She squeezes my hand. “Drink champagne and look loved up. I always find the more bubbles I drink the better-looking the men around me get. And since my grandson is so handsome to begin with…”
“Granny, stop.” Kade marches over to me. “Are you up to this? The reception, the president gives a speech, then dinner. We can keep it short.”
“Surely all your family and friends will be able to see through my act? They’ll work it out, somehow. I don’t know if I’m convincing enough.” My voice is all squeaky.
“They aren’t here. A friend of my father was married last week, in Bali. My parents are traveling there and don’t get back for another two weeks. The guests here are members of the country club, they don’t know me well.”
“Won’t your parents be upset that you got married?” I stand up and smooth out my dress.
“I’ll tell them it was fake. Dad will be impressed by my ingenuity, Mom will take more convincing.”
I shake my head. “I can spot some serious holes in your plan. Like, how did we meet?”
He frowns. “I don’t need you to analyze the plan. Just play your part. Say we met in a bar in New York last year, if anyone asks. Are we agreed?”
I’m about to say no, that this is all crazy, but then Horace’s little furry face flashes into my head. Fifty thousand dollars would pay off his hospital bills and set me up well for the next few years. I’m in a luxurious country club with the man that hundreds, maybe thousands, of women have been throwing themselves at for years. I just have to pretend to be in love with him.
It’s madness, but that warm pull in my core makes me reckless.
“Agreed. Let’s do this!”
ChapterFour
KADE
I glance over at Minna as the president taps on the side of his glass with a knife and the chatter in the huge dining room quietens down.
Some of her dark hair has escaped from the coiled braids around her face and her cheeks are flushed. Those pink cheeks make my dick twitch. Are her nipples that same rosy color? What about her ass, if I spanked it? She meets my gaze and our eyes lock.
Henrik Blamore smiles smoothly at us. I hate this prick. He’s the kind of man who’d give a fake penny to a beggar, as my father likes to say. And he’s had a long-running vendetta against our family, starting with my grandfather many years ago. But of course, now that I'm a member, he’ll act like he’s my best friend, while looking for ways to stab me in the back.
But this weasel of a president’s days are numbered. I have my eye on him and if my plan works out in the way it should, he won’t be in charge of this place for much longer.
“It’s been my absolute pleasure to know three generations of the Harrington family. And now Kade is finally joining the club. Such a shame his parents couldn’t be here tonight, but we are of course delighted to have the lovely Gwendolyn Harrington with us.”
Granny receives a warm round of applause and Henrik holds up his hands, impatient to carry on with his speech.
“Gwendolyn’s husband Edmund is sadly no longer with us. Which reminds me of a story.”
Granny’s eyes widen and she shakes her head. There are few things that can ruffle my grandmother, so I immediately sit up and take notice.
Henrik smiles that oily grin. “Edmund was planning to give Gwendolyn the Harrington diamonds as a wedding gift. But we all went carousing the night before and he managed to lose them. According to the gossip of the time, the wedding was nearly called off. So careless!”
My grandmother looks like she’s going to rise from her seat and go punch him. I would happily do the same, but it doesn’t fit with my plan. I catch her eye and shake my head.
Still chuckling, Henrik raises a glass. “We can only hope Kade is alittlemore careful with his property. And that includes, of course, his beautiful new bride Minna. What a delight to welcome such a beauty to our humble club. Keep a tight hold on Kade, Minna, I hear he’squitethe man about town. Was, of course, now he’s married. But the most important thing now is upholding our club’s traditional values.”
He looks over at me. “And I believe that we will only have one Harrington son joining the club, thanks to those same traditional values.”
I bash my fist quietly up against the table from underneath. I expected this, but it’s still hard to hear coming from this pompous prick.
His horrible smile gets even broader. “Let’s raise our glasses to the bride and groom, and to our club’s long, unblemished history.”
As everyone clinks their glasses together, Minna leans over. I inhale her orange blossom scent and can’t resist taking her hand in mine. The diamond ring Daniel sourced so quickly is wrong for her little hand. It’s too modern in style, with its geometric lines and flashy cut.
“Why did he say only one Harrington? And all the stuff about traditional values?” Her voice is low.
“My brother’s gay. He’d be turned down if he wanted to join. They’d disguise it, because of anti-discrimination laws, but I bet he wouldn’t become a member while Henrik is in charge.”
