The Stand-In Bride Refusal novel · Chapter 2 of 24
Chapter 2: Delilah at the Door
Willa says yes as herself, and the real bride arrives at the church door demanding her groom.
I should have pulled my hand free.
Instead I looked at the man holding it.
"You know my name," I said.
"My grandmother told me at the engagement dinner," Rowan said, low enough that only I could hear. "She pointed at the girl carrying the soup."
"And you said nothing."
"I said nothing."
His jaw tightened, and for one second he looked ashamed.
"Then you can fix it now," I said. "In front of them. Use my name, my vows, and no one else's."
"That's what I'm asking."
The officiant cleared his throat.
"Mr. Verran, I'm not sure the license..."
"Read it again," Rowan said, without looking away from me. "Willa Larkin."
The officiant looked at the first row.
Mrs. Verran gave him one small nod.
He turned the page.
"Do you, Willa Larkin, take this man."
My mother's deed was still pressed against my ribs.
For six years I had said yes to every order in that house.
This was the first time anyone had asked.
"I do," I said.
It came out steady.
"Do you, Rowan Verran, take this woman."
"I do," Rowan said, before the man had finished.
Someone in the back started to clap, then stopped.
The officiant lifted his hand.
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you..."
The doors banged open.
Cold air rolled down the aisle, and every head turned.
A blonde woman in a camel coat and jeans stood in the doorway.
Her hair was tangled and her mascara had run.
It was Delilah.
"Stop," she screamed. "That's my wedding!"
Nobody moved.
Rowan did not let go of my hand.
He pulled me closer, until my shoulder pressed into his chest, and he put his other arm around my back.
He looked down at me.
"Is this what you want?" he said.
"Yes," I said.
He kissed me.
It was not polite.
His mouth was warm and sure, and his hand slid up under my loose hair and held the back of my head.
I grabbed his lapel and kissed him back, and the church went completely silent.
When he lifted his head, I was breathless.
Over his shoulder I saw Delilah at the end of the aisle with her mouth open.
She had never once looked at me like that.
Like I was the one with something she wanted.
"Willa," she said, coming forward in her sneakers. "What did you do?"
"I got married," I said.
"To my fiancé!"
"You left him an hour before the ceremony," Rowan said.
His voice was perfectly calm.
It carried to the last pew.
"I had a flat tire," Delilah said.
"Your car is still in the church lot."
Delilah stopped.
Somebody in the pews laughed, and then somebody else.
Constance came out of the side door, pale and furious, and grabbed her daughter's elbow.
"Delilah, say nothing."
"Mom, he's marrying the maid..."
"Be quiet."
"He can't!"
"He can," said Mrs. Verran.
She had not raised her voice.
She stood up from the front pew, small and straight, and every person in the church turned toward her.
"My grandson has stood at this altar and said his vows to this young woman," she said. "I heard them. Three hundred people heard them."
"But the license..."
"The license will say what the officiant says it says," said Mrs. Verran. "Sit down, Miss Larkin."
Delilah looked at her mother.
Constance looked at the floor.
Delilah sat in the nearest pew.
Rowan took my hand again.
He walked me back down the aisle, past three hundred people, straight toward the doors.
Flashbulbs went off at the church steps.
A black car waited at the curb.
He opened the door and I climbed in with my skirt bunched in my fists.
He got in beside me and shut us inside.
The noise cut off.
My shoulders came down, the tension breaking after months of dread.
"Thank you," I said, and my voice cracked.
"Don't thank me yet."
He turned toward me.
In the close dark of the car his eyes were pale grey, and they were not kind.
They were serious.
"I need a wife for three weeks, Willa," he said. "Until a board vote."
"You walked in and said no to everyone, and that is the only reason this worked."
"What's the catch?"
"The catch is that I didn't tell you what I needed from your family."
He reached into his jacket and took out a folded slip of paper.
It was a check stub.
At the bottom it said Constance Larkin, and a number with six zeros.
← Chapter 1 · All chapters · Chapter 3 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend