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"I'm physically demonstrative with the women I take home," I offered.
"Ha. But we need to be serious. Would it be okay if I took the lead with our physical contact? I'm comfortable touching you, holding your hand, rubbing your back, kissing you."
"I think that would absolutely be okay." This was getting better and better… except for the fact that I was going to end up with the bluest of blue balls by the end of the evening.
She smiled, pleased with herself. "Good. I think it seems in character, and your family would expect that."
"I appreciate that," I said, "and I think it sounds like a good plan. You take the lead with the affection. I'll take the lead explaining how we met… how did we meet, again?"
Blake trailed her finger down my arm and put her hand on top of mine. I had a feeling she was enjoying herself. I wasn't sure if she was teasing me, making me ache for what I told her I had no interest in. If she was, it was working.
Good thing I was stoic. And stubborn as hell.
"We met at a cocktail party for one of your new technology launches, remember?" she asked. "I worked at a design firm that helped with your branding. We started talking and haven't been apart since that night."
I squeezed her thigh again, deciding to just go with it. "How long ago was that?"
"Six months," Blake said smoothly. "And now we've decided to make it official."
"I know my sister will be researching you online as soon as we've paid the check tonight. What's she going to find?" Elena had assured me she'd taken care of every detail with respect to Blake's identity, but as we got closer to the restaurant, my nerves began to hack into my overall system.
"Elena put up a fake website for the design firm with my profile on it—it has my picture and everything, including my fake degree." Blake whipped out her phone and pulled up the site. "See? The company is fictitious, but it looks completely legit. It says I'm currently on a leave of absence to plan my wedding. And there's no other trace of me online. AccommoDating has a members-only, secure website. All of my information's been taken down, and she had our tech guy make sure you couldn't find residual links online anywhere."
"Well… good." I scrubbed my free hand across my face, imagining other areas of vulnerability where my sister might strike. "What's the story with your family?"
Blake didn't miss a beat. "My mom died of cancer. My parents divorced when I was very small, and I never knew my father. And I'm an only child, so that's it. Just me, and no aunts or uncles to speak of, either."
"No mother-in-law, hmmm? You really might be the perfect woman," I teased. She just smiled and went back to stroking my arm.
I went back to talking my erection down.
La Ciel was elegant and crowded, but my surroundings barely registered with me as I gripped Blake's hand and headed for the table where my family was already assembled and waiting. It figured. They probably had a pregame strategy session. "Are you ready?" I asked Blake lowly.
She smiled and nodded. "No," she said, under her breath. "But I'm already pretending."
"I like it." We reached the table, and my sister's eyes almost popped out of her head at the site of the tall, beautiful woman at my side. "Good evening. Serena, Father, Elizabeth." I nodded at them all politely. "This is my fiancée, Blake Maxwell. Blake, this is my family." I pulled out the chair for her, and she descended onto it slowly, like a queen.
They positively gawked at her.
I took the opportunity to inspect them. My father looked fit and tan, as though he'd just played eighteen holes, which he probably had. Elizabeth, my stepmother, looked as though she'd had some work done recently. Her skin was pulled more tautly than usual, and her eyes slanted upward almost painfully. She was still attractive, but now her face had an unnatural, feline-like appearance underneath her auburn waves. Serena glared at me from beneath her dark tumble of curls. Her perfectly painted red lips contrasted with the light tan she'd acquired during some fundraising weekend on Nantucket.
She hadn't told me she'd gone, because I hadn't asked her. I'd seen the picture in the society pages and flipped past them quickly, tired of her endless photo opportunities, her unyielding desire to the center of attention.
"I'm Franklin Ford. It's lovely to meet you," my father said, a bit too enthusiastically. He shoved his hand at Blake across the table and shook hers animatedly. "I’m so thrilled that you and my son are getting married! Wow. Just look at you." He proceeded to do just that, his eyes sparkling as they roamed her body.
Then he leaned underneath the table to check out her legs.
I cleared my throat and shot a knowing look at Elizabeth, who was turning a dull, scary shade of red. "That's enough, Dad. I appreciate you being friendly and all—but you don't need to be quite so enthusiastic."
My father popped back up and gave me a sour look. "Jesus, Lucas. You haven’t even been here for a minute. Say hello to the family and have some wine before you start complaining." He turned to Blake. "I apologize for my son. He can be a little crass."
"I hadn't noticed." She smiled at my father.
"I'm sorry." I interrupted what was clearly my father’s preamble before he started telling Blake all about my flaws. "I know you're just excited for me, Dad." I turned to the ladies. "We're all just excited. Right, Elizabeth? Serena?"
"Absolutely," said Elizabeth, her eyes raking over every visible inch of Blake. "It's nice to see that you're finally going to settle down after all this time." Her smug tone was unmistakable: after all this time without me, it insinuated.
I clenched my hands into fists under the table. Blake must have felt me tense because she started to rub my back soothingly. "It's really nice to finally meet you all," she said, her tone friendly and naïve. "Lucas has spoken of his family so highly."
