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“Guess my parents will have to get over it,” he finishes. “A Hargrove-Laurence match isn’t in the cards no matter how much they want it.”
And how much my aunt and uncle want it.
I smirk. “So you admit your parents set this up? Way to make a girl feel special.”
“Oh, I’d still love to date you, but trust me, they’d love it just as much. They’re constantly trying to get me to date their friend’s daughters.”
“You say that like you don’t normally do it.”
He tilts his head up to the sky, smirking as the breeze catches his hair. “Oh, I don’t.”
“Why not?”
“Do you want the whole truth?”
“I can handle it.”
“A few reasons. I wasn’t looking for anything serious until recently and casually dating someone in my parents’ social circles would’ve had them planning my nuptials. That, and most of those girls aren’t half as hot as you and Sybil are.”
“So you’re admitting you’re shallow,” I tease.
“Oh, absolutely. I’m as shallow as they come. Why do you think I got into television production?”
We laugh and things become easy after that. Before long the others join us, and we head back to the patio where we spend the rest of the evening chatting. The sunset is stunning, the sky going bright crimson before giving way to darkness. The Hargroves eventually leave and my uncle corners me on my way up the stairs as I’m about to turn in for the night.
“What is your impression of Perry?” He folds his thick arms over his chest and studies me in that pensive way of his.
I falter, grasping for the right thing to say. I knew this conversation was coming so at least handling it now means we can get it over with.
“I think he’s a nice guy and a nice friend.” I don’t want to disappoint anybody but I’m also not going to let my uncle dictate who I date.
“He’s a great guy and comes from a respectable family,” Gregory points out. “And he’s got his eye on you. If anyone could catch Perry Hargrove, I think it could be you.”
I sigh, leaning against the banister and wishing I could be different. It would be so much easier to give in and let Uncle Gregory choose this life for me, but I just can’t. Not when I know what it feels like to be so drawn to someone that they’re with you even when they’re not. “I’m sorry but I don’t think there’s any chemistry between us.”
Gregory studies me for a long moment, his mouth slowly setting in disappointment. I almost expect him to argue, but he doesn’t. He just nods once, as if it’s done. “Very well. We’ll just have to find you someone more to your liking.”
“Please don’t.”
He chuckles. “Between you and Sybil I’ve got my work cut out for me, but never you mind, I’ll take care of everything.”
“I know you mean well, but I’m only twenty. I’m not old enough for all this.”
“You’re a smart girl,” he says. “Thinking about your future means more than school and a career. Who you marry is going to be the most important decision you’ll ever make.”
The key in that sentence is it’ll be a decision that I will make, but he doesn’t seem to get that, and I don’t know how to make him understand.
He leaves with the final word, bounding back down the stairs and striding away, as if all of this is normal, as if I should be thrilled that he wants to play matchmaker to my future. Maybe that’s normal in this world of elite one-percenters, but it’s not normal to me. The last thing I need is to end up in some kind of arranged marriage situation.
There are a lot of things I would do to please that man, but adjusting my love life to suit him isn’t one of them.
Except, that’s a lie, because if I truly didn’t care what Gregory thought, I would be with Ethan right now.
Forty-Six
“What do you think you’re doing?” Sybil marches into my room a few nights later, eyes bugging at the sight of my pajamas.
“Going to bed?” I state the obvious.
