“Do you still have no passcode on your phone?”

“I don’t have one, but–”

“He must’ve got his hands on it at some point. Last night, maybe. When we were out in the hallway, you left your stuff at the table. Shoes and your bag and your phone right there in the open. I didn’t think about it, but I grabbed your things when I went back to make excuses for us. Maybe he snooped your messages then? Sent them to himself or something?”

I pinched my nose, wishing I could just scream.

“Hold on,” I said. “I need to do something.”

I found the microphone they’d taken from Alec and tapped it a few times. Everyone in the room went silent and looked my way.

“I need to tell all of you I’m so, so sorry. Especially you, Lizzie. What Alec said was true. Dean and I never wanted to trick anyone. We both just wanted space from dating and the idea seemed harmless at the time. Then the conference happened and we realized we’d both be here. Then there was the wedding. Once I knew, it felt too late to call the fake relationship off. I was worried it’d ruin Lizzie’s wedding week or that she’d have to start worrying if I was okay when she should be focused on enjoying her day. And…” I trailed off when Lizzie got up, dress bunched in her fists. She stormed out the front and Jonas went after her. My mom and dad shot me a look that hurt right down to my soul, then went out the front as well.

I hung my head and let the microphone fall with an amplified “thump” and a whine of feedback.

“Shee,” Curtis said softly. “I ain’t seen drama like this since Aunt Martha told Cousin Curtis those nuts he likes to snack on by her sittin’ chair is really the insides of peanut M&M’s after she sucks off the hard shell, cause her teeth can’t handle the–”

Lane gave him a whack that shut him up.

Marley came up to me, her expression somewhere between smiling and wincing. “Well, you didn’t screw everything up. You got us that week off. So… yay?”

People were starting to filter out of the room, even though I knew the plan had been for dancing and music to go on for several more hours. I felt like the worst person on Earth. I picked up the microphone. “Guys, please stay. I’m sure Lizzie and Jonas are going to come back. I’ll leave. You don’t have to.”

Dean came to my side and took the microphone. “At midnight, I’ll give twenty grand to two random winners. You’ve got to be here to collect.”

My words hadn’t done anything to stem the tide of leaving guests, but Dean’s got turned heads. Several people came back in from outside, looking around to see if they’d heard him right.

“Yep. That’s right. I’ll give two blank checks to Steph. She’ll hand them out at midnight. Write your name on a piece of paper and drop it on the table by the cake. If you’re not here when the names are called, she’ll call someone else. Oh, and if you don’t look like you’re having fun, Steph will disqualify you.”