Gorgeous Consort (9 page)

“She left me for some other guy over a year ago,” he said quietly. “You’d think I’d be over it by now. I had the ring and everything…then she left.” His voice was full of emotion. He sounded like a completely different person.

“Its her loss, Troy. You’re an amazing guy, despite all your attempts to hide it. It may not seem like it but it’s the best thing that ever happened to you. You’ll realize that someday.”

“Maybe…maybe not.”

I moved close to him and rubbed his shoulder. “So, you want me to help you get over her?”

“Yes.” His voice was full of shame.

“Well, there’s something I want in return.”

“Name it.”

“I want you to escort me.”

He turned to me, confusion in his eyes. “Why?”

“My sister’s wedding is going to be a disaster. I’ll be a talking point for everyone there. But if they think I have a serious boyfriend, they’ll stop riding my ass.”

He nodded. “Well, I can’t accept payment for it. Since we’re sleeping together…we just can’t. But I’ll gladly do it privately.”

“Yeah?” I asked with a spurt of joy.

“Yeah. I’ll make everyone think I’m more in love with you than your sister’s fiancé is with your sister.”

“Well, that’s impossible.”

“Psh,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for years. Leave it to me.”

“Then it looks like we have a deal.” I extended my hand to shake his.

He looked at it but didn’t take it. Instead, he nudged me in the side. “Deal.”

***

I arrived at the restaurant last, unfortunately. My family was already seated at a table, and I did my best to walk with grace as I approached them. Wearing a fake smile and doing my best to seem pleased to be there, I sat down and said quick hellos to everyone. “Sorry, I’m late.”

“It’s okay,” Kara said. “We know things are hectic right now.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“But you could have called ahead,” Mom said.

I clenched my menu but didn’t say anything.
Never hit your mom.

Mom and Kara finished their conversation about the centerpieces for the wedding. I wasn’t sure why they were planning ahead so early but that was their own prerogative.

“Well, we actually didn’t ask you guys to meet us here to discuss centerpieces…” Kara turned to Sebastian with a smile on her face. It was a look of encouragement, of excitement.

“Then what’s your news?” Mom asked. “Did you find a dress?”

“No…” Kara was practically squirming in her seat.

Just spit it out already.

Sebastian watched her with affection in his eyes.

No one would ever look at me like that.

Kara took Sebastian’s hand. “We’re having a baby!” She smiled wide and watched my parents’ reactions.

Oh shit, she was having a baby?
Mom and Dad would be pissed. They wouldn’t even pay for the wedding if Kara were knocked up out of wedlock. They would disown me immediately if they thought I was pregnant. I watched my parents, waiting for the explosion.

“That’s wonderful!” Mom covered her mouth and gasped.

What?

“We’re going to be grandparents, dear,” Dad said.

Say what?

“I knew you would be supportive,” Kara said. “Sebastian and I are so excited. Obviously, it’s earlier than we planned but that doesn’t mean we aren’t thrilled about it.”

“I’m very thrilled about it.” Sebastian gave her a quick kiss and looked into her eyes with fondness.

This better be a fucking joke
.

My parents got up and hugs were exchanged. I finally forced myself out of my seat and hugged Kara. “Congratulations.” I was happy for my sister but I was pissed that my parents didn’t hold Kara to the same standards they held me. She could do no wrong, but I was judged for every little thing. “How far along are you?”

“About a month,” she said. “Only eight more to go.”

Sebastian hugged me. “You’re going to be an aunt.”

“I am,” I said. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” He returned to Kara’s side like a magnet.

When we sat down again, the weight of the situation hit me. Now my sister was getting married and having a baby. My mom would be on my ass a million times harder.
Geez…

“So, are you still having the wedding next summer?” Mom asked.

“Well, I don’t want to be a cow when we get married,” Kara said.

Sebastian shook his head. “You would never look like a cow.”

Mom smiled at him. “You found yourself a good husband, Kara.”

I was going to need Troy a little earlier than I planned.

“So, we want to get married in a month.” Kara grinned but it wasn’t genuine. It was more of a cringe than anything else.

Sebastian cleared his throat. “The reason being, we want to get married in Hawaii and she can’t fly past her first trimester. And we want to have a nice honeymoon before the morning sickness arrives.”

A month? That just wasn’t doable.

“We know it’s short notice but it’s what we want,” Kara said firmly.

Now Mom and Dad would explode. This was too much, too fast. And they were old-fashioned.

“We think it’s great,” Dad said. “If a wedding in paradise is what you want, we’ll make it happen.”

My jaw was on the floor.

‘Thank you, Daddy.” Kara rested her hand on his.

So, she gets knocked up and gets a dream wedding? And I’m the loser of the family?
I wanted to scream.

Kara turned to me. “We have a lot of planning to do.”

I put on a fake smile. “Yeah, we’ll make it through.” How were we supposed to plan a wedding that far away? In a month? This was crazy.

“I’m so glad one of my daughters is getting married and starting a family,” Mom said. “It might be the only one.”

She did not just go there
. I turned my wide eyes on her.

Kara cringed, like she felt my pain at the insult.

“Well, I’m bringing my boyfriend to the wedding. Perhaps we’ll get some wedding tips while we’re there.” That came out of my mouth like an uncontrollable waterfall. I wasn’t thinking. I was just mad.

Everyone turned my way.

“Boyfriend?” Mom asked. “Last time we spoke, you told me you weren’t seeing anyone.”

