The Billionaire Bargain 2 (10 page)

“
I could
n’
t agree more, sir
,”
Grant said, with the grace to look repentant.

They shook hands, and as Jennings left, Grant swept me into a bear hug.

“
I am so lucky to have you
.
”

“
Damn straight
,”
I whispered into his ear.

I would have walked through fires to have this hug.

He laughed, and I loved the way his body felt against mine when he did.

“
You said it, partner
.
”

I was glad he could
n’
t see my eyes welling up as I dried them against his collar. Anyway, they were mostly tears of joy.

• • •

All that good luck must have made a huge dent in my cosmic bank account, because when we got back to Gran
t’
s office, Portia was waiting for us.

She rose slowly, all blue and black and white, like a bitchy Siberian tiger stalking its prey
.“
Well, Grant dear, it looks like your inability to walk without tripping and falling into someon
e’
s cunt has come home to roost at last.
I’
m only impressed that you somehow managed to get your dick stuck in two at the same time
.
”

I saw red, and words flew out of my mouth before I could stop myself
.“
Look, it was just a stupid mistake, i
t’
s not as if he did anything really terribl
e
—”

Portia steamrolled right over me as though I were a paper cup in the path of a tank
.“I’
m not going to let you throw your famil
y’
s name away like this, Grant.
I’
m moving the wedding up
!
”

Well, if that was all she wanted, that was
n’
t too bad,
I’
d been expecting her to get out the iron maiden at leas
t
—

“
The two of you are getting married this weekend
!
”

…
holy fucking hell.

I couldn’t believe that girl in the mirror was me.

She was clad in a wedding dress like a cloud, sleeveless and low-cut but slowly expanding into a lacy sweetheart train embroidered with silver thread and seed pearls. My dark hair was twisted into a simple but classic updo, and my makeup had been done professionally for the first time since my college graduation.

Then the fitter pricked me with a pin, and I definitely believed the girl in the mirror was me
.“
Ouch
!
”

“
Watch it
!”
Kate said
.“
This is a bride, not a pincushion
.
”

“
Thorry
,”
the woman said through lips clenched tight around spare pins
.“
I
t’
th a bit tricky.
I’
m doing my betht
.
”

“
I
t’
s all right
,”
I said absently, my gaze drawn back to the mirror. The girl in the mirror mouthed those words along with me, and I imagined her speaking other words
:
…
till death do us par
t…
I d
o
…

“
Breathe
,”
Kate said
.“I’
ve heard most people need to do that
.
”

“
This is happening too fast
,”
I whispered, steadying myself with a hand against the wall
.“
There was just supposed to be a month-long pretend engagement, and now
I’
m actually going to be walking down the aisle in thi
s
—
”
I gestured weakly at the dress.

“
Work of art
,”
Kate supplied.

“
’
Ank you
!”
the fitter said with a pin-filled grin.

“
It does
n’
t feel right
.”
  Ha. That was the understatement of the century. I was in a dress worth more than some small countries, I was being jabbed with pins by a complete stranger, and the man I was putting all this effort in for did
n’
t even love me. Somehow, I had never imagined the fitting for my wedding dress feeling quite so wrong.

So why was
n’
t I calling it off? Why was
n’
t I marching back to Grant and throwing his engagement ring in his face?

When had I become so conflicted?

Kate put her hands on my shoulders
.“
I
t’
s still a business arrangement, just a different ring on your finger. And if ther
e’
s one thing my girl Lacey Newman knows, i
t’
s business
.
”

I shot Kate a warning loo
k—
better not to gossip in front of the employees. Who knew what tabloid they might sell their eavesdropping material to?

“
Excuse me
,”
I said to the assistant
.“I’
m getting terribly thirsty, do you think you could get me some water? And a straw so I do
n’
t drip on your dress
?
”

“
Thertainly, Mith Newman
!”
she said, spitting her pins into her hand.

I felt my spine relax instantly, and I wondered how much of my anxiety had been fear that she was about to swallow one of them.

“
The lies are just getting bigger and bigger
,”
I said to Kate when she was gone, twisting the engagement ring around on my finger
.“
Plus, after w
e…
hooked up, agai
n
…”

I flashed to the feel of Grant over me, setting a steady rhythm as his hands stroked my breasts, my stomach, my thigh
s
…

“
So you get to marry a rich guy you like having sex with, awesome
!”
Kate said
.“
You gotta look on the bright side, girl! This ishis basically the ending of every single fairy tale ever
.”

I forced a smile
.“
Well, when you put it like tha
t
…”

I wished I could explain to Kate that it was
n’
t just the sex that was making things complicated, it was the feelings attached to the sex. But to explain that to Kate I would have had to explain it to myself first, and if there was one thing in life I did
n’
t understand, it was how Grant made me feel the way he did.

