Vivianne

I knew this thing was going to be an all-day affair. But I didn’t expect to spend two whole hours taking photos! 

“Voss family first, Voss family! Come gather around the newlyweds.” The photographer waved wildly as he herded the crowd of strangers around us. I could sense an undercurrent of displeasure as they huddled in, none of them wanting to get too close to me. Nothing like starting out our fake marriage with the inlaws’ obvious disdain displayed publicly. 

After he took what had to be a thousand pictures, the photographer waved away Dominic’s family and called in mine. Uncle Randy and Analise stepped up, the only two people who showed up for me. Which was double the numbers I expected, so I couldn’t really complain. 

“Your dad would say this was the proudest day of his life,” Uncle Randy whispered in my ear. “This man better make you the happiest woman alive, or I’ll take care of him myself.” He gave me a subtle hug and shifted to stand next to Dominic. 

Part of me wanted to correct him. Dad wouldn’t be proud of this…even now I could picture the way his full eyebrows would lower and his lips would purse crookedly in disappointment. No, he wouldn’t be proud of me for treating marriage like a chess piece. 

My eyes burned and I did my best to reel myself in. Analise must have noticed, because she wrapped her arm firmly around mine and whispered in my ear. “We’ll get through this together, Viv.” I nodded and straightened my shoulders. Dad had nothing to do with this. He was dead.

Another thousand photos later, Uncle Randy and Analise were joined by Dominic’s family again, then everyone was dismissed. The room emptied and I knew the hardest part of the photo shoot had arrived. 

“Alright you two lovebirds, now the fun part! Dominic, take your wife in your arms. I want one hand on her shoulder blade and the other on her lower back. Vivianne, put your arms around Dominic’s waist.” 

My stomach roiled, but I didn’t shy away. I took a steadying breath and loosely wrapped my arms around Dominic’s torso. I looked up and found him staring down at me with a smile playing on his lips. He was enjoying this, the bastard! He pulled me close and leaned in as if to kiss me again. 

The camera began snapping, but I barely noticed. My entire world was suddenly dominated by broad shoulders and brown eyes. I’d never realized how large Dominic was, or how tiny I’d feel in his arms. Okay, I’d never pictured myself in his arms at all, so the second point was moot. 

“Come on, Viv, act with me for a minute.” His whisper caused my traitorous skin to erupt in goosebumps. The hand on my shoulder blade moved to my chin and gently lifted it so Dominic could look more deeply into my eyes. “Let’s give them a show.” 

Torturously slowly, he lowered his head and pulled me against his body. I could feel his breath on my lips before mine met his for the second time today. A shiver raced down my spine and back up again, and I fought the temptation to push him away.

“You two are going to make magazine covers around the world!” The photographer waved his camera around in excitement. It seemed that I was the only one not having fun with this farce.

I was forced to endure many, many more poses. More kissing. More touching. I began to feel a kinship to the people in one of my favorite garbage TV shows, where strangers got married the day they met. All I could hope was that our photos looked less awkward than that…

To his credit, though, Dominic remained respectful the entire time. His hands and eyes didn’t wander, and whenever we weren’t being posed by the photographer, he kept himself to himself. 

By the time we reached the two hour mark, I was mentally and physically exhausted. My feet hurt, my stomach was demanding a snack, and if I had to kiss my boss one more time, I was going to lose my shit. 

“Alright Mr. Voss, now take your wife’s hand and-”

The photographer was interrupted by Dominic shaking his head. “Let’s call that enough pictures. My sweet wife is going to need some energy left for the reception tonight.” He lightly cupped my cheek and brushed a stray strand of hair out of my face. “We’ve put you through enough torture. Let’s go get you out of that dress.” 

His voice came out as almost a purr. I was positive it was the one he used on all of his one night stands, which made me feel a little nauseous. The temptation to slap him as soon as we were alone was strong, but he’d saved me from who knows how many more pictures. I supposed he could get away with it this time.

