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"She left a few hours ago," I say as I saunter toward the elegant bar in the living room.
"Good. That will give us time. We can talk quietly then."
So that is it.
It is evident that Preston has come all this way on behalf of his family to find out what is going on with the youngest and most beloved sister of the Gould clan.
Preston takes a seat on the living room couch, gazing out at the breathtaking views of New York that are shining beyond the balcony windows.
"Would you like something to drink?" I ask politely.
"Scotch," he says nonchalantly.
I pour him the drink and return to the couch to sit across from him.
Preston takes a sip of the dark liquor and looks at me with eyes like a predator.
"I guess Grayson sent you," I say, swirling the amber liquid inside my glass.
"It was Landon, actually," Preston responds, causing my face to scrunch up.
Landon is the oldest of the brothers, a serious man with a slightly bitter temper at times, who has always taken the protection of his siblings very seriously.
"Grayson wanted to come, but he can't get out of his business deal so soon. He asked me to wait before coming to New York to talk to you, but, as I’m sure you understand, we were eager to clear up certain matters."
"I can imagine," I reply calmly, taking another swig of liquor and trying to remain calm. "And as we all know, you've come to talk to me about Penny."
Preston nods slowly.
"We are concerned about the situation," he tells me in a measured tone, his words carefully chosen.
The younger of the twins is probably boiling with rage inside. Although Penny is much closer with Grayson than with him, there is no doubt that all the Gould men treasure her.
"What you've seen in the media—" I start to say, but Preston cuts me off abruptly.
"I hope for your sake you won't try to deny it. We've all seen the pictures from last night. We know something happened between you."
"I didn't mean to deny it," I assure him, following the plan I laid out with Penny. "It’s just, I wanted to apologize to you. This wasn't how we planned to tell you."
"Tell us what?" Preston asks, raising an eyebrow.
"That we're getting married," I say, causing his expression to shift from wariness to shock.
For a moment, it looks like I caught him off guard. His expression makes me want to laugh, but I keep my cool.
He seems to recover quickly. "Forgive me if I don't believe you, Parker, but we all know you're not exactly the marrying type. Quite the opposite, in fact."
"That may be, but that was before what I have with your sister," I say, renewing his surprise, but impressing him, as well.
Now is the time for me to use all my powers of persuasion on him and earn his approval. If I can’t get Preston to believe me, he will take it upon himself to tell his brothers and the rest of his family that my relationship with Penny is fake, and then we'd both be in deep shit.
Sighing, I set the glass down on the table and level with Preston. "Penny and I started dating a few months ago. At first, it was nothing but conversations between old friends, but over time, I started to fall in love with her. To feel something real, that she reciprocated. We decided to keep the relationship a secret for many reasons, but recently, we found out that we are going to be parents, so I decided to ask her to marry me, just yesterday, actually. Our intention was not to let anyone know, but to wait until fashion week was over to tell the whole family the news, but things didn't go as planned, and I'm sorry for that," I explained.
Preston looks at me, trying to decipher my sincerity. I can see in his eyes that he is struggling with all his might to decide whether he should believe me or not.
"If you don't believe me, you can discuss it with Penny," I say, knowing that she will give him a similar version of events.
"Parker, you have to admit, this all sounds a little far-fetched," Preston says, running his hands through his hair. "Of all people, you and Penny together? It's kind of hard to believe."
