The Playboy's Princess (16 page)

“I really wish you wouldn’t do that.”

“Why? It’s cute. You can pick a nickname for me if you want.”

Little did he know her friends had already taken that liberty. “How about Douchebag? That has a nice ring to it.”

“Play nice, Ariel.” His voice held a warning tone, but the smile never left his face.

He parked the car and rushed around to open the door for her. He laced their fingers together and led her out onto the street and to the restaurant.

It looked like they were the last to arrive, because when the hostess showed them to their table, it was full of smiling faces. Jade expected there to be two groups at the table: her friends and Drew’s friends and family. It seemed, though, that everyone was mingling, talking, and getting to know each other. Several of the faces at the table were familiar even though Jade had never met them.

Aaron Malik, of course, was recognizable as he chatted with a gushing Clare and Stuart. But there were others too.

“Why is Tully Whittaker glaring at me?” Jade whispered to Drew.

“Don’t worry about her.”

He didn’t stay to explain
why
she shouldn’t worry about Tully. He moved through the room, greeting people with confidence. It appeared his parents had booked the entire restaurant as all the other tables were empty.

Someone clinked a knife against a glass, and everyone fell silent. Drew appeared instantly at her side and slipped an arm around her waist.

“I’d like to welcome you all to the joyous occasion. To the familiar faces in the room, you’ll know how amazing it is that Drew has found a girl that he wants us all to meet, and to those of you I have yet to meet, welcome and I look forward to getting to know you. Now, where is this magical girl who has bewitched my rascal son?”

“Your father doesn’t seem to think very highly of you,” Jade murmured under her breath as Drew walked her toward the head of the long table where his father was standing.

“I’m shocked.” Drew’s voice was flat, and Jade was quite sure he was being sarcastic.

“Here she is! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jade,” Aaron said, pulling her out of Drew’s grasp and twirling her in front of the staring crowd at the table.

She blushed and stared down the row of faces for Clare. She saw her friend and bit her lip. Clare gave her a thumbs-up.

“Enjoy your dinner, everyone,” Aaron said loudly. As if on cue, and Jade was sure it was, a parade of waiters appeared carrying plates of food.

The buzz of chatter filled the room, and everyone went back to their conversations.

“Jade, it’s lovely to meet you,” said a woman with a warm voice.

Jade looked to her right and saw a middle-aged woman with a slightly familiar face. She wasn’t sure if the familiarity came from having seen her in magazines or the fact that her son looked so much like her.

“Mrs. Malik, it’s nice to meet you too.”

“Oh, none of that. Please call me Laura.”

Jade smiled.

“This is a bit more than we’d talked about, Dad,” Drew said, taking his seat beside Jade.

He patted her knee under the table.

“Well, my playboy son brings home a girl for the first time; I’m going to make a fuss. You must really be something special, my dear,” Aaron said, ending his statement with a pointed look at Jade.

“Aaron, please. This is a special night for Drew. Let’s not make it awkward for him,” Laura said.

Aaron laughed. “If Jade hasn’t read about Drew’s many women in the tabloids, I’d be very surprised. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, am I?”

“Err…” Jade didn’t know what to say. “Drew has been nothing but a gentleman to me.”

Drew gave her an appreciative smile, and Aaron looked genuinely shocked.

“A gentleman, hey? Well, I’m impressed, son. You might have picked up something from the old man after all.” He let out a strong belly laugh.

“I’ve always known you were a gentleman, Drew,” Laura said, frowning at her husband.

“Thanks, Mom.” Drew appeared thoroughly embarrassed.

Clare came up to Jade’s side and hugged her from behind.

“So, you’re Dream Guy, huh?” she said.

“Ah, you’re the best friend.” Drew smiled and shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. And I usually get my friends to call me Drew. I save
Dream Guy
for formal occasions.”

Clare smirked. “Okay. I like you. My name’s Clare. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything?”

“No, we were just talking about what a gentleman our son is,” Laura said.

“I’ll say. A little
too much
of a gentleman if you ask me,” Clare said, winking at Jade.

“What do you mean by that?” Aaron asked, looking interested.

“Nothing. She means nothing. Clare, I think Stuart is trying to get your attention,” Jade said.

That was a bold-faced lie. Stuart was quite happily devouring a bowl of pasta and wasn’t looking in their direction at all, but it was enough to get Clare to go back to her seat.

“Fill me in later?” Drew asked, leaning over to whisper in Jade’s ear.

She nodded and started to eat.

“Can I get you anything else to drink?” a waitress asked.

“I’ll have a gin and tonic,” Jade said.

“Vodka on the rocks,” Drew said but, after a stern look from his father, changed his order. “Actually, make mine a Coke.” He frowned and shoveled food into his mouth.

Jade squeezed his hand under the table and offered him a smile.

Drew’s parents were friendly, even if Aaron was a bit boisterous. Jade didn’t really know how to take him, but she supposed when you were always the center of attention, you got used to playing that role. Laura was warm and chatty, and she seemed extremely excited to meet Jade.

“Drew spends a lot of his time with girls like Tully. She’s a lovely girl, but her vision of reality is so skewed. I’m thrilled that he’s getting serious with someone who works for a living and pays her own way.” Laura beamed at her.

Jade glanced over at Tully and found the blonde glaring at her again. She didn’t know what to make of it. She hadn’t had a chance to even speak with Tully yet. Perhaps she was also used to being the center of attention and didn’t like that everyone was talking about a nobody like Jade.

