Her laugh was feeble. “I’m sorry.” She pulled back enough to look at him. “We have reservations at the White Elephant for the week. Is that okay?” He had his work, after all. But if they didn’t take a honeymoon, people would wonder.

“I have a couple jobs to finish up this week, but I’ll get them pushed back.” He pulled her closer. “The White Elephant, huh? Your publisher went all out.”

She moved her hand down his shoulder. “The hotel offered an unbelievable rate. They’ll get a lot of publicity.”

“Surprised you didn’t want to go to Hawaii or something.”

She shrugged. “Nantucket’s done so much for me. I wanted to do something to help the community. The publicity is good for the island.” She smoothed the stiff lapels of his jacket. He’d put it back on for the dance. For the photos that were being snapped.

He’d been a perfect gentleman all evening. She was beginning to wonder why he’d gotten on her nerves before. “Thanks for not shoving the cake in my face,” she said.

His lips tilted. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

The singer crooned the chorus, but Kate kept her eyes on Lucas. They were supposed to be the “happy couple.” It was harder than she’d imagined; the pretending was wearing her out.

“So when does this shindig end?”

Not soon enough. “The band has to stop at nine thirty.”

Lucas started to look at Kate’s watch, but she grabbed his hand and kissed it. The hairs on the back of his hand tickled her lips. “You’re dancing with your bride. Time is meaningless.”

His eyes clouded, and he settled his hand at her waist, looking away.

“When the band winds down, we’ll make our exit,” she said. “There’s a carriage scheduled to take us to the White Elephant.”

It hit her how deceiving appearances could be. For all that this looked like a fairy-tale wedding, a true marriage, it was a farce. Empty and fake, it was an elaborate mansion, gutted on the inside.

“I haven’t packed.” He spun them around, surprisingly graceful.

“That’s taken care of.”

The flash of a bulb flared just off the dance floor. She gave Lucas her “adoring bride” smile, letting her eyes rove lovingly over the planes of his face even though she was seeing black spots, as the photographer snapped half a dozen more photos. When he stepped away, she continued. “Anna is going to grab some things for you tonight. That is, if you don’t mind her riffling through your stuff. You can pick up the rest of your things tomorrow.”

“Not sure how I feel about a stranger riffling through my underwear drawer.”