We were silent as Dominic walked me back to my dressing room. “Do you need my help getting out of that?” He gestured to my dress, and I shot him a glare full of daggers. 

“No way in hell are you undressing me, Voss. Ever.” I hurried ahead of him and slammed the door, locking it behind me. I rested my back against the wood and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths to wash away the lingering ick that came from his question. 

Once I got over that, I set about freeing myself from this lacy prison. The only trouble? I couldn’t for the life of me reach the clasp at the top or the zipper pull. I stretched and contorted in front of the mirror, willing my fingers to reach just a little farther. 

There was a knock at the door and I whirled around to glare at it. “Go away, Dominic! I don’t need your help!” 

“Viv, it’s me.” 

I let out a sigh of relief when instead of my boss, I heard my twin sister’s voice. I rushed to the door as fast as I could in the restrictive dress and threw it open. Analise slipped in and relocked the door, giving me a knowing look. My shoulders slumped and I turned my back to her. Without any prompting needed, she unclasped and unzipped the dress for me. “Dominic told me you’d locked yourself in the dressing room and asked me to check on you. I figured you’d be in here trying to get that thing off yourself.”

The silky fabric dropped to the floor and I let out a relieved sigh. I stepped out of the dress puddle and grabbed my bag from the corner. “There was no way I was going to let my boss see me in my underwear.” 

“But if you did, he might reciprocate.” Analise raised one eyebrow and stuck out the tip of her tongue. I made an exaggerated retching noise and pulled the outfit I’d brought out of the bag. She began to laugh and grabbed a handful of chips from the snack table. 

I pulled my shirt over my head and growled. “You’re the only one who wants to see that, Lise. How could I possibly keep a straight face in the boardroom if I had an image in my head of the CEO in his underwear or less? Never gonna happen.” Just the thought made me queasy again. 

Or maybe that was my stomach telling me that I needed to get my butt to the luncheon.

Once my pants were buttoned and my shoes tied, Analise took my arm and together we exited the dressing room. To my chagrin, Dominic was waiting just outside. He’d changed into a pair of jeans and a polo, and his hair had returned to its usual perfectly-tousled state. “There she is! The queen of the ball.” He smiled and offered his hand.

I stared at it for a long moment. Dominic glanced between my sister and me, and I remembered she wasn’t supposed to know the truth. Which meant I needed to keep acting, despite it being just the three of us. I slid my hand into his large, warm palm and gritted my teeth. 

Only for today. This was only for today.

“I bet you’re starving. I know I am! But the luncheon is just waiting for the guests of honor to arrive.” My damn stomach rumbled in response and he chuckled. “Yes, ma’am. Extra speed it is.” 

I could smell the soups from the far end of the hallway, and my stomach roared even louder. I could practically taste the potato leek soup already. Dominic pushed the door open for me, and I was met by a medium-sized room. People milled about, chatting and staring longingly at the buffet table.

“Let’s eat!” Dominic raised our hands triumphantly, and the room burst into cheers. He brought me up to the buffet first to start the line. I filled my plate with salads of all varieties and a bowl with the coveted potato soup, then headed for the table at the head of the room. 

Finally, we’d reached part of the day that I didn’t dread! I didn’t even wait for Dominic to sit down before I dug into my lunch. Half the soup was gone before my ‘husband’ slid into the seat next to me and began to chuckle. 

“Good thing I cut off the photo session, or you might have started eating the photographer. I’ll make sure to carry snacks in my pocket for my dear wife in the future.” He lightly rapped his knuckles against my head and started into his own salad. 

I forced myself to laugh and returned to my meal, fuming. Okay, I probably should have known his antics wouldn’t change when we were married. This is the kind of thing he’d do when we were alone in his office all the time. But it felt…different now, somehow. Maybe it was the audience, or the way the word ‘wife’ slipped so easily from his lips, like it was real. 

Whatever the case may be, I spent the rest of the meal plotting my revenge. He was taking advantage of the wedding and our need to act like a proper couple. Probably enjoying the hell out of himself, too. After the reception, though? He was fair game.