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“Why’d you do that?”
I saw the lady smile knowingly and begin talking earnestly to her tablemates. I subtly gestured to the woman’s table. “Just acting the part, hon.” I don’t know why, but I felt the urge to wink and did.
He glanced at the woman’s table and then looked anywhere else but me. I wasn’t sure, but had I flustered him?
“My grandfather will ask a lot of questions.” He was right back to business. So I was wrong probably.
“So, we’ll have to get to know each other.” I said folding my hands. “I’m an open book.”Unlike you, I thought but didn’t say.
“Where are you from?”
“Rockford, Illinois. Moved to Chicago two years ago after finishing fashion school in New York. Where are you from?” He was silent for a bit, like he didn’t expect me to ask the question back. “I have to get to know you too.”
He sighed. “I’m from Chicago.”
“You’ve lived here your whole life?”
He shook his head yes. “Where did we meet?”
I could tell he was testing me. He no longer had a bored look in his eyes, something in the dark brown was challenging me. “I called you three months ago to set up a meeting.” Which wasn’t a lie. “We met up a few times before that and quickly fell in love. The meeting the other day was a formality to keep our relationship hidden, but since your grandfather pushed, we decided to finally let our relationship out.”
He nodded his head. I guessed that meant I passed. I decided I wanted to challenge him too. “Where was our first date?”
He looked like he was thinking deeply. It was nice to see him without such a stern expression on his face. I could almost think he was sweet. “Three months ago, was April.” He thought a bit more. “I took you to a rooftop bar. It was still rather windy, so we went to the Chicago Botanical Garden instead.”
“How romantic. I’m jealous of me.”
I thought I saw the corner of his mouth uptick just a little. “Why did you fall in love with me?”
Everything seemed to stop. I didn’t know how to answer, I never expected him to ask something like that. “I—” I paused and looked into his eyes as he waited for an answer. “At first, I thought you were rude, but once you took me to see the flowers, I realized you were gentler than I thought. And I began to fall in love.” I cleared my throat, feeling deeply embarrassed. But why? None of it was true. “Why did you fall in love with me?” I asked before I could regret it.
“You are an attractive woman, smart as hell, who I felt good being around. How could I not?” He said without having to think too long about it.
“I think we can fool him,” I said quickly, trying to forget what he’d said already. He was an amazing liar. But that’s all it was. Lies.
We finished up our meal exchanging a few more details with each other like where we went to school, favorite foods, banal stuff that couples should know about each other. I had a pretty good memory, but it was a lot to know. I hoped I could keep it all straight. I hoped Taylor was the kind of person who wouldn’t take the two million away if we failed, but I couldn’t know for sure.
He paid the bill, like I’d hoped, and we started to exit. Again, I noticed several eyes on us, and a few people who had raised their phones in a way they thought was discreet.
I pulled him close to me. His eyes looked panicked. “Do you really trust me?” I asked softly.
He still looked uncomfortable but nodded.
I decided to go for it. I leaned up and forward. He seemed to understand and leaned down in turn. Soon I was kissing Mr. Taylor Hirano. I heard a few phone cameras go off as my lips pressed against his. It wasn’t the best kiss I’d ever had. I could tell his lips were reluctant. But I was right about the way his stubble gently scratched my face, it was divine. I reached up and gently cupped his cheek then we broke apart the kiss. I lowered my hand and really looked at him. There was something unreadable about his expression. But he didn’t say anything as we exited The Goose and got back in his car.
This time, the silence felt weird. I had done what I thought was best to make the illusion work. Had I made the wrong choice? I could have just held his hand out or gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Either would have been believable.Maybe youjust wanted to kiss him?My mind thought, traitorously. It was wrong anyhow; I was the real Lydia Maxwell. I had never been to the Chicago Botanical Garden and I had never fallen in love.
Chapter 5
Taylor
“I’m not sure that is a healthy way of dealing with this Taylor,” Mrs. Tupp said in her mouse-voice. She was a very small woman with big round glasses and her brown hair cut in a neat bob. She always wore shirts printed with different kinds of fruit.
“Is there a healthy way to deal with my grandfather trying to force me to have children?” I asked, sounding sarcastic. I spent most of our sessions together pacing around the room, not one to lie on the couch. I needed to move. Right then, I was standing on the other side of the room from her desk admiring the 1000-piece milk puzzle Mrs. Tupp and her husband completed together the other week. I was glad to see it hanging on her wall after how long she had talked about it.
“I know that your grandfather's pressures have been uncomfortable. But I think you should have tried to speak to him at least once more before paying someone to marry you.”
“I didn’t because he never would have changed his mind, it’s how he is.” I explained while pacing to the bookshelf on the opposite wall.
