Ah, revenge was sweet. "Of course. You did trick us into living together. What did you think would happen?" I took in Gemma's intense expression and the darling way she had her legs folded up in the chair while she smashed the space bar on her keyboard rapidly. I suppressed a chuckle. "Gemma is perfect for me. She's smart and funny, and frankly, I'm surprised at your acumen in choosing an arranged bride. You might consider Gemma's line of work."
I could feel her anger from the other side of the phone. "I'm not sure when you became such an insufferably impertinent person, Knox, but your father and I do not appreciate it." She hadn’t taken the bait just yet and had neither confirmed nor denied that she had tried to force us to get married.
"Is there something you wanted to say other than to communicate your displeasure, Mother?"
Silence tightened on her end before she forced out, "I should like to meet with you both. We need to cement a date for the wedding and begin plans."
So far, she was acting exactly like I’d hoped she would. Now I just needed to push her over the edge. "Alright," I said cautiously. "We'd be happy to meet with you."
"Tonight, at Harry and Harriet's?"
Of course, she would choose a stuffy, over-priced restaurant. "Certainly."
"Knox?" she asked with a disconcerting sharpness.
"Yes, Mother?"
"I don't bluff; I hope you realize that. And dinner is on you. I'll see you there at seven."
I hung up and stared at the phone with a tapeworm of worry and disgust eating away at my insides. This whole thing was a nightmare. My only slight solace was that Gemma was clever and resilient, and if anyone could stand up to my mother, it had to be her… as long as she didn’t come out swinging. Sighing, I stood from the couch, turned off the console, and tapped her shoulder where she sat in her gaming chair.
Gemma rotated a questioning look my way, and I mimed taking her headphones off. She obliged, and I said, "I have two favors to ask of you."
Her enormous, lash-fringed eyes blinked twice. "Okay."
"First, are you willing to go to dinner with your fake monster-in-law tonight? She wants to meet and go over," I paused to make air quotes with my fingers, "'engagement plans.'"
Gemma cringed. "That sounds positively atrocious. Yes. Next?"
Here it was. The ring part. My heart suddenly went zero to sixty in two seconds flat, and I pulled in a surprisingly shaky breath.
Why was I nervous about this? It wasn't real. And yet, my hands had gone clammy and my breath shallow, like I was actually about to propose to this woman who was wearing strawberry-printed pajamas and fuzzy pink socks. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring case. "Will you… fake marry me?"
Gemma's mouth made a horrified O. "Youbought a ring?"
I opened the case, revealing a modest but high-quality diamond set in a princess cut. "We have to sell the story," I said gruffly, but it caught in my throat. Jesus, what was wrong with me? Why was this affecting me? It was just jewelry. I'd gifted jewelry to lovers before.
But as Gemma unfolded herself from her chair and gaped at the ring in my hand, I knew I was lying to myself. Gemma wasn'tjust a lover. She was something else. She was far beyond what I thought I had known about relationships. I wanted to spend every moment in her presence and run from the intensity of my feelings at the same time. I wanted to make her smile and catch every tear. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and promise her the world if it brought her happiness.
Total insanity.
Gemma came to stand in front of me but eyed the ring like I held a mousetrap on my palm. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of method acting."
"Don't be silly." I reached down and took her soft hand in mine. "We'll return it when we're done. No big deal." I positioned her hand in the air and took the ring from the velvet box. Snapping it closed, I put it back in my pocket and gently cupped her fingers. I slid the ring over her finger, holding my breath and hoping I'd guessed the size of her finger correctly. It slid over her knuckle a little too easily and hung on her finger with some looseness, but it wasn't terrible.
Gemma held it to the light, staring at it in wonder. "It's so sparkly."
"Diamonds often are," I remarked with a dose of amusement.
She slid an uncertain look my way. "This feels really fucking weird."
It was both weird and oddly… satisfying. I shook that thought away. "Sorry. I'm doing my best to get us out of this."
Gemma sighed, letting her hand fall to her side and shrugging. "Well, I always wondered what it felt like to be engaged." She glanced around the apartment like she was waiting for something.
"How does it feel?" I asked with a laugh in my voice.
Gemma's brilliant sapphire eyes held mine seriously. "Complicated."
