way in the marriage. I was more than a little afraid of how I was going to have to face him after thinking about and fantasizing about all of the dirty things that my mind could think of.

“Good morning Gemma. Are you decent?”

I looked down at the night gown that I wore. I told her that I was decent and mom flitted into the room. She was glowing and I knew that it was because she was excited about today. “It’s not every day that my little girl gets married!”

Mom gushed and I just shook my head. How was I supposed to deal with her today when I was so nervous? She was just too happy and I felt like my head was going to explode. This wasn’t the time for this.

“Come on sleepyhead. Do you have any idea what time it is?”

I shrugged and told her that I didn’t. The fact that I was still in bed underneath the covers would have been a good indication that I hadn’t gotten that far yet.

“It’s ten o’ clock Gemma! You are going to be married in a couple of hours and you are still in bed.”

“It will be fine mom, trust me.”

“Why are you not worried about how you look?”

I just smiled at her and told her that Keenan didn’t care what I looked like. Since he was just marrying for some plan of my father’s, it didn’t make sense to worry about it. I was just a name and relationship to my father to Keenan, I was sure of it.

“Because he loves me for who I am, not just what I look like.”

Mom asked me and acted like I was being silly. “A man always wants a beautiful woman on his arm. You have always been a very beautiful girl and now you are a woman. You have to learn to flaunt it a little bit.”

I wanted her to just stop talking, but she kept on and I was left to take in all of her advice. After she had gotten me to the vanity and got me in the dress, she started to do my hair and makeup. It was something that I had wanted to do myself, turning down the offer of a makeup artist. I wanted this to be simple, but everyone was fighting me on it.

I looked in the mirror and shook my head. “Mom there is no way.”

Caroline walked in at that moment and she exclaimed how beautiful I looked. I wanted to punch her in the face, but it was already out and mom was gushing.

“Doesn’t she just look perfect?”

Caroline agreed and I looked back at the dark eyeliner and red lips. This was not my style at all, but I had to admit that I liked the effect. I may be nervous and literally shaking on the inside, but I looked like I was all put together on the outside. It was already 11 when I looked at the clock and we all started to pile into vehicles to get to the church.

All I could think about on the drive over was what I was going to say to Keenan, or how this was all going to go. I didn’t know how to be a wife and I certainly didn’t know how to handle how to be a fake one. I had a feeling this was all going to go badly. I hadn’t seen dad all day and I was starting to wonder where he was. This was all his idea, the least he could do is show up to see it.

The car stopped and my heart sank. The church was beside us and it was now or never. Today was the first day of the rest of my life.