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“What’s she having?”
Her thumb raised to her mouth, her teeth absent-mindedly biting down on the nail. “Tomato soup,” she sighed. “Should’ve known when I left she’d be having a bad day.”
I had no idea how the two were linked, and as much as I wanted to ask, we were expected downstairs five minutes ago. It was time to put our game faces on, and that meant time to pretend that everything was perfectly normal. “Ray,” I said, turning from the mirror. I crossed the space between us and sat down next to her on the bed, gently coaxing the monitor from her fingers and lifting her chin to make her look at me. Her breath caught in her throat. “You’ve got your phone. If anything goes wrong, the caregiver will call you. But we need to get going.”
Her glassy eyes made me want to tell her we could stay in the suite all night and stare at the camera, but I had more discipline than that. “Okay,” she breathed, her red-painted lower lip jutting out. “Is it bad that I’m nervous?”
“No. I am too.”
I took both of her hands in mine as I stood, pulling her up from the bed with me. The blanket pooled on the floor beneath her as I finally got my first look at what she’d be wearing to meet the family.
There was no way in hell I’d make it through the night without at least getting a semi.
————
The dark green, almost black fabric hugged every goddamn inch of her. I couldn’t peel my eyes away as we rode down the glass elevator. The dress looked as though it was made to taunt me; everything from the long sleeves to the deep V-neck, the slit up one leg nearly to the top of her thigh, and the way it clung to her left absolutely nothing to the imagination. I knew what she looked like underneath—hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it ever since I fucked her—and now it would be the only thing I’d be able to think about all evening.
“Stop staring,” she mumbled. She pulled her tamed curls forward over her shoulder, hiding as much as she could with them. “If we were together, you wouldn’t be looking at me like it’s the first time you saw me.”
“You couldn’t have worn something looser to help me with that?” I asked, nudging her with my elbow as the elevator dinged for the lobby. I took her hand in mine, interlacing her fingers with my own as she stuck her tongue out at me.
Ray’s nose scrunched. “You need to learn to control yourself?—”
“Honey! My goodness, it’s been too long!”
My mother’s wide smile was enough to set me on edge before we’d even left the elevator. Her arms wrapped around my neck, her ass keeping the doors from shutting no matter how many times they twitched to close. “Hey, Mom.”
Ray’s hand squeezed mine almost hard enough to break a bone.
Mom finally let go and stepped away from the doors, giving us room to exit before the elevator decided it had better things to do than wait around for us to get off. I dragged Ray out of the elevator, her anxiety palpable, and tucked her into my chest. “Mom, this is Ray. Ray, this is my lovely and overbearing mother, Arlie.”
“Hi, Arlie, it’s nice?—”
“Oh my goodness, Chloe’s told me all about you.” Oh God. How much did she run her mouth? “It’s so nice to finally meet you, even if my son is an asshole with introductions.”
My mother held out her hand for Ray and she took it, giving it a good, firm shake. “It’s nice to meet you too,” Ray chirped, her attitude shifting, the mask falling into place effortlessly. “Wade is definitely an asshole.”
Mom laughed, a cocky little grin forming as she looked between the two of us. “I like her,” she said to me. “You need a good woman to keep you humble.”
I rolled my eyes and tugged Ray closer, leaning in to place a kiss against her temple. It felt easy, almost natural, and although I sensed a little bit of uneasiness from her, she fell right into it.
“Is Chloe here yet?” I asked.
“She’s with Zane and Dominic in the ballroom. I'm just heading there now. Care to join?”
Shit. Zane was already making himself known. I’d hoped he would avoid the gathering this evening, but apparently it was as good an excuse as any to make me irritated.
“Sure.”
We walked together through the lobby and toward the ballroom as Mom talked Ray’s ear off about the first time she’d put me in a pair of skis. Through the glass doors, I could see horse-drawn carriages pulling up as more and more people arrived by the minute. The wedding was still a few days away, and tonight wasn’t even an official gathering for God's sake.
Security opened the double doors into the ballroom as we approached. The large, ornate space I’d designed was decorated to the nines. White hellebore laced with red holly was everywhere, hanging wisteria fell from the ceiling, and a far too large ice sculpture of an embracing couple sat in the corner. It was approaching tacky territory, but if it was what she wanted, then it was what she’d have.
A blazing fire burned in the massive fireplace on the opposite side of the room and standing near it was my sister and Zane, chatting with drinks in their hand. Behind Chloe was my father and her fiancé, Dominic, and as the room began to fill out, I wondered if Dominic’s parents were already in attendance or if they’d be arriving later.
“I’ll grab some drinks from the bar,” Mom offered. “Ray, honey, what would you like?”
Ray’s wide eyes looked directly into mine as we stopped. Panic. She didn’t know what to ask for, didn’t know if it would come across the wrong way. Anything is fine, I mouthed.
