A hint of the ice around her edges thawed. “I just worry, son. It’s like I’m not even part of your life anymore. Especially now.” She paused before adding, “And I can’t think of a single explanation for why you’d marry a girl with blue hair. It’s an abomination.”
“She dyed her hair for charity,” I explained, and the lie rolled off my tongue like second nature this time. “It was for a good cause.”
My mother scowled. “What kind of backward charity asks people to dye their hair blue? What was the cause?”
“Ocean-cleaning efforts,” I lied smoothly. It was the first thing that came to mind related to the color blue, but her scowl only deepened. “And the children. Half of it went to the children.”
That was always a safe answer.
My mother’s shoulders loosened—it’d worked.
“Well.” She sniffed and adjusted her pearls. “I’m surprised she didn’t have time to stop in a salon before this trip. You should’ve called me. Evangeline could fix that in a day.”
Little did she know the timeline we’d been working with. “We joined the trip last minute, but I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
She hummed noncommittally. “You understand why I have reservations about this, don’t you? You’re the first in line to take over for Tobias one day. Do you really want to risk that by marrying someone so…common? She doesn’t look like she’s attended a single dinner party in her life,” she said, nose wrinkling. “Well, one that doesn’t involve screw-top wine.”
“Play nice, Mother,” I warned evenly.
“I’m always nice,” she countered, lifting her chin. “But at least keep her away from your grandfather, or he’ll think you’ve lost your mind and can’t be trusted with the company.”
The recipient of her scrutiny returned through the sliding doors across from us, saving me from having to answer.
“I should get back. Our break’s over,” I told my mother, stepping away. “Why don’t you make use of the spa? Get a few treatments to recover from all that traveling.”
She let the silence linger before answering. “Think about what I said, and we’ll talk again later.”
Or not,I thought, already walking toward a yawning Ellie. She gave a weak wave when I approached.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I think so. The meditation helped, and I just drank a whole week’s worth of water.” She patted her stomach and leaned to look around me. “Should I meet your mom now? More officially, I mean.”
“Not yet,” I said, wanting to avoid that trainwreck. “Maybe we’ll have dinner or something with her later.”
Ellie hesitated and looked around me again, spotting my mother—who was still watching us instead of going to the spa—before nodding. “Sounds like a plan.”
Lovejoy called for everyone to reconvene, but I took hold of Ellie’s wrist to give one more warning. “My mother can be a handful, so our best play is for you to be seen but not heard. Let her see you on deck and with me but try not to talk to her. I’ll get her and my grandfather off the yacht as soon as I can.”
Ellie stared down at my fingers circling her wrist. “Being seen but not heard sounds a bit outdated. Won’t it be strange if I don’t talk to your family?”
“I’ll tell them you’re shy. It’ll be fine.”
Her brows pulled together, but she slowly nodded again. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
“It is,” I said, dropping her wrist.
By the time Lovejoy ushered us all back to the meditation circle, my shoulders were tenser than when we’d started.
And I’d lied. If I was being honest with myself, what I actuallywantedwas for the day to be over so I could crawl back into bed with Ellie.
arm candy
. . .
Ellie
Ellie’s Guide toProfessional CuddlingBeing a Fake FiancéeNOT Falling for Your Fake FiancéHiding Any Trace that You’ve Fallen for Your Fake Fiancé, Tip #20: Keep your mouth shut.