Maybe Kate was right. Everything she was saying made sense. Everything I was thinking and feeling made no sense at all.

But Kate was right, why could
n’
t I be happy?

• • •

The universe refused to respond to my questions with a detailed essay whose footnotes laid out the crux of all my emotional difficulties, and so there I was at our apartment, trying to sort out my feelings about all this while also trying to run interference between Grant and my parents so they all got off on the right foot.

Grant had chosen the caterers well, good delicious food that was organic and ethical and local but not too fancy; the high price tag came from the plant
s’
and animal
s’
quality of life, not a publicity campaign or a lot of imported ingredients.

There was deep-fried okra, vegetable pie, chicken soup, ginger carrot soup, local beer, and chocolate chip cookies spread out all over the counter in the kitchen; the four of us had pulled up stools and we passed the baskets of food around to whoever wanted to try them.

I wanted to address the elephant in the room right away, but Grant had persuaded me to let him ease them into it, so right now we were chatting about the weather, local sports, and the apartment.

“It’s a bit empty at the moment, but I do think that sort of highlights its potent energies,” Mom was saying. “I know a wonderful feng shui master who’d be willing to give it a look over, Grant, if you’re interested.”

“I’
m always open to suggestions, m
a’
am
,”
Grant said, while shooting me an amused look.

I just raised my eyebrow. I had tried to tell him they were hippies.

“
Oh, call me Emma, dear
,”
Mom said
.“
Or would you prefer Mom? Lacey, would you prefer he call me Emma or Mo
m
—
”

I figured there had been enough easing, and that this was a ready-made opportunity.

“Actually, Mom, Dad, there’s something I wanted to tell you…”

• • •

They took it amazingly well.

I mean, I knew they were hippies and believed in peace and love and everyone following their own path...but they took it amazingly well.

“I support whatever Lacey wants to do,” Mom said. “If you’re willing to go along with this, Pumpkin, I know you’ve got a good reason.”

“Got a good head on her shoulders, and a good heart,” Dad said.

If I didn’t know they viewed the accumulation of wealth as a stain upon the soul of Mother Earth, I would have suspected Grant of bribing them.

“Practical gal, but she never lets that override her morals,” Dad said. “Remember the lemonade stand?”

“Oh, not this story again,” I protested.

“I want to hear the story,” Grant volunteered, a wicked grin on his face.

It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” my mom said with a reproachful look at me. “Well, it was the hottest summer on record, and Lacey had opened up a lemonade stand, charging fifty cents a cup. Well, one day this homeless man came by, and Lacey gave him a cup for free. Our snooty neighbor didn’t like that at all, so she came charging out and Lacey just looked at her and said—”

“
Oh hey Dad, did you know Grant collects cars
?”
I interrupted before Mom could get to the embarrassing part where I dumped lemonade over that lad
y’
s head
.“
You should go look at his cars! Ther
e’
re mostly old ones, but there are some new fuel-efficient ones too! Go look at cars
!
”

I hustled Grant and Dad out of the room, Grant mouthing over his shoulder
I will find out what happened
, and turned back to my mom, who was digging into the chocolate chip cookies with gusto.

“You’re really cool with this?” I asked.

“
Yes I am, young lady. W
e’
ll stick to the script in any interviews, too
,”
Mom promised. She giggled
.“
Oooh, interviews! Listen to me, like some kind of movie star
!
”

“
Yeah, yo
u’
ll be in the spotlight for sure
.”
I toyed with a piece of okra, but my nerves had destroyed my appetite
.“
Yo
u’
re really okay
?
”

“
Sounds like maybe you want me to not be okay with it. Are
you
happy, Pumpkin
?
”

I looked away so she would
n’
t see me tear up
.“
Do
n’
t know what you mean, Mom
.
”

“
Oh, Lacey Spacey Pumpkin Pie, I was
n’
t born yesterday
.”
She covered my hand with hers. Her hand was warm, the skin just starting to paper with age
.“
I can see you like him a whole lot. Seems like he likes you too. Is this what you want, doing the marriage this way
?
”

“
I do
n’
t know
,”
I whispered.

“
Maybe if you and Grant talke
d
—”

“
No
.”
My voice cracked
.“
No. I ca
n’
t
.
”

“
Well, you know your father and I will support you, whatever you do
.”
She squeezed my hand
.“
Follow your heart, Lacey. Your heart beats with the ancient wisdom of Mother Earth, and it sings in symphony with the dust of stars. I
t’
s very important to remember that, especially since yo
u’
re a Taurus
.
”

For a moment I wished that my mom were still the kind of person who would have cut that speech off a
t‘
follow your heart
,’
but no matter what silly stuff my mom spouted, I was lucky to have her, and grateful.

‘
Follow my heart
.’
Yeah.

I just wished my heart had provided me with a map so
I’
d know where the hell it was leading me.