I smiled. "Just Daemen is fine. I don't like to think of myself as anything special."
I mean, Iwasspecial, being a demon and all—but no need to spill the beans about that to his parents just yet.
"Humble, too," Miguel's mother said fondly to her husband, nudging him. Then she squeeze-hugged her son. "Oh, Miguel, I'm so proud of you! You finally found a partner and he's perfect!"
"Yeah, I'm happy too," he said. The glossy coat of joy in his voice didn't fully cover up that telltale wistfulness beneath it. Nobody seemed to notice it except me. There was something bothering him. Was it the fact that hestillthought this was fake? My poor mate.
To reassure him, I held him closer so that I was practically pressing him to my chest. He blushed but didn't pull away, enjoying the moment.
"But where are my manners?" I said. "I haven't met the bride-to-be yet."
Sally waved at us. "Howdy, doctor. Future brother-in-law."
She had an easygoing, down-to-earth aura about her and I liked her immediately.
"So you approve of our marriage?" Maria teased her brother as she clung to Sally's arm.
"Of course!" Miguel said.
Maria quirked an eyebrow expectantly, like she was waiting for him to say the same thing. He finally got the hint.
"Er, do you?" he asked. "Approve of us, I mean?"
Maria flashed a mischievous grin, sizing up the both of us. "Obviously. You two are a perfect match."
Had Maria already figured it out? From her comment earlier I assumed she knew about our faking ploy, but did she recognize that there was something more to it? I got the feeling she wasn't quite as dense as her brother.
"Anyway, come on in," Maria said. "We have the dinner all set up. Oh, and Dad, I need to talk to you about the DJ..."
As the rest of Miguel's immediate family headed for the table, Miguel hung back and let out a long-held breath.
"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.
He shot me a haggard smile. "Nothing. That's the thing. That was... perfect."
"Then why do you not seem happy?"
"I can't tell you," he mumbled.
"Why?"
"It's too pathetic."
"Miguel," I said sternly. "What did I say about speaking that way?"
He'd been staring at the floor but he raised his gaze at my reprimand. "Because I asked you to do this for me. This is all just a favor. It's not real. And... I guess my heart can't handle that."
Oh, how badly I wanted to throw Miguel down on the well-worn banquet hall carpet and have my way with him. But I respected Maria too much to make her endure such a scene during her rehearsal dinner.
But since being affectionate was acceptable, I didn't hold myself back. I stroked Miguel's hair and snaked my fingers down his back, slipping beneath his suit jacket to touch his skin through his undershirt. A tiny sound escaped his lips.
"Just focus on getting through this dinner," I whispered in his ear, close enough to make him shudder. "You've already gone through all this effort. Don't throw it away now by blowing your cover."
"Yeah." He blew out a breath. "Okay, let's do this."
"Don't forget you canenjoyme, too." To illustrate my point, I subtly squeezed his ass for good measure. I hoped he understood that PDA was fair game as this was our one of two final battles as 'fake' boyfriends.
But if my plan worked, it wouldn't be fake after tonight.
