Heartbreak

Lily couldn't believe that the man she'd been dating for six years was about to break her heart on what should have been their wedding day.

She was halfway to the venue when her maid of honor called, breathless with scandal. "Lily, I'm so sorry, but... Ryan's been spotted at the Grandview Hotel. With a woman. They looked... close."

At first, Lily wanted to laugh it off. Ryan was probably just handling some last-minute business thing, right? But the sick feeling in her stomach told her otherwise.

Twenty minutes later, she stood frozen in the doorway of room 412, watching her supposed groom enthusiastically "handling business" on top of a blonde she'd never seen before.

"Ryan!" The name exploded from her lips like a gunshot.

"Lily! Jesus—I can explain!" Ryan scrambled off the woman, hopping around the room while trying to pull on his boxers. The blonde yanked a sheet over her head like a ghost costume.

Lily stood there, bouquet trembling in her white-knuckled grip. "Six years, Ryan. Six years, and this is what I get? On our wedding day?"

"Baby, listen—"

"Don't you dare 'baby' me while you're still naked and she's still in our honeymoon suite bed!"

She hurled her bouquet at his head and stormed out, leaving a trail of scattered rose petals behind her.

Two hours later, Lily sat in her own hotel suite at the Standard, still in her wedding dress, working her way through what was supposed to be their celebration champagne. The irony wasn't lost on her—she was finally having a drink to celebrate, just not what she'd expected to be celebrating.

"How could he do this to me?" she mumbled to her reflection in the champagne flute. Her mascara had created abstract art down her cheeks.

She downed the last of the bottle for courage and stumbled toward the door. If Ryan thought he could ruin her day, he had another thing coming. She was going to... to... well, she'd figure out what she was going to do when she got downstairs.

The hotel lobby swayed gently as she made her entrance, her ivory gown trailing behind her like a drunken princess. That's when she spotted him—a man in what even her champagne-blurred vision could recognize as an expensive suit. A really expensive suit. On a really handsome man.

Perfect.

"You!" She pointed at the stranger with the accuracy of someone who'd had just enough champagne to be dangerous. "You're going to marry me. Right now."

James Watson, who'd been checking his watch and wondering where his arranged bride was, looked up to find a slightly swaying woman in a wedding dress pointing at him like he'd committed a crime.

"I'm sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else," he said politely, taking a subtle step backward.

"Oh no, I don't!" Lily advanced, poking him in the chest with surprising precision. "My scumbag fiancé just cheated on me with some bottle blonde, and you—" poke "—are going to restore my faith in men by marrying me properly!"

James glanced around the lobby, hoping someone would rescue him from this beautiful disaster. Instead, he caught sight of his best friend and assistant Louis, who was filming the entire scene on his phone with barely contained glee.

"Louis!" James hissed. "A little help here?"

"Are you kidding?" Louis grinned. "This is better than N*****x. I'm not interrupting."

"Look, miss—"

"It's Lily. Soon to be Mrs..." She squinted at him expectantly.

"Watson. James Watson. But really, you don't want to marry me—"

"That's where you're wrong, James Watson." Lily grabbed his arm with surprising strength. "I want to marry you more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. For the next... five minutes, anyway."

Before James could protest further, Lily began dragging him toward the hotel's wedding chapel. He could have easily broken free—she was barely five-foot-four and clearly intoxicated—but something about her fierce determination was oddly compelling.

"Ma'am, you're really not in any condition to make life-altering decisions," he tried reasoning with her.

"I'm in the perfect condition! I'm angry, I'm dressed for it, and I'm just drunk enough to follow through!" She paused mid-drag. "Plus, look at you. You're like... really attractive. This is probably the best decision I've made all day."

They stumbled into the chapel where an elderly minister looked up from his preparations with confusion.

"Mr. Watson! Your grandmother said you'd be here for your arranged marriage ceremony, but I wasn't expecting..." He gestured vaguely at Lily, who was now swaying to music only she could hear.

"Are you the guy who marries people?" Lily interrupted. "Great! We need the full package. This guy—" she waved at James "—is going to be my husband in approximately ten minutes."

"I'm sorry," the minister blinked, "aren't you Miss Adams? The bride arranged for Mr. Watson?"

"Never heard of her!" Lily giggled. "I'm about to be the new Mrs. Watson, and frankly, I think I bring a lot more personality to the table."

James found himself caught between his sensible inner voice screaming at him to run, and a reckless part of him that was genuinely curious about this whirlwind of a woman. When was the last time anything in his perfectly orchestrated life had been this spontaneous?

"You know what?" he heard himself saying. "Let's do it."

Louis dropped his phone. "Boss, are you serious right now?"

"Dead serious." James straightened his tie with a grin. "Life's been pretty boring lately."

"I KNEW IT!" Lily threw her arms around his neck, nearly knocking them both over. "I knew you were one of the good ones! We're going to have the most spontaneous marriage in history!"

The next hour passed in a blur of improvised vows ("I promise to never cheat on you, unlike some people whose names rhyme with 'Brian'"), hastily signed certificates, and a kiss that tasted like champagne and possibility.

"Well, Mrs. Watson," James said as they stumbled out of the chapel, "ready for whatever comes next?"

"Bring it on, husband," Lily grinned, still clinging to his arm. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Louis, trailing behind them with the marriage certificate, muttered, "Famous last words."

As they climbed into James's car, Lily turned to him with slightly clearer eyes. "Just so we're clear—you're not going to turn out to be some sort of serial killer or secret cult leader, are you?"

"Nope. Just a boring real estate guy."

"Perfect. I could use some boring after today."

James smiled as they drove toward his villa, wondering if he'd just made the best or worst decision of his life. Either way, it was certainly going to be interesting.

Back at the hotel, Louis waited for the real arranged bride, practicing his explanation in the mirror: "So, funny story about your fiancé..."