AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No. I needed a date, and she agreed to be it for the weekend. I didn’t tell her who our grandparents are, and she didn’t tell me who she was. She didn’t find out until we were pretty much here.”
“How did you find out this was Grace?”
“Well, after you decided you knew her and went on your little tirade, I think Mum went looking, too. She recognised her because of Grace’s mum.” I flicked through the pictures until I found a photo of Mum, Freya, Grace, and a lady about Mum’s age who looked exactly like Grace did now, just a few years older.
“Whoa,” Freya breathed. “Grace looks exactly like her. Didn’t her mum die a while ago?”
“Over ten years ago. Either way, Mum recognised her and spoke to her, and Grace admitted it. Then she told me last night.”
“Are you pissed she didn’t tell you?”
“No. I didn’t exactly tell her who I was, and she was right when she pointed out that if I’d just told her who I really was, then she wouldn’t have come and none of this would have happened.”
“Why wouldn’t she have come?”
“It’s complicated,” I answered. “I only told you who she is because you need to know. And you invited her grandmother and step-mum.”
“Who’s her grandma?”
“No idea. I didn’t ask, but you know her step-mum.”
“Ugh,” Freya muttered. “I only invited Carmen because Mum said I had to. Honestly, I only invited Edward because I thought it would be the nice thing to do since he and Dad haven’t seen each other for a while. Then Mum made me invite them all.”
“Did you have Grace on the invite?”
“Yes. We invited all four of them. They told us Grace couldn’t attend.”
I laughed, rubbing my hand over my jaw. “She thought they’d said as much.”
“Did they lie?”
“No. Her dad knew she’d say no.”
“Would she have said no? I’ll yell at her.”
“Probably, but only because she tries to pretend she’s not actually the upper-class.”
Freya frowned. “When this wedding is over and I’m back from my honeymoon, she and I are going to have a little chitchat about telling me lies. She was my friend!”
“She was my friend, too,” I reminded her.
“Do the grandparents know yet?”
“No. That I’m leaving for her to decide, but if anyone asks, we’re dating.”
Freya finished her tea and stood up. “So you’re keeping that one up.”
“Yep. It gets Grandpa off my back. I’ll take the heat for not introducing her properly, and it’ll be fine.”
“You’re awfully optimistic, William. I do admire that about you sometimes. I also mock it, but that’s not relevant.” She put her empty cup in the sink and looked at me. “You know the two of you are far too comfortable for this fake relationship trope you’re living out, don’t you?”
“Trope?”
“Yes. In books, that’s a trope. Where they usually fall in love at the end and live happily ever after like Cinderella and Prince Charming,” she said. “And judging by the look on your face, you’re halfway there.”
I picked up the cup of tea and looked at the photo of little Grace and Freya and our mums. “Don’t you have wedding stuff to be doing?”
“That’s exactly what I’d say if I was pretending I wasn’t in love with my fake girlfriend.”
