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“So,” she said thoughtfully, cradling my hand in both of hers as she contemplated the situation. I had to stifle the additional beat that echoed through me at that. “You’ve brought me along to be a shield and an excuse against your gold-digger mother?”
“There’s a lot that’s very, very fucked up about that woman beyond a simple desire for money,” I said. “But yes, that’s one of the reasons I asked you along.”
“I swear to God, the wealthy are weird as shit.”
I smiled, “More than you can ever realize.”
“What’s the other reason I’m role-playing your wife around this family of yours that I’m about to meet?”
I raised my eyebrow, conspicuously dragging my eyes up her body wrapped in the wine-colored dress.
“Oh, right.”
Another few seconds of silence, and when she raised her eyes to me this time, they were lit with mischief. It was as if the strange and uncomfortable Natalia left after hearing about her newest adversary, and that’s all she needed to get back into the game. Thank God for that because although I didn’t want to admit it, I felt more comfortable with her at my side with her daring and unwavering personality.
“So, how should we play it?” she questioned. “Because in the alternate reality where I would decide to get married, I would never agree to be in a passionless, unaffectionate marriage.”
I grinned back at her. “Perfect. She’s English; PDA makes her itch.”
“Then I fully intend to make her break out in hives,” she said, reaching out and dragging her finger along my jawline before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to my lips.
For once, I didn’t feel the need to take it further. I was content to let it simply be a kiss, gentle and affectionate. I settled my arm around her waist, and she nestled herself into my side and continued kissing me.
I wasn’t sure when the shift occurred or what molecular level it occurred on, but when we parted, there was something different between us aside from the sex and arguments we’d been having for the last few weeks.
Natalia soon pulled her lips from mine and looked down at my face, but she let her fingertip linger along my cheek. “Should we work out our story?” she asked, edging away from me slowly.
I didn’t want her to move away from me, but I knew I was pushing my luck by revealing these parts of myself to her.
“In a second,” I said. “There’s something else you’ll need if we’re going to convince the family that you are, in fact, the wife of Spencer Monroe.” I reached into my pocket, pulled out the other small velvet box I’d been holding on to, and opened it to reveal the delicate, thin band that I’d gotten to go with the engagement ring. It was simple, with diamonds scattered over it in a starry pattern and molded against the ring perfectly.
“May I?” I asked, holding it up.
I couldn’t figure out why I was going through all these dramatics, but it was a lovely feeling, given what I knew was waiting for us at the other end of the line. I had no issues playing up this fake married life a little more than was necessary.
“Sure.”
I must’ve been imagining the slightly breathless quality of her voice as I took her hand and gently slipped the ring over her knuckle, where it fit perfectly just above the lovely engagement ring I’d given her.
I sent a text when we were five minutes out. As the sleek black car pulled into the familiar, elegant driveway, I felt a different mess of emotions in my stomach when I saw the small group that’d gathered on the steps to greet us.
“I feel like I should be the nervous one,” came the voice from beside me, and I turned to look at Nat as she folded her hand into mine, squeezing tightly. “After all, I’m the one coming to meet the family after a super-secret elopement.”
I sighed, taking her hand into my lap. “Trust me,” I said. “You’ll get why I’m less than enthused about this soon enough.”
“Is it the whole family that’s problematic, or—”
“It’s just my mother, Heidi,” I said. “I think you’ll take to the rest of them quite well, actually.”
She grinned. “Well, I’m ready, but there’s one problem that I can foresee.”
“What’s that?”
She lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers at me. “We’re a bit uneven, aren’t we? Won’t they find that suspicious?”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, grinning as I pulled out the velvet box and opened it to reveal the ring I would wear in this charade.
She smiled as I pulled the platinum ring out of the box and slipped it onto my ring finger. “Feels weird as shit,” I chuckled.
