Page 12 of D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

“That’s kind of you to say.”

“It’s the truth,” I insisted, wishing she’d look at me again so she’d see the sincerity in my eyes. I gained nothing by lying about this.

Maybe she heard something in my tone because her eyes shot to mine. There was surprise there at first, but then it softened into gratitude.

“Thank you, Kris. That means more to me than you know.” Her voice was thick with emotion, and I had to clear my own throat to keep from tearing up.

“So...” I trailed off, my attempt at changing the subject falling flat. Making a joke didn’t feel right following the heaviness of moments earlier. We needed to get back on track, but I didn’t know how.

Recognizing my attempt, D’Vaughn offered me a soft smile. “Now, we have to tell our families that we’re getting married.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “that might be the easiest part of all of this.”

Her brows rose. “How do you figure?”

“Telling them is literally as simple as ‘Hey, I’m getting married and this is my fiancée.’ It’s convincing them that this is real where I foresee the biggest issue.” I paused, not wanting to be insensitive but needing to know. “How do you plan on convincing your family that you’re marrying a woman if they don’t even know you’re gay?” It seemed an impossible task from where I was sitting.

Releasing a breath, D’Vaughn twisted her lips to the side. “Well, they have no reason not to believe me. I’m a pretty honest person.”

My brows shot up and she laughed lightly, rolling her eyes. “Not including this one thing, of course.” She waved a hand in the air. “Anyways. What about you? Is it really going to be as easy as making an announcement? Seriously?”

“I mean, yeah. My family knows that I’m gay, but they’ve never seen me get serious with anyone before. That’s why it’s the convincing part that I have to work on.”

D’Vaughn quirked a surprised eyebrow. “You’ve never had a girlfriend?”

She sounded almost incredulous, as if she didn’t believe that for a second, and I had to laugh.

“Man, come on. I’ve had girlfriends before. Why does it sound like you’re trying to play me?”

Lifting her hands in the air, she shook her head. “Guilty conscience perhaps?”

Tossing my head back, I laughed loudly. “Oh, so you’re funny today, huh?”

She pursed her lips, but it did nothing to suppress her grin. “If you say so.”

“Anyway, I’ve dated and have even had long-term relationships, but nothing has ever come close to me even thinking about settling down.” Not for my lack of trying. My body was ready to be boo’d up with somebody’s daughter and breaking out into random choreography at bottomless brunch while dressed in matching ’fits, but every time I thought I’d found something worthwhile, I ended up sorely disappointed. Heavy on the sore. Out of sheer self-preservation I’d put my heart on ice months ago.

Cocking her head to the side, D’Vaughn propped an elbow on the table, rested her chin in her hand, and stared at me. “So what made you audition for the show?”

Pushing my relatively empty plate forward, I folded my arms on top of the table and leaned forward, giving D’Vaughn direct eye contact. Her question was one that I’d gotten several times over the course of the other night, but something about the way she was looking at me made it feel weightier than a random probing question.

“I figured it was time to change that.”

I waited for her follow-up—could almost see the question forming in her eyes—but she blinked a couple of times and looked away. When she turned back to me, her eyes were carefully shuttered, revealing nothing. We’d essentially just met, so there was no way to tell what that meant, but a surge of disappointment hit me that I couldn’t explain.

“The clock starts tomorrow,” she chirped brightly. “Do you want to break the news to your family first?”

I stared at her for a moment, wondering if I’d just been projecting or if she’d really closed up on me. I’d expected to dig into the relationship conversation a bit more. I wanted to get an idea of where her head was at on the subject, because contrary to what Rhea assumed, I had no intention of going all in for someone who wanted nothing to do with me beyond collecting a check. Been there, done that, got the heartbreak and tag on a sponsored Instagram post. Finally, I shrugged.

“My little sister’s baby shower is tomorrow. It’s at my parents’ house and my entire family will be there. My papi is cooking and he’s a master on the grill. Good food and cold beer will soften the shock of me springing a fiancée on them. It’ll be perfect.”

“Cool. Then we can tell my family on Sunday.”

“You sure about that?” The wobble in her voice didn’t sound convincing at all, and neither did the scrunched look on her face, as if she’d just swallowed a goldfish and wanted to give it time to make its way down her throat. She shook her head and swallowed that puppy down, meeting my eyes determinedly.

“I signed a contract.”

Nodding, I sat back in my seat, flicking my gaze to my left as Kevin pushed through the doors and ducked to step out onto the patio carrying a large tablet in his hand. Instead of heading straight for us, he sat at one of the empty tables, pulled out a stylus, and started writing on the screen. When it became clear that he wasn’t going to interrupt our conversation, I turned back to D’Vaughn.