Chad blinked. “Cassie’s already engaged,” he said finally.
“Your other daughter.”
“Avery,” he spat.
I tensed. Even though Avery was my fake girlfriend, she was still mine, and what kind of father despised his daughter?
“Avery is an exceptional young woman,” I started to say.
“She’s just like her mother,” Chad snapped. “She’s manipulative and a sociopath. Her mother targeted me, got pregnant on purpose, and then got herself arrested and stuck me with Avery. And instead of having any shame, Avery continues to try and weasel her way into my family. Now she’s tangled you in her trap. Trust me, you need to run far away from her.”
“I assure you, I am fully in control of my mental capabilities,” I said. “Avery is the perfect woman for me. Now I don’t need your blessing to marry her, but I thought I would ask as a courtesy.”
“Fine,” her father sneered. “Marry the useless girl. I don’t care. Don’t come crying to me when she screws you over though.”
“I have no such intentions,” I said, standing up and setting the scotch on the table.
12
Avery
Meeting Blade’s family had been a nerve-wracking experience. It wasn’t that a large number of his brothers were billionaires and powerful men. It was that they clearly did not trust me. They were polite enough. His little brothers were curious, but any of the Svenssons over the age of fifteen looked at me as if I was one of theReal Housewivestrying to sink her fake nails into their brother.
Then Blade had just disappeared. I had lain awake, half anticipating, half dreading that he would come into the room. Eventually, I had fallen asleep from the exhaustion and stress. When I awoke, there was no sign that he had come in.
Would I have to sleep with Blade? I supposed eventually, if we did get married, I would have to live with him. Maybe we would have separate beds like in those old 1950s TV shows, each of us in our little twin bed. Nope, no sex for us; babies would just miraculously appear.
I jumped out of bed. I couldn’t have a baby with Blade. That would be…Well, I figured he would be a good father, butgah!We couldn’t bring a baby into a fake marriage!
No sex. Remember the rules.
Avery:I think this is a mistake.
Edward:Think of how Cassie is going to look when you roll up with your billionaire boyfriend.
Shirley:Make him buy you a nice purse and parade it in front of her.
Avery:I can’t do that! His family already thinks I’m some gold-digging monster.
I sighed. It was only eight o’clock, but I could hear activity outside my window. Normally I liked to sleep in on the weekend, then follow it up with booze, brunch, and wondering how my life went so wrong.
“You better go downstairs and be a good houseguest,” I told myself.
The estate house was enormous, and I didn’t remember how Blade had brought me upstairs. I wandered down several hallways until I found a back staircase. It took me downstairs into a kitchen that looked like it had come out of a magazine, sporting a huge bank of ovens, Sub-Zero fridges, and a large range that looked as big as I was. Too bad I wasn’t a cook. I was more of a takeout girl. Not that I was able to cook in the apartment I shared even if I wanted to. We usually stored things in the oven. The last time I had tried to bake cookies, I had forgotten to take the stored stuff out of the oven and had melted a Tupperware container on the bottom of it.
As I slowly turned and admired the kitchen, I heard voices coming through the butler’s pantry to what was most likely the dining room.
“Maybe he has a brain tumor. We should take him to the doctor.” Was that Blade’s brother Mace?
“It could be mad cow disease. Prions latch onto your brain, and boom, it’s all over. He’ll be dead in three months.” That was definitely Blade’s brother Parker.
“He better not marry her, then, if he’s going to die,” Garrett said. “She’ll just take half his money. I mean, seriously, look at her.”
I crept closer to the doorway to hear better.
“You’re being hypocritical,” Penny snapped at Garrett, “considering I was your assistant when we met. As I recall, we were definitely engaging in unprofessional activities while you were my boss.”
“The only reason you think this is a good idea is because you just want to have a wedding to display in the magazine,” Garrett retorted.