“Drew!” Tully squealed, right on cue. She’d been knocking back the cocktails all night and was beginning to look quite disheveled.

“Yes, Tully?” He sounded polite, but Jade could see that his eyes were tight.

“Come and sit by me for a while. I’ve barely seen you all night.”

“Not right now.” He turned to Jade and smiled. “Are you ready for your surprise?”

“You mean you’re about to jump out of a cake wearing a dress?” she asked, smiling back.

“You wish,” Drew said, smirking.

It was surprising how comfortable she was with Drew and his family. They’d all made her feel so welcome. As Drew stood up and dug around in his suit pocket, Laura gave her a curious look, and Jade just shrugged her shoulders, unsure what was happening.

Drew tapped his fork against his water glass. All the table chatter stopped, and heads turned in his direction.

“Thanks for coming, everyone. I hope you’ve all enjoyed the food. Apologies to those of you I haven’t had a chance to speak with one on one, but I’ll try to mingle a bit more after the food is gone.” There was a round of chuckling from the table. “As you all know, we’re here to bring two families together. For my family and friends to meet Jade, and for Jade’s friends to meet me. It’s wonderful for both of us to see so many people we care about in one room.”

He looked down at Jade, who nodded in agreement. She hadn’t realized Drew was such a good public speaker, but it was undeniable. Everyone around the room was hanging on every word that left his mouth.

“But I’ve misled you all about the purpose of tonight.”

People shifted in their chairs, and there was a murmur of confusion. Aaron began to stand up, but Laura placed her hand on his arm, calming him.

“The reason we’re all here is
more
than what I’ve let on.” Drew turned to Jade and pushed his chair back out of the way.

He dropped to one knee and fished into his jacket pocket.

“Oh my God!” Clare gasped from the other end of the table.

Jade wished she could look around to see if everyone else was as shocked as she was, but she couldn’t look away from Drew.

“Jade, I know we’ve only known each other a few weeks, but they’ve been the best few weeks of my life. It might seem rushed to other people, but I believe that you
know
when you find the person you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with, and for me, that’s you. I’m falling in love with you more every day, and I would be honored if you would be my wife.”

Jade’s pulse thundered in her ears. The logical part of her brain told her to calm down. His words weren’t the truth. He was playing a part, reading a script. This was all part of their contract. He didn’t actually mean the words he was saying.

“Will you marry me, Jade?”

Gasps rung out around the room, and Jade was sure one of them had been from her. When Drew had said he had a surprise, she never would have guessed
this
. She’d thought when the time was right, they’d just start telling people they were engaged. She hadn’t expected a public proposal.

“Yes…y-yes, I w-will,” she stuttered.

He slipped a ring onto her finger and then stood, pulling her up into his arms and pressing his mouth to hers. She was aware of cheering and clapping, but she was lost in the kiss. This wasn’t like the practice kisses they’d had. This one
felt
real, even though she knew it wasn’t.

“You should see your face,” Drew laughed softly into her ear.

“That wasn’t fair. You should have warned me.”

“And miss this priceless expression? No way.”

The moment was broken by the sound of a scraping chair and a glass being knocked over.

“Fuck this!” Tully slurred.

Drew’s cousin shrieked as Tully’s martini spilled into her lap. Tully staggered between the tables, bumping into chairs, and then disappeared out onto the street.

“Don’t let one jealous girl spoil your night,” Laura said as they sat down.

Drew gave her a cheesy grin and squeezed Jade’s hand. “Don’t worry, Mom. Nothing can ruin tonight.”

The ring felt hot on Jade’s finger, and it was heavier than she’d expected. She held her hand out, admiring the way the large diamond sparkled in the light.

“It looks like several carats,” Laura said.

“I wouldn’t know,” Jade admitted, staring in awe at the ring.

“Don’t worry. You’ll get used to pretty things. Drew can be very generous, so I’m sure this won’t be the last bauble you get during your marriage.”

Chapter Ten

Paparazzi

“O
H
M
Y
G
OD
! Turn on TMZ right now!” Clare screamed into Jade’s ear through her cell phone.

Jade grabbed her remote control and flicked the stations until she saw a familiar face on the screen—hers.

“What the hell?”

She turned the volume up and sat down on the floor, feeling like she could listen better if her brain wasn’t concentrating on standing up.

“
…playboy Drew Malik, son of Aaron Malik, has asked a mystery girl to marry him. We got the scoop from Drew’s longtime friend and on-again-off-again girlfriend, Tully Whittaker.”

The image changed to Tully, drunk and slurring, wearing the same dress she’d worn to dinner the night before. Tully looked into the camera and gave what she probably thought was a sexy smile.

“It won’t last,” she said confidently. “The girl—I can’t even remember her name—isn’t his type at all. Trust me. This engagement isn’t even worth talking about.”

Drew’s face, looking drunk and trying to hide from a camera, appeared on the screen as the reporter’s voice came over the top.

“
Does Tully know Drew well enough to think this is going to fizzle before it even starts, or should we be expecting celebrity wedding bells?”

“Can you believe this? You’re practically famous!” Clare squealed.

“They don’t know it’s
me
,” Jade reasoned. “Thanks for letting me know, Clare. I’ll call you later.”

She hung up the phone and dialed Drew.

“Hey, Ariel,” he said.

“Have you seen the news?” she asked, not bothering with a greeting.

“No. I’ve been at school training the kids. I only just got home. What’s going on? Is it the end of the world?”

“It might be the end of my normal world. We’ve been found out.”