Grayson helped me get ready for dinner, which I was thankful for, because otherwise I would've looked like a chipmunk who'd drowned in sewage. For starters, my wardrobe was not sufficient, being from a Target in Las Vegas, but it was quickly glamorized with a dress Grayson ordered, along with shoes and a clutch. It all arrived to the mansion within an hour, once again shocking me. The life of a billionaire was just so simple. Everything was within reach, all at a moment's notice.
"I hope you like the dress," he said, stepping into the bathroom to change into his own nice clothes.
I frowned when I pulled it out of the bag. "It's uh..."
"It's what?" he asked through the door.
I was glad he couldn't see my blush. "A bit revealing." More than a bit–the front had a neckline that was so deep it almost hit my belly button. I didn't mind the slit halfway up the skirt though.
There was an incredibly long pause on the other side. "It is?"
"Yes, it is," I confirmed.
He opened the door a bit so I could see his grinning face. "My bad."
Update: Grayson is incredibly annoying. Figures that that side of him would only come through after I'd agreed to spend the next six months with him. Shaking my head, I shoved his face back into the bathroom and shut the door.
"Hey," he complained.
"Hey, next time, get me a normal dress," I said, rolling my eyes.
"That is normal! At least tell me I did a good job on the shoes and clutch."
"They're fine," I sighed. The shoes were actually quite nice, with heels that wouldn't send me plunging to my death and a cute strap that crisscrossed before it buckled. The clutch was dressy too; simply black with a silver clasp.
"Should I know anything about these people that are coming over?" I called through the door, wiggling into the offending dress.
"Um...let's see. The Girards are all pretty nice, they usually come over for Christmas and whatnot. They spent the last six months in Tanzania, on safari. The parents are friends with my parents, they knew me growing up. The son, Benjamin, he's nine and last I saw him, he only liked talking about dinosaurs."
"Aw," I giggled. "Wasn't there another kid? Gracelynn?"
"Yes, she's our age, oh, and mother's been convinced that she and I are soulmates for years. I'm honestly surprised she took me being married to someone else so well," Grayson added casually.
Suddenly I felt a little nauseous. "Gracelynn, she's not um, dating you, or anything?"
"No, gosh. For years we've pretty much avoided each other because of our parents' meddling. Nice girl, but much too proper and spiffy," Grayson said, knocking. I told him to come in and he did, now wearing a sharp black suit and tie.
"I look ridiculous," I said flatly, staring into the mirror hanging on one of the closet doors. "I've never worn anything this nice in my life."
"Come on, your wedding dress?" he joked, making me snort.
"Seriously, you look nice," he offered.
"Thanks," I mumbled. "How are we going to fake it tonight?"
"Not that bad, actually. Just be polite to each other, smile a lot, laugh at each other's jokes, stuff like that," Grayson said casually. "Maybe a kiss on the cheek, if that's okay?"
"Of course that's okay." Cheek kisses would be the least of my worries for the next six months.
"Ready to head downstairs?" he asked, offering me his arm.
My stomach flopped in protest. "Are you sure this is okay? Like me being at dinner with you?" I asked anxiously.
"Trust me, everyone wants to get to know you," he said. "And honestly, they won't care all that much. Yes, they'll want to know what you do and what kind of person you are, but once they figure that out, it'll be easy."
"Okay," I sighed, really hoping he was right.
Grayson escorted me downstairs, going slow so I could figure out the heels. That was kind of him. I didn't need to add a twisted ankle to my ever-growing list of misfortunes. My nerves began bubbling over when I heard soft voices coming from a ways away. Grayson lightly squeezed my fingers with his free hand, trying to silently reassure me.
The dining room doors swept open, revealing a table full of people. At the end sat Laura, wearing a shimmering white dress and a matching comb in her blonde hair. On either side of her sat who I assumed were Mr. and Mrs. Girard. Mrs. Girard had a frown plastered on her face, wearing lipstick in a deep plum color that matched her dress. Her raven black hair was swept over her shoulder, her olive skin close to glowing in the flickering candlelight. Mr. Girard matched her in attire, with a plum tie over a black suit. He had eyebrows much bushier than hers, and I privately thought they looked like baby caterpillars.
Next to his mother sat little Benjamin. His hair was gelled back and his posture perfectly straight. At first I thought he must've just been acting good for a fancy dinner, but then I realized he was probably this immaculate all the time. I really hoped he got to splash in mud puddles and make sandcastles sometimes. It was depressing, to have such a hope for a boy of only nine.
Gracelynn sat next to her father, wearing a pale pink dress and a matching flower in her hair. She smiled shyly as Grayson pulled out my chair for me. He finally sat down on the end, across from his mother and between Gracelynn and I.
"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Jackie," he said, not at all fazed by the fact that we were the last ones to arrive or the fact that he'd pulled a wife from his sleeve. "Jackie, this is Mr. and Mrs. Girard, their son Benjamin, and their daughter Gracelynn."
"I'm nine," Benjamin informed me before I could say anything polite.
I smiled at him. "Nine is the perfect age to be."
"How was your safari trip?" Grayson asked Mr. Girard.
"Long," the man sighed. "You can only see so many animals over and over again in a span of six months. After a while we missed home."
