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“Looks weird as shit,” she said with a laugh.
My nervousness subsided when we both got our heads straight about our fake nuptials and these silly rings we wore to prove our worth as a married couple for the weekend.
“Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” she replied.
I leaned forward to open the car door and get out first so I could reach down and help her out. I grinned as she stretched one elegant leg out of the car, her high-heeled black boot the only mysterious clue to her appearance.
This woman was drop-dead gorgeous. Natalia emerged as elegantly as the goddess I knew her to be, and I stole a look back at the family. I couldn’t help the warm satisfaction that came from the sickly smile that stretched over my mother’s face.
“You should know,” I whispered into Nat’s ear, “I’m having some particularly dirty thoughts about these legs of yours.”
“You better be,” she said. “I’d hate to think I wore this outfit for nothing.”
I chuckled, folding her hand into mine and pulling her over the cobblestone drive toward where the whole family waited with their pompous formality.
My brother was the first to break rank, stepping forward with his usual quick gait. He stood before me and gave me a quick once-over before reaching his hand to shake mine. “You look like shite.”
“I dunno what you expect,” I said, my voice falling into the slight cockney twang it always found when I was with my brother. “Not all of us are just having a leisurely drive in from Provence.”
He scoffed. “How do you explain your lovely wife’s appearance, then?”
“You’ll hurt yourself if you try and figure that out,” Nat said with that damn sexy arch of her eyebrow toward me, then looked at my brother.
“Natalia,” I said, extending my hand toward Stephen, “this is my brother Steve, the future groom.”
Nat stepped forward to shake his hand. “It’s so lovely to finally meet you, Stephen. I’ve heard a lot of wonderful things.”
“Is this how you greet family?” he asked, leaning forward and capturing her in one of his usual bear hugs. “It’s great to meet the lady who finally tamed my arse of a brother.”
I slid my hands into my pockets and grinned at Nat’s widened eyes, with my brother impulsively hugging her. I probably should’ve warned her that Steve was the type to embrace everyone, regardless of whether they were comfortable with it. Needless to say, the man was my polar opposite and a lot of the reason why everyone loved to be in his presence a lot more than mine.
“Stephen, behave,” came my future sister-in-law’s melodic voice. “It’s so good to meet you, Natalia. I’m Nadia.”
“A pleasure,” Nat said, stepping forward into the embrace of the lovely woman with soft brown hair and gray eyes who’d walked out to where Stephen stood with us. “I’m sorry to be crashing your wedding, but I’m so happy for you both.”
“Nonsense,” Nadia said. “We’ll make it a celebration for us both. I’m not the only bride here.”
“But you are the woman of the weekend,” Nat said firmly, holding her hand. “The only white dress will be yours,” she finished with a confident and fun wink.
The cool air virtually dropped fifteen degrees as the woman who considered herself the queen of the proceedings stepped forward, looking toward Nat and me with a frosty and expectant expression. “Spencer, my darling son.”
“Mother,” I said, fixing her with a tight smile as I wrapped my arm tightly around Nat, instinctively pulling her into my side. “It’s been a long time.” I looked down at Nat, and she lowered her eyelids in a subtle approximation of a nod before turning back to face the woman who’d given birth to me. “Mother, meet Natalia Monroe, my wife. Natalia, this is my mother, Heidi.”
Nat’s icy blue eyes met my mother’s, and as they stared each other down, I couldn’t tell whether I’d made a miscalculation by bringing Nat here. Not many knew what my mother’s smiles hid, but I’d been on the receiving end of her venom enough times to know what it was always preceded by.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Heidi,” Nat said, radiating the smooth class she always projected. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”
“I wish I could say the same about you,” my mother said just as evenly. “However, Spencer prides himself in keeping his life private from his family. So, it’s not meant to be an insult.”
“It wasn’t taken as one. Thank you for considering that, though,” Nat responded.
My mother’s eyebrow arched, and her bright red lips pulled up in one corner. “You’re intriguing.” My mother looked at me, then back to Nat. “I suppose that’s one reason my son has given you his name,” she said coolly.
“My mother has a way of trying to figure out the women I dare to bring home,” I said in a deeper tone than I’d expected.
I noticed Stephen had shut down already, as he always did when mother was sizing up new blood. Another compelling reason I hated being around my family and this woman.
