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With that, he steers me forward to the full bar.
“What can I get for you?” the bartender asks.
“What kind of whiskey are y’all serving?” River asks.
“Buffalo Trace, High West, and Blanton’s.”
“I’ll have a double of Blanton’s with a little ice.” He looks at me. “What do you want?”
“Do you have cinnamon whiskey?” I ask the bartender.
The bartender shakes her head. I purse my lips. “Just your fruitiest red wine, please.”
“You got it.” She starts uncorking a bottle of wine.
I reach in my purse to pull out my money, but River frowns and stills my hand. “Everything is paid for.”
“I can still tip, can’t I?”
“Nuh-uh.” He pulls a money clip from his pocket and drops a twenty-dollar bill in the overflowing tip jar. “If you were my real fiancée, I wouldn’t let you reach for your wallet. We are trying to be as real as possible… while we are here, at least. Keep your money in your purse.”
I give him a tart look and then accept the glass of wine from the bartender.
After we get our drinks, River leads me over near the string quartet. A few couples are dancing slowly to the tinkly sounds the musicians are playing. River pulls me into his arms, swaying. I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
“What?” he asks, pulling me closer. “Am I amusing?”
“This is just a strange event. Everyone is so quiet. There’s no buffet. Cupid Shuffle and the new Beyoncé album aren’t playing on repeat. If my family were in charge, it would be way less…” I search for the right word. “Subdued. Black folks like to have a good time whenever they get together.”
River smirks. “I’d rather go to that event. It sounds more fun.”
“You know it.”
I gaze up into his handsome face, pressing myself against him as we sway to the music. One of his hands presses against my lower back. He presses his hips against my belly in a gentle motion. Heat fills my cheeks and a shy smile spreads across my face.
Yeah, this relationship is fake as a Barbie doll’s hair. But the promise that River is making with that intense look on his face is all too real.
We’re going to bang, he’s saying. You’re going to love it.
He cocks a brow. “You know–”
“What the hell are you two doing together?”
I look to my right and see Bishop nudging an older couple aside to get to us. He’s dragging Anitta behind him by her hand. She’s dressed like Glinda the Good Witch in a glittery pink ball gown.
My blood pressure skyrockets. I can hear my heart beating in my ears. I wasn’t expecting a face-off with Bishop. Or needing to defend my fake relationship. Not here, not yet.
But luckily, River seems born to play the role of my defender.
“Bishop!” he calls out. “So nice to see you here. You know, I didn’t have you pegged as the charitable type.”
Bishop grimaces and turns to me, as if River hadn’t spoken. “Pearl, why are you slumming it with this guy?”
The laugh that bursts past my lips is genuine. “Slumming it?” I shake my head, perplexed. “Why are you so worried about who I’m here with, anyway? We are clearly quite broken up.”
I nod at Anitta, who scowls at me. She wraps her arm around Bishop’s bicep possessively. “Pearl’s just jealous,” she hisses. “She wishes she was in my place.”
“Uhh, dream on. If anything, I need to thank you, Anitta. You pulled a snake out of my garden. Now my life’s all roses.”