"Yes, I did find myself missing the wintertime, as horrible as it may be," his wife agreed.
"We saw lots of lions," Benjamin chimed in eagerly.
"Lions? What else?" Grayson asked, curious.
"Gazelles, and giraffes, and elephants, and fire ants. Well, we stepped on the fire ants," Benjamin admitted.
"Ouch," Grayson said in sympathy. "What about tigers, did you see any of them?"
"No, of course not, they don't live in Tanzania," Benjamin giggled, delighted with his superior knowledge.
Grayson pretended to be confused. "They don't? Well, where do they live?"
"Southeast Asia," Benjamin informed him.
"Ah, right, of course, silly me."
"How was the winter here?" Mr. Girard asked.
"Not too terrible, not for us at least," Laura replied. "I think your side of the country got it worse than we did."
"What about you, Jackie, did you have a bad winter?" Mrs. Girard asked.
"No, not really. I'm from Virginia, we get worse hurricanes than winters," I replied, wondering just how polite small talk about the weather was.
"Goodness, those hurricanes do look bad," Laura mused. "Hopefully you'll adapt to Vancouver winters quickly."
"Yes, dearie, that reminds me, when is the wedding?" Mrs. Girard asked excitedly. "Laura told me you're having another one even though you're married."
"Probably around the beginning of January," Grayson answered for me. Thank goodness—this wedding was so important I was too scared to make any offhand comment about it. Hopefully he and his mother would do most of the planning.
"Summer weddings are so gorgeous," Mrs. Girard said, sounding disappointed. I found it fascinating that she was this invested in my wedding, a wedding that would be so extravagant yet such a lie. "Gracelynn wanted a summer wedding, but I said it would be too much fuss and trouble trying to plan around his schedule," she continued.
Grayson almost dropped his fork in surprise. "You're engaged, Grace?"
"Yes, to Lord Seymour of Cameron," Gracelynn said. Her voice was like that of a soft summer breeze, lighter than a feather.
"Congratulations," Grayson said, his expression not matching his words. "When's the wedding?"
"Sometime next year," Mrs. Girard, chimed in. "Whenever Lord Seymour can get time off. He's incredibly busy in Parliament, of course."
Surely they aren't talking about the United Kingdom's parliament?
"But–" Grayson tried.
"Do you think you will have your wedding here in Vancouver?" Gracelynn interrupted, giving him the slightest glare I'd ever seen.
Not looking too happy about it, he dropped the subject and said, "Vancouver." Across the table, Laura gave a short nod of approval. Grayson didn't seem happy about that either, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
"Jackie, dear, what is it you do in Virginia?" Laura asked, taking a sip of dark
"I'm a nurse," I said, hoping that was a good answer. It was the truth, of course, but sometimes the truth was hard to swallow.
"Excellent, we need more nurses," Mr. Girard said starkly.
"Why were you in Barcelona? Actually, I want the whole story of how you two came to be," Mrs. Girard said excitedly.
Ah, yes, that story, the one so incredible I don't remember parts of it. Since the conversation was currently focused on me, I decided to take one for the team and make something up.
"Oh, well, I was in town for a small get-together of some of my old college friends. I went to Harvard, and when we all graduated a lot of us moved far away. Two of them lived in Spain, so we chose Barcelona to meet." I was lying through my teeth now. True, I'd gone to Harvard, and we had a friend group, but no one lived in Spain. And I'd never been to Barcelona.
"I went out for dinner on my own, just needing a bite to eat, and I saw Grayson sitting at the next table by himself. From then on it was love at first sight. After a couple minutes of trying not to notice the other, he invited me to sit with him. Next thing you know we decide to get married because what do we have to lose?" I continued, trying to keep the tale light and airy.
"Oh, how adorable," Gracelynn sighed dreamily.
"Such a fairytale romance," Laura agreed, smiling at me. If only she knew.
The conversation shifted away from me, giving me some room to breathe. Under the table, Grayson reached over and lightly squeezed my knee, silently thanking me. Proud of myself for being such a good liar (probably not a great trait to have, but oh well), I took a sip of wine and recoiled at the reminder of alcohol. The next sip I took was fake, as I just held the glass to my lips.
Eventually everyone decided that it was late and time for bed. Dinner had lasted until eleven, and I was still messed up from all the time-zone hopping. Bedtime was a relief. However, Grayson urged me ahead while he stuck around to talk to Gracelynn.
"Everything okay?" I asked him when he met me in his room. I had changed into my very ordinary pajamas, having gleefully taken off the dress and heels.
"Fine," he sighed, looking distressed. "Poor girl. Grace has always been sort of promised to me for years, even if no one's directly said it. Now that I'm married she's engaged to some guy she doesn't even know that well."
"That's not fair," I said, frowning.
He gave me a wry smile. "That's our mothers for you."
"Laura seems nice," I offered, but he shook his head.
"She's nice, I guess. I love her, obviously, but she's pretty controlling and manipulative. You'll find out soon enough with the wedding coming," Grayson explained.
"Surely she can't be that bad," I fretted.
The look he gave me was one of sympathy. "She will be."
And that was the first day. Only six more months to go.