“Hello, Brianna,” I say politely, trying to keep the strain out of my voice. “You’re looking as beautiful as ever. Gavin’s a lucky man.”
She walks over, gesturing at me with a smile. “Looking good yourself, Mr. Fiancé. What is that, Gucci?”
I chuckle. “Thanks. I figured I’d play the part. Mindy’s supposed to have this stud of a date, so I dressed down a little.”
Brianna chuckles, then leans in to whisper to me. “Thank you for doing this.”
I shake my head. I still don’t get why this charade is needed, but whatever. “It’s no problem. I think it’ll be fun,” I say, trying to restrain a grin from spreading across my face.
Brianna gives me a measured look, and I wonder how much her husband has told her about me.
“I think that’s it,” Mindy says, pulling our attention to her. She has a small hoard of luggage. She’s packed for a month, not a damn week. “So where’s the redcap?”
Brianna winks at me and stands on her tiptoes to pat me on my shoulder. “Take care of her for me, okay? She can be a handful.”
I give her a polite nod. Regardless of the dirty things that dress makes me want to do to Mindy and her body right now, I can tell Brianna cares about her a lot. “I’ll do my best.”
There’s a twinkle of mischievousness in Brianna’s eyes when she turns away, and something tells me that she’s laughing at an inner joke. Something tells me Mindy’s got something up her sleeve.
“Bye, trick,” Brianna says to Mindy, giving her a hug. “I’ll miss you, even if it’s only for a week.”
“Bye, hussy,” Mindy says, delivering a quick peck on her cheek. “Please control your language around my little Rafealicious while I’m gone. It’s really getting out of control. I’d like to know someone’s raising him right.”
Brianna turns to me, a mock scowl on her face. “You know what? I take that back. Have your way with her.”
Mindy gawks, then laughs defensively. She wasn’t expecting that one. “Oh, come on, you know I love you!”
“Nope, not listening,” Brianna says, sticking her fingers in her ears as she walks around and jumps into the driver seat. “I hope you get hogtied and covered in honey!”
Oh, the ideas that brings to my mind. Mindy blushes too but waves it off with a laugh. “Whatever!”
“That’s right!” Brianna says cheerfully. She starts up her car and gives us both a playful wave. “Bye, Felicia!”
She drives off, leaving Mindy looking almost shocked. “I’m so gonna kill you when I get back!” Mindy yells at the fleeing car, flipping the bird.
I chuckle at their antics. I don’t know if they’ve always been this way. Gavin says that his wife used to be pretty shy, but she could have fooled me.
When Brianna is gone, I walk over to Mindy. I look her up and down, letting my eyes tell her just how much I like it. “Dressed for the weather?”
She looks down at the dress before giving me a saucy grin and putting on a terrible Scarlett O’Hara fake accent, teasing me again. “This little ole thing? I just threw it on.”
Painted it on is more like it, I think, checking her out again. “It looks good on you,” I admit, but not offering too much. I’m not going to let her think she has power over me and think I’m going to obey her little rules.
A blush comes over her face and she looks away. “Thanks.” She turns back around a moment later. “Can you get my bags?”
“Just a second,” I tell her, holding in my grin. I pull out a black velvet box from my pocket, raising an eyebrow. “You’re missing something.”
“What is that—” she begins to ask. Her breath catches in her throat as I open it to reveal a platinum engagement ring with two stones, emerald and diamond to match our birth months. Gavin was helpful. “Oh, my . . .”
I lean in close, pressing my body into hers, letting her feel my cock pressing into her side and whispering in her ear. She’s trembling already, and I feel confidence returning. She’s so going to be mine.
“For you,” I say, meaning both my cock and the ring. I pull away a second later, grinning at the effect my moves have on her. “I’m sure it’s just the right size.”
She’s red in the face and her chest is heaving as I take the ring out of the box and place it on her finger. A perfect fit, of course.
“Why—” she begins to say breathlessly when I step away, staring at the ring as if it’s magic, and she’s not sure if it’s good magic or bad yet. “How did you . . .?”
“The details don’t matter, Princess,” I tell her. “We’re supposed to be engaged. How would it look if you show up without an engagement ring?”
She looks like she wants to say something, but she knows I’m right. “You’re right,” she mutters so low I can barely hear her. “I guess I didn’t think about that. Where’d you get it?”
I wink at her and throw her words back in her face. “That old thing? Oh, I just found it lying around somewhere.”
I hold in my grin as she scowls at me and I call the redcap for her bags. We check in the airport and walk through the terminal. On the way to the plane, she says very little. I try to keep my eyes off her tight curves, wanting to keep the little edge that I’ve got.
But by the time we board the plane and get in our seats, some of her spark has returned. We’re flying first class, of course, and she knows as she slides past me to the window seat exactly how much her ass is in my face. The flight attendant brings us some pre-takeoff drinks, and she turns to me, raising her glass.
“This ring is beautiful,” she says, her shoulder brushing mine as she leans slightly in to toast me. Up close, I can smell her perfume and it smells like heaven. Running her finger along the band, she chuckles as she checks out the stones. “Nice bullshit story about where you got it though. So, you’re a May baby?”
“I am,” I admit. “Figured it’d help you remember.”
“Nice idea,” she says with a chuckle. “So where’d you get it?”
Damn, she really wants to know badly. Well, it won’t hurt to tell her. “I got it from Feinberg’s in the middle of town. He’s got a good selection of stuff.”
“It must’ve been a small fortune,” Mindy says, biting her lip unconsciously.
“It wasn’t cheap,” I confirm. Actually, Feinberg will let me bring it back, minus a thousand bucks, but Mindy doesn’t need to know that. Besides, the ring looks good on her hand.
I clear my throat as the plane begins to taxi. “So what’s this place like?”
“Summerfield?” Mindy says, looking out the window for a moment. “It’s a rich bay town, sorta like the Keys or Martha’s Vineyard. Oh, by the way . . . for the next week, your name is going to be Harold.”
“Harold?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “You must be fucking kidding me.”
“You got a problem with that?” Mindy asks in challenge. “Seriously, it’s what they’re expecting.”
“I’ll go by Oliver,” I say firmly. “There’s no way in hell I’m answering to Harold.”
“But . . .” Mindy says, stopping when I shake my head.
“We’ll say Harold’s a bad joke of a name you gave me. For something being especially . . . hairy.”
Her mouth opens and shuts like a fish and I hold in a grin.
“Nothing wrong with being called Harold,” she grumbles after a moment, having to get the last word in. “I had a goldfish named Harold. By the way, did you rehearse the names?”
“I looked at it a little.” To be honest, I couldn't focus much on anything but Mindy.
She sucks in a breath, frustrated. “Okay, let me give you some tips. Mother can be bossy. She’ll try to run all over you. Grandma pretends to be dumb, but don’t let it fool you—she’s as sharp as a tack.”
“Anything else?” I ask. Sounds like Mindy’s not going to be the only fun I have this next week.
“Listen to me and follow my orders and you’ll be fine.”
I have to grin. She should know by now. “What did I tell you about that, Princess?”