I nod, and we drive in silence for a few minutes until I realize there’s something we forgot to discuss.
“So I guess the goal for tonight is to make it seem like you’re off the market for good?” I ask.
“It would be helpful, yeah,” he says.
“So we need to convince Nina we’re madly in love.”
“Basically. I mean, without being obnoxious about it.”
“I think couples who are madly in love are obnoxious by definition.”
He chuckles. “Just do your best.”
“Okay. But couples in love are looking for any excuse to touch each other, right? So would you be okay with holding hands, that sort of stuff?”
There’s a beat of silence before he replies. “If you’re comfortable with it, it’s fine with me.”
“Yeah, I think it makes sense.”
Another pause before he answers. “Okay.”
He turns off the road onto a gravel lane, through a metal gate that’s been left open. Thirty seconds later, the cottage comes into view.
But cottage seems like the wrong word for the stone and cedar structure, which is bigger than my parents’ house. A large wooden deck wraps around the front, and Lake Ontario shimmers off to the side. There’s a smaller cabin behind the main building, probably for guests or staff.
“Wow,” I breathe.
“Impressive, huh?” Drew says, as he pulls up behind a Mercedes SUV and an Audi convertible.
“Very.” It’s both impressive and tasteful, and it seems to fit with its surroundings. Drew told me the Tates were low profile, and I see what he means; this cottage could belong to a regular rich family, not an obscenely rich one.
But I still wouldn’t call it a cottage. This is a vacation home.
Drew reaches around and plucks something off the backseat. “Chocolates,” he explains, holding up a box of truffles from aspecialty store downtown. “I never know what to bring to the Tates’.”
And just like that, it feels like we’re in this together. Just two everyday people who don’t quite know what to bring to a dinner party with billionaires. “Well, everyone loves chocolate,” I say.
We get out of the car, and Drew extends his hand to me. After a split second’s hesitation, I reach out to take it. His fingers curl around mine with just the right amount of pressure, and I feel a twinge of excitement shoot down to my toes.
“Ready?” he asks, and I realize I’ve frozen in the driveway.
“Yep.” I gather my courage, and Drew and I walk up to the door hand in hand.
TWELVE
ALLY
Drew rings the doorbell, and it’s answered by a perky blonde wearing a pink T-shirt and jeans. This must be Nina’s mother.
“Hi, Drew,” she says brightly. “And you must be Alexandra, I’m so glad you could come. I’m Danielle Tate.”
Danielle’s smile looks genuine, and I return it. “Thanks for inviting me, Mrs. Tate,” I say.
“Oh, call me Danielle,” she says easily. “Come on in, guys. Oh, these look delicious,” she says when Drew hands her the box of chocolates.
Peter Tate materializes at Danielle’s side, and greets us as warmly as she did. He’s dressed casually too, in jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. Maybe this dinner won’t be so bad.
The inside of the cottage is both elegant and cozy. There are plenty of windows, and the last of the daylight gleams on hardwood floors dotted with colorful rugs. A huge stone fireplace dominates one wall.
