The Wedding Hoax Read Online Free

Brides aren’t spending money on huge weddings anymore.”
    “That’s why we need to do something drastic,” Mason said. “If we give brides a good reason to come to my shows or to pick up Cole’s magazine for the next update on your wedding, it’ll also make them want to buy the things they see showcased—like your bridal gowns.”
    “And you really think that seeing us get married is going to make brides around the country want the wedding we show them?” Cole asked.
    “Yes, I do,” Mason said, leaning forward and looking serious.
    “Why us?” Daisy asked, glancing at Cole. “Why not some celebrity couple?”
    “Because celebrity lifestyles are unattainable. I need a romance brides can actually relate to, and that’s where you come in, Daisy. You and Cole are the perfect mix, since you’re both recognizable yet Daisy is not famous. And the fact that you have a history together will make it all the more believable that you’re getting married. The media already loves you two. The coffee-shop incident is all the proof I needed to convince me of that. You’re a walking contradiction—the playboy who would never get married has finally been caught by one of the country’s up-and-coming bridal-gown designers. I can see the headlines now—‘The Bachelor Takes a Bride!’”
    “And you expect us to go through with an actual ceremony?” Cole asked, his throat tightening around the last word.
    “What I expect is for you to get engaged and plan a wedding. I don’t care if you loathe each other in private. I want you to appear to the public as a couple reunited and deeply in love, willing to spend a fortune to start your new life together with an extravagant celebration. You would make an appearance or two at my bridal shows so that new, hopefully excited, brides could be involved with your wedding planning—voting to choose everything from your rings to your shoes to your dress and even your honeymoon destination. There would be very little planning you have to do yourselves. You only have to show up and look like you love each other. Easy.”
    Maybe for another fake couple that would be easy, but could he and Daisy pull it off?
    “And when the time comes to say, ‘I do,’ you fake it,” Mason continued. “No one has to know the marriage isn’t legitimate, at least not until after the fact.”
    “Sounds like a great way to piss off our new clients,” she said.
    “Agreed. How could we fool our clients and then expect them to take the joke all in good fun?”
    “True.” Mason drummed his fingers on the table with an expression of deep thought. “Then maybe after the fake wedding, we tell the truth, and to soften the blow we’ll pick a random winner who will get an all-expenses-paid honeymoon to the destination they voted for. And maybe you can give away a few free subscriptions for the magazine. And Daisy a gown. By the time this is all over, you will be substantially more financially secure and able to easily afford the giveaway.”
    “How much more secure are we talking exactly?” Cole asked. His interest was piqued now that he knew his marriage to Daisy wouldn’t have to be real. It was worth considering—for the right price.
    “One hundred thousand now to keep your businesses running as soon as you sign my contract and an additional two hundred thousand when you walk down the aisle. Each.”
    Cole stopped pacing and sat back down at the table. That was a lot of money. Definitely more money than he’d hoped for. If he had that kind of cash for the magazine, he could keep things running for a long time. He might even be able to convince his father he was successful.
    Daisy sat with her back ramrod straight, her eyes full of fire. Could he pretend to marry her to save his business? Maybe. It wasn’t as if their previous relationship had been completely terrible. Hell, the sex had been the best of his life. But their breakup had been messy.
    She’d never been content to leave things as