“Well, my parents are obviously going to be there. Knowing my mother, they’re going to slip an engagement announcement into the program.”
“Yeah, I suspected as much,” I said.
In their world, a whirlwind romance leading to a quick marriage wasn’t scandalous. It was practically tradition. If anything, the speed of it all would only make the story juicier for the guests.
“What about CC? Has she told her friends yet?”
I scoffed. “Probably, but if I’m being honest, I’m a little put off by the way she’s been behaving. She didn’t say a word to you at dinner. Did she talk to you yesterday at the hospital?”
“Briefly, but I get what you mean. Something has been off about my mom’s behavior since she found out, too. I’m not a fan of either of them right now.”
I hummed my agreement. “CC wasn’t exactly warm to you. Do you think your parents are going to be the same with me?”
Her brush paused mid-stroke as she touched up her makeup. “She wasn’t unkind, but no. She wasn’t warm. She’s skeptical. I understand it, but you don’t have to worry about my parents.”
She gave me a smile. “They’re going to love you. For what it’s worth, my mother would’ve treated me the same way yours did, taking my measure and deciding if I’m a worthy investment. I’ve been watching her doing it to my brothers’ girlfriends since they first started dating.”
I frowned. “You are more than worthy.”
There was a flicker of something in her eyes, a softening that did things to my chest I wasn’t prepared for, but then she shook it off, smoothing her gown as she stepped away from the mirror.
“Either way, it doesn’t matter. They’ll announce our engagement, people will gasp, the orchestra will play louder to cover it, and we’ll be one step closer to everything being settled so we can get down to business.”
Business. Right. That’s what this was supposed to be.
I nodded and slipped my jacket back on. We were ready, both prepared to endure the night and do what we did best—strategizing, playing the game, and finalizing the deal.
Except that wasn’t what I wanted anymore.
Not when she was standing there in that gown, looking at me with a sparkle in her eye that dared me to forget the plan. Not when I remembered what it’d felt like to be inside her. How easily she’d laughed with my family and how well she’d fit in.
She caught me staring, her lips twitching like she knew exactly what was going through my head. “What?”
I stepped closer to her and lowered my voice. “What I want tonight has nothing to do with the ball. Or engagement announcements. Or our mothers.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really? What does it have to do with?”
I let my gaze travel deliberately over the impossible gown. “Getting that dress off you. Although it’s going to be a hell of a struggle. I might stop to buy a pair of scissors on the way home. Fair warning.”
Her responding laughter was soft and wicked, and it made me harder than a rock. I should’ve suggested we skip the damn ball altogether, barricade ourselves in her apartment, and convince her to let me slice through every strap, zipper, and button on that dress.
Instead, I held out my arm. “Shall we?”
She slipped her hand around my elbow, and unfortunately, that meant we were ready to leave. The drive to her parents’ place in Pacific Heights didn’t take long. By the time we pulled through the gates and up the long winding driveway, my jaw was already set.
Clearly, Aurelia’s parents didn’t do anything halfway. Every tree was wrapped in gold ribbon and twinkling with a thousand tiny bulbs. The whole place looked like a Christmas card.
Aurelia slipped her hand through my arm as we stepped out of the car, her ring catching the light spilling through the windows. She tilted her face up at me, her lips curving into a smile that was dangerous to my heart.
“Are you ready for this?” she asked softly.
“No, but don’t worry. I’m pretty good at playing this game.”
I really was. The games played by the elite were a story as old as time. Smiles that didn’t reach eyes. Questions disguised as compliments. I’d been raised in it and I’d survived, but this time, I wasn’t playing for myself.
The house smelled like cinnamon and pine inside. A choir sang carols from somewhere I couldn’t see, guests already mingling with flutes of champagne in their hands. Regina and Richard swept toward us in practiced unison, all warmth and poise.
“Darling,” Regina cooed, kissing Aurelia’s cheek like she hadn’t seen her for years. Richard clasped my hand with the firmness of a man who wanted to project more strength than he had. I expected the interrogation to start then, but it didn’t come.
