Serena raised a meticulously waxed eyebrow at Blake. "Really? You're going to pull an 'aw-shucks' routine on us? With a body like that?"
"Huh?" Blake blinked at my sister, her eyes widening. "I'm being polite. Because we're just meeting, and because this is a happy occasion."
"Don't bother with the manners." Serena rolled her eyes. She was wearing a tight black dress that showed off her surgically enhanced breasts. An enormous gold Rolex watch glinted against her wrist.
"Oh, Serena, what's the matter?" I asked. "Feeling outfoxed?"
"Hardly." She scowled at me. "It's more that I'm suspicious. I haven't seen you all year. None of us have. And then, three weeks before I'm set to inherit the trust, you spring this on us?" She pointed at Blake, as if my fiancée was something ugly and dangerous that had slunk out of a sewer pipe to join us for dinner.
I leaned across the table toward my sister. "Are you sad that you're only going to be inheriting half of the family fortune now?” I whispered, conspiratorially. “Or just that Blake's naturally gorgeous and much nicer than you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. There's no such thing as a real blonde." Serena sniffed, eyeing Blake's roots. "And as for the money—you're only getting it after you've been married for a year—and if this is actually real, not some sort of sad attempt at fraud." She turned back to Blake. "So, speaking of fraud, how exactly did you meet my brother?" I winced at how shrill she sounded. Mother would have hated to see her like this.
I looked around the table, from my father to my hired bride-to-be. Mother would probably have hated to see all of us like this.
Blake smiled bravely at Serena. "I worked at a design firm that helped Lucas with his branding. We met at a launch party. I'd like to say it was love at first sight, but that… just sounds so cheesy." She sounded demure, but as she continued rubbing my back, her hand started to go lower, skimming my belt.
I shifted in my seat. What is she playing at?
I gave her a quizzical look, but she ignored me, continuing to trace her fingers along my lower back. "I don't think it sounds cheesy," I said. "In fact, that's exactly how I felt." I gestured to my father, who was staring at Blake as if she were an ice-cold drink in the middle of the Sahara Desert that he wanted to guzzle. "I'm just lucky she felt the same way about me."
"I'll say," my father exclaimed. Then he cursed as Elizabeth sharply elbowed him.
"We started dating, and Blake moved in with me shortly after that," I explained. "Since I'm not getting any younger, and we decided we'd like to start a family—"
"Oh, will you stop with your bullshit?" Serena looked as if she might lunge across the table at me. "You do not want a family. You can't even stand to be in the same room with children! This is all for show. There was no insta-love, and this woman is not really your girlfriend."
Blake stubbornly held up her left hand and pointed at her ring. She looked as if she were about to burst into tears. "His fiancée," she reminded Serena, her voice swollen with hurt. Her lip quivered.
My father leaned across Elizabeth in order to better glare at my sister. "Stop making our guest upset," he commanded. "It's nice to see you
r brother finally happy. Maybe you could start working on that."
"Maybe you should mind your own business," Serena snapped.
"You need to back off," Elizabeth said, coming in between them, her tone nasty.
"Don't start that step-monster routine with me," Serena threatened.
Blake shot me a surreptitious look, as if to ask, are they always this bad?
I nodded at her, drained my glass, and motioned for the waiter. "Keep it coming," I said, pointing to the empty bottle of wine. Then I froze.
Blake's hand was trailing to the waistband of my pants again, skimming the top of my ass. "Can I have some more, babe?" she cooed when the waiter brought the bottle back. Her sexy voice made my cock jump to attention. I grabbed the wine out of the waiter's hands and poured it for her myself.
"Thanks." She gave me a fuck-me look then leaned over and kissed me, with tongue, causing the muscles all over my body to shiver in response.
My cock jolted again and as we parted, I noticed that all three of our dining companions had stopped arguing and were staring at us, open-mouthed.
"You're blushing," Serena said to me, sounding disgusted.
I jerked my thumb in Blake's direction. "It's her fault. She does that to me."
My father looked positively ribald as he bit into his salad. "You don't say, son," he mumbled through his Bibb lettuce.
Seemingly satisfied with my physical reaction, Blake refocused her attention on Serena. "Now, back to what you were saying about us not being in love—why would you say that? I don't understand."
Serena's head looked as if it were about to pop off. "Since you refuse to stop pretending—even though you're both seriously terrible at it—I'll break it down for you. I'm sure you know that Lucas is on the verge of inheriting lots of money—"