“So sorry, everyone, had to put out a couple of fires with the personal touch.”He turned to Jennings.“Sir, I hope I addressed any qualms you have, but if you have anything more to ask or say—”
Not a thing, my boy,” Jennings boomed, standing.“Except congratulations, and to start calling me Jed, dammit! You’re lucky to have found this little lady, and I’m lucky, too. I’ll sign the papers and we’ll all move on.” Sotto voce—or as sotto as Mr. Jennings’s voce could go:“Everyone’s got a bit of a past. All you can do it keep it from dragging down your future.”
“I couldn’t agree more, sir,” Grant said, with the grace to look repentant.
They shook hands, and as Jennings left, Grant swept me into a bear hug.
“I am so lucky to have you.”
“Damn straight,” I whispered into his ear.
I would have walked through fires to have this hug.
He laughed, and I loved the way his body felt against mine when he did.
“You said it, partner.”
I was glad he couldn’t see my eyes welling up as I dried them against his collar. Anyway, they were mostly tears of joy.
? ? ?
All that good luck must have made a huge dent in my cosmic bank account, because when we got back to Grant’s office, Portia was waiting for us.
She rose slowly, all blue and black and white, like a bitchy Siberian tiger stalking its prey.“Well, Grant dear, it looks like your inability to walk without tripping and falling into someone’s cunt has come home to roost at last. I’m only impressed that you somehow managed to get your dick stuck in two at the same time.”
I saw red, and words flew out of my mouth before I could stop myself.“Look, it was just a stupid mistake, it’s not as if he did anything really terrible—”
Portia steamrolled right over me as though I were a paper cup in the path of a tank.“I’m not going to let you throw your family’s name away like this, Grant. I’m moving the wedding up!”
Well, if that was all she wanted, that wasn’t too bad, I’d been expecting her to get out the iron maiden at least— “The two of you are getting married this weekend!”
…holy fucking hell.
TEN
I couldn’t believe that girl in the mirror was me.
She was clad in a wedding dress like a cloud, sleeveless and low-cut but slowly expanding into a lacy sweetheart train embroidered with silver thread and seed pearls. My dark hair was twisted into a simple but classic updo, and my makeup had been done professionally for the first time since my college graduation.
Then the fitter pricked me with a pin, and I definitely believed the girl in the mirror was me.“Ouch!”
“Watch it!”Kate said.“This is a bride, not a pincushion.”
“Thorry,”the woman said through lips clenched tight around spare pins.“It’th a bit tricky. I’m doing my betht.”
“It’s all right,”I said absently, my gaze drawn back to the mirror. The girl in the mirror mouthed those words along with me, and I imagined her speaking other words:…till death do us part…I do…
“Breathe,”Kate said.“I’ve heard most people need to do that.”
“This is happening too fast,”I whispered, steadying myself with a hand against the wall.“There was just supposed to be a month-long pretend engagement, and now I’m actually going to be walking down the aisle in this—” I gestured weakly at the dress.
“Work of art,” Kate supplied.
“’Ank you!” the fitter said with a pin-filled grin.
“It doesn’t feel right.” Ha. That was the understatement of the century. I was in a dress worth more than some small countries, I was being jabbed with pins by a complete stranger, and the man I was putting all this effort in for didn’t even love me. Somehow, I had never imagined the fitting for my wedding dress feeling quite so wrong.
So why wasn’t I calling it off? Why wasn’t I marching back to Grant and throwing his engagement ring in his face?
When had I become so conflicted?
Kate put her hands on my shoulders.“It’s still a business arrangement, just a different ring on your finger. And if there’s one thing my girl Lacey Newman knows, it’s business.”
I shot Kate a warning look—better not to gossip in front of the employees. Who knew what tabloid they might sell their eavesdropping material to?
“Excuse me,”I said to the assistant.“I’m getting terribly thirsty, do you think you could get me some water? And a straw so I don’t drip on your dress?”
“Thertainly, Mith Newman!” she said, spitting her pins into her hand.
I felt my spine relax instantly, and I wondered how much of my anxiety had been fear that she was about to swallow one of them.
“The lies are just getting bigger and bigger,”I said to Kate when she was gone, twisting the engagement ring around on my finger.“Plus, after we…hooked up, again…”
I flashed to the feel of Grant over me, setting a steady rhythm as his hands stroked my breasts, my stomach, my thighs…
“So you get to marry a rich guy you like having sex with, awesome!”Kate said.“You gotta look on the bright side, girl! This ishis basically the ending of every single fairy tale ever.”