Chapter Twenty-six
"He was in on it, wasn't he?" The agent smirked.
"Ah, you're getting to know me to well, Gus."
"You tricked the grandkids and somehow convinced a judge to lie to his own flesh and blood. You both must have been desperate."
"The desire for great-grandchildren is strong in grandmas and apparently grandpas. Just ask Mr. Brevik and his lovely wife."
Beth
"He's been gone for a really long time." I played with the straw in my drink and kept my eyes trained on the beach for any sign of Jace.
"Why do you care?" Char asked in an innocent voice. "Something you want to tell us?"
Kacey grinned shamelessly. Char joined in. And both men fell silent as all eyes burned holes through my person.
"Jace!" I all but yelled when he came walking up with his father.
But something was off. He looked… he looked almost guilty… and sad. Why would he be sad? Immediately, I blamed myself. If I hadn't made him go along with the challenge to stay… If I hadn't bribed him with his career and the whole prostitution rumor… Was I so wrong to want the fairytale? It had basically been handed to me on a silver platter. So what? I took it! You hear me, God! I took it!
"Welcome to the family!" Mr. Brevik pulled me into a tight bear hug.
I almost puked my drink all over him. Family? Whose family was I joining and why the hell was he so excited about it?
"We're so happy to have you. My wife will soon be joining us to celebrate."
"Is it your birthday?" I asked lamely.
"And a sense of humor!" He elbowed Jace in the ribs. "You've really hit the jackpot on this one. And, my dear," he turned back to me, "what incredible work you've been doing for GreenCom."
"Work." I nodded. "What does that have to do with family?"
"There she is!" A loud southern voice interrupted my confusion and Jace's guilty face. A woman of about five two came barreling toward me. She had bright blond hair and giant sunglasses. Had she not been wearing white, I would have thought she was Grandma. "My daughter!"
"I think I'm confused," Travis whispered behind me.
"I've always wanted a girl! And now I have one. Oh, this is just the best news I've had all year! It truly got me through that horrid plane ride. Oh, who am I kidding? If I have a stroke tomorrow, I'll die happy, knowing our son's settled down with such an accomplished woman!"
"Who's getting married?" Jake asked innocently as he took another sip of his drink.
"Is someone dying?" This from Travis.
"Cheers!" Mr. Brevik shouted. "To Jace and Beth!"
Grandma magically appeared out of thin air with a tray of drinks. "I just love it when things fall together, don't you?"
Slowly, I turned to Jace.
He basically had the words Guilty Bastard written across his forehead as he made his way over to me and pulled me in for a tight hug, whispering in my ear, "I'm sorry."
Those two words may as well have been a knife being stabbed into my heart.
No proposal for boring Beth. No, just an apology. That's what I was. An apology, caught up in lie after lie after lie. And it was all my fault. All because I was reaching for something I never deserved in the first place.
"I'll fix it, just not now," Jace continued.
So when was he going to fix it? Before or after we walked down the damn aisle?