Chapter 1

The wedding was about to start. I opened the door—and found an Uber driver standing there.

"Your fiancé's a funny guy. He booked me to stand in for him at the wedding."

"Don't worry, I'll take it seriously."

"Feel free to leave a tip if you're happy with the service, thanks."

Before I could say a word, my phone buzzed with a message from Bennett Knight:

[Lauren, I called you an Uber. These things are way too boring, so I'm not coming.]

[The venue's booked by the hour. Don't be late.]

My best friend Piper Quinn slammed the bouquet on the ground and went off.

"Is Bennett out of his damn mind?"

"Yesterday at Camilla's wedding, he showed up two hours early and spent the whole afternoon blocking the press for her."

"Today it's his own wedding, and he can't even be bothered to show up?"

I thought about him yesterday—sweating, running around for Camilla—and suddenly I didn't even have it in me to be mad anymore.

I looked up at the Uber driver.

"How much did he pay you? I'll pay you twenty times what he did."

"Right now, you're my groom."

...

"...What?"

He blinked. The bridesmaids blinked too.

They were Piper's college friends. They didn't really know Bennett's crowd.

At first they thought the Uber guy was some kind of prank comedian. They were laughing.

Nobody saw this coming.

Piper moved first. She pulled a stack of cash from her bag and shoved it into his hand.

"Take this. I'll add more if it's not enough."

He looked at the cash. Looked at me. His mouth twitched.

"Not gonna lie, I've been driving Uber a long time and I've never gotten a request like this."

"But hey—money's money. You want to hire me, I'm in."

There was a little spark of excitement in his voice.

I checked my phone. Bennett hadn't texted again.

Figures.

He thought one impatient text would be enough to make me obey. He was sure I'd just obey.

Piper grabbed my arm:

"Don't go. Trash like that—let him wait. Let him wait till tomorrow."

I smirked. "He won't wait."

Ten minutes, tops. If I didn't show, he'd leave.

The guy had already pushed the door open and stepped aside, gesturing for me to go.

As I passed him, he dropped his voice:

"Miss Winthrop... when we get there, what am I supposed to be?"

"The groom."

He paused mid-step.

"Relax. It's just for show. Do it well, I'll double it."

He grinned. "Deal."

The door shut behind us. The hallway lights flickered on and off.

Piper's voice chased us through the crack:

"Lauren! Text me when you get there. When I show up, I swear I'm gonna—right in front of him and his mother—"

"Don't," I said. "He's not my problem anymore."

Halfway down the stairs, my phone lit up again.

Bennett: [How much longer?]

I didn't answer.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Elliot Sterling."

I nodded. My mind was already somewhere else.

When your heart finally lets go, everything becomes clear.

All the doubt, the pride, the holding on—gone. Just like that.

"Call me Lauren," I said.

He nodded and didn't say anything else.

Downstairs, he walked to a black sedan and opened the door. "Get in."

I gathered up my tangled dress and slid into the passenger seat.

The second the car started, my phone buzzed again.

Another message from Bennett. Sharper this time:

[Piper says you're not coming? Ten minutes. Or walk the aisle yourself.]

I got it. He must have asked Piper. She probably told him where to go.

But even then—he still wasn't coming to get me.

Elliot glanced at me in the rearview. "Still looking?"

I let out a breath and turned the phone off.

Wind blew through the half-open window, whipping my dress around.

The kind of thing you see in movies about runaway brides.

For me, it just felt like a bad joke.

How long had Bennett and I been together?

Ten years, give or take.

From college to now. Saying it didn't hurt would be a lie. Saying I didn't care would be worse.

But wasting myself on a wedding he wouldn't even show up to? Cutting it off now beats dragging it out.

The car turned a corner. Elliot's voice came from the driver's seat:

"So... do I get any lines at this thing?"

"Say whatever you want."

"Good." The laugh in his voice finally slipped out.

"Because I've never actually had a meal at a wedding like this."