“I didn’t want to talk about it at the time,” I lied. “Kara just got engaged. I didn’t want to steal her thunder.” It was the only thing I could come up with. In reality, Mom asked about my personal life before Sebastian proposed. So…that didn’t make sense. But I doubt anyone would realize it.

Mom looked at me in a new way, like she actually liked me. “That’s wonderful, honey. Is it serious?”

“Super, duper serious,” I blurted. “Like, we’re serious.” I knew I sounded stupid but I couldn’t control my tongue.

“I’m so happy for you,” Kara said. “What’s he like?”

Think quickly
. “His name is Troy. He’s gorgeous.”
What did he do for a living?
“He owns an online dating company and is worth a shit ton of money.” That wasn’t totally true but it would work. “And…we’re madly in love.”

“Wow.” Kara couldn’t see past my lies. “That’s amazing, Harper. I can’t wait to meet him.”

“Invite him to dinner this weekend,” Mom said. “To the house.”

That quickly?
I thought I would spare myself some time. “I’ll let him know.”

“That’s great,” Dad said to Mom. “Maybe both of our girls will be gone from the nest too.”

Gone from the nest? I’ve been living on my own for seven years…and never once did I ask them for money. I wasn’t sure why Kara asked them to pay for her wedding. She and Sebastian should pay for it themselves if they wanted to have a ridiculous wedding in paradise. But that was just me.

My parents were in a festive mood. They were laughing and drinking their wine like water.

Was me finding a boyfriend that important? Was the fact I was happy on my own irrelevant? None of my accomplishments mattered to them. All they cared about was putting a ring on my finger—like that would solve all my problems.

***

Troy picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Perfect Ten. Ready to get down and dirty?”

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “I have a crisis on my hands and I need to talk.”

His playfulness evaporated, replaced by seriousness. “Are you okay? Where are you?”

“I’m fine. Where are you?”

“At home.”

“Can I come over?”

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll text you the address.”

“Okay.” I hung up then headed to his apartment. I’d never been there before, just his beach house. As I navigated to it on my phone, I realized it was in a nice district of the city. Since he bought a beach house, I already assumed he was wealthy, but it still surprised me.

As soon as I got to the door, he opened it without waiting for me to knock.

“You okay?” he asked immediately. He wore jeans and a t-shirt, looking hot like usual.

“I’m okay. I’m not hurt or anything.”

“Come inside and talk to me.” His arm moved around my waist and he chauffeured me inside.

I liked having his hand on my waist. It was a feeling I’d never felt before.

He moved me to the couch and gave me his full attention. “What’s up?”

“My sister is having a damn baby.”

A blank expression came over his face. “And that’s bad because…”

“She’s not married.”

Now he became confused. “So, you agree to sleep with me so I can move on, but you’re going to judge her for having a baby out of wedlock? I got to say, that’s pretty hypocritical.”

“No.” I waved him away. “That’s not what I’m mad about.”

“Then you need to explain.”

“She’s getting married in a month because she doesn’t want to show in her dress,” I explained. “Then my mom made a bitchy comment about only marrying off one daughter so I blurted out that you and I were super serious and madly in love and crap.”

He shrugged. “Well, that’s what we agreed on.”

“But they want to meet you this weekend,” I argued. “I just wanted you around for the wedding.”

He shrugged again. “I’ll do it as long as you need me. I don’t mind.”

“I’m a terrible liar. I don’t think I can be convincing that long.”

“Well, I’m a great liar,” he said. “I’ll take care of it.”

“How admirable,” I said sarcastically.

“Harper, just chill.”

I took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m overreacting right now. I just…this is all happening so fast. And the wedding is in Hawaii.”

“Really?” he asked. “That sounds fun.”

“You don’t mind taking a weekend off of work?”

“Not at all,” he said. “You and I will have a good time.” He patted my hand. “Don’t worry about it. Everything will be okay.”

I nodded. “You’re right. I went bat-shit crazy there.”

“When you called I thought you were mugged or something. I was terrified.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “Just don’t do it again.”

“Deal.”

He leaned back into the couch and relaxed. “You want to go get a burger?”

“A burger?”

“From that diner?” he asked. “Where we ran into each other?”

“That does sound awesome.”

He smiled, and it was different than all the other ones he gave me. “Then let’s go.”

***

We took our seats then ordered our food.

Troy sat across from me, his shoulders looking broad in his shirt. We hadn’t talked about our relationship since the beach house. We agreed to be friends with benefits but no fooling around had actually taken place. I wasn’t in a hurry and neither was he. But I was looking forward to it. He had a nice package and a nice kiss. I’m sure everything else would be good too. And I cared about him—more than I thought I would even though he was a jerk sometimes.

“Why do your parents care so much about you being married off anyway?” he asked. “Isn’t it more impressive that their daughter is financially and emotionally capable of being alone rather than needing someone to fill that void? That’s how I would feel at least. Actually, if I had a daughter, I would want her to be alone forever.”

I laughed because the idea of Troy having kids was hilarious.

“What?” he asked.

“I just can’t picture you with kids.”

“Neither can I,” he admitted. “And none of them have come up unexpectedly.” He knocked on the wood of the table.

“I’m not sure if I want kids either.”

“Really?” He looked at me with surprise in his eyes. “Why is that?”

I shrugged. “Maybe when I find the right guy I’ll feel differently. But I’m so busy with work that I just can’t picture it. But then again, I can’t picture myself finding the right guy to fall in love with.”