“Uh, thank you,” she murmurs before taking a long sip.
Preparing a plate of food and glass of wine for myself, I sit across from her and we eat in silence for several minutes. The air between us is tense, and there’s some definite awkwardness. I don’t remember the last time I ate dinner like this with a woman in my home. At least not one I’m not related to. I hardly ever bring women here. Other than the occasional dinner date to put my family at ease, all my intimate interactions with women take place in the controlled setting of the clubs I frequent.
This…this is new for me.
At length, I break the silence. “So, I’ve been thinking of the story we’ll tell our families of how we met and got together.”
Sutton glances up at me with an arched brow. “Oh? What’s that?”
“We met at Grace and Jensen’s wedding,” I say matter-of-factly. “Reunited at the Friendsmas in Estes Park. Pretty sure there’s a group photo of you wearing my jersey from that weekend, so we can use that as proof if we need to. Did the long distance thing for a while, but kept it quiet because we wanted to be sure we were serious before going public. We didn’t want to cause drama for our families or bring in the excess media attention it would inevitably create.”
Sutton scrunches up her nose as she thinks, and it’s so fucking adorable I have to shove a piece of chicken into my mouth to keep from saying so.
“That’s a good idea,” she says. “It’s a solid story and makes some amount of sense… but let’s say that you approached me first. I was just so beautiful, you couldn’t help yourself.”
She snickers and I can’t help grinning “All right, I’m good with that,” I say. “Totally believable, honestly. And let’s add onto that. For the sake of my manly pride, you gave me your number without me even having to ask.”
Letting out a laugh, she nods. “Okay, fair. That sounds like an acceptable story. I’m game.”
Swallowing my chicken, I give her a small smile. “Good. I’m glad. Fun aside, it’s important we’re on the same page when shit really hits the fan?—”
At that moment, my phone starts to ring. I pull it out and see it’s my Grandfather. Definitely need to take this one.
As if reading my mind, Sutton says, “I’ll let you answer that. I should go call my parents now anyway and tell them before they find out some other way. Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome.” I watch her get up from the island and head back toward the hall and her room. Once she’s out of sight, I let out a small breath and answer my phone.
“Hey, Grandfather,” I say, putting the call on speaker.
“Jayce!” He exclaims. “I’m here with your parents. You’ve been holding out on us!”
“Yeah,” I begin. “Sorry about that…”
“A Holloway!” Dad cuts in, sounding excited. “What a fine match, son, and what a very pleasant surprise.”
I don’t often get praise from Dad, so I’m a little taken aback for a moment.
“Uh…yeah,” I finally reply. “Sutton is a really great girl. We’re very happy.”
“Why didn’t you tell us you were seeing someone?” Mom asks.
“We wanted to keep it private until we were sure it was serious,” I explain, using the story I just told Sutton. Glancing up, I find her standing in the hall, her expression questioning. I give her a reassuring nod and she returns it before continuing on to her room.. “Given how high profile each of our families are, we didn’t want to draw undue attention or cause any unnecessary drama.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you,” Grandfather declares. “You’ve done a wonderful thing here, my boy. I’ll never doubt your intentions for your future with Parker Global again.”
A wave of satisfaction washes over me. This is exactly what I was hoping for with this wild plan.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” I can’t help my smile as I clutch the phone harder. “I’m sorry to cut this conversation short, but I should get going. Sutton and I are celebrating…”
“Oh, yes, yes.” Grandfather almost sounds giddy. “We won’t keep you. Congratulations, Jayce.”
“Be sure to bring your fiance around to meet us soon,” Mom says.
“So proud of you, son,” Dad adds.
I hang up the call and sit back in my chair. Fuck, it’s working. I can hardly believe this crazy scheme is actually working this quickly. On the one hand, it’s such a relief to actually have my parents’ approval, as well as Grandfather’s, but on the other hand, there’s a small twisting of disappointment in my stomach because I do wish I didn’t have to lie to earn it.
Shaking my head, I push that thought away. This is what I wanted, so I just need to focus on the positives of the situation. I finish my meal, clean up our plates, and head to my room for a quick shower. When I’m done, I step into my bedroom, a towel wrapped around my waist, I make sure my door is shut tight and sit on the edge of my massive bed with black silk sheets and dark comforter, fresh thanks to Mrs. Cross.
