The Fake Engagement

He felt his face heating, and Eliza looked mortified.

Fortunately, his parents weren’t paying attention.

“You must be hungry. We’ve saved you some dinner. We’ll let you guys get settled, and then, we’ll see you downstairs.”

He watched as Trudy, his mother, then his father, each left the room. In his mind, they left like the warning bell.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

The door closed.

“What the hell?” Eliza asked.

“You’re upset about the room, and you should totally be upset about that, because I didn’t tell you that my parents had already decided that we will be sleeping in my bedroom.”

“There is only one bed. What are we going to do?” she asked.

“Look, I know you’re upset, but the bed is pretty big enough for the both of us. We can do this.”

“I don’t know. This is a whole new level of lying. Your family really cares about you, Preston. I don’t think we should be doing this.”

“Then do me a favor and don’t actually think about what we’re doing. It will make it so much easier.” He turned toward her, hands on hips.

“And what is this?” she asked, holding up her hand.

“It’s an engagement ring.”

“It’s huge, Preston. This thing is fake. Why would you get me a huge engagement ring? Are you wanting to make me look like a fool?” she asked.

He took her hand and ran his thumb across her engagement ring. “I got you a ring this big because that is what exactly I would get my fiancée, Eliza. I’m not just playing a role, I’m trying to make it work.”

“You’d get your fiancée this?”

“Yes, I would.” He let go of her hand. “Look, my parents are … they’re in love, okay? They have always been in love. They like to make a big deal out of everything, which is why we’re sharing the room. This isn’t new for them. They just try to do everything to make our lives as bearable as possible.”

“I don’t think I can do this,” Eliza said.

He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I understand that. My parents are a little … much.”

“Are you embarrassed by them?” she asked.

“What? No, hell, no. I love my parents.”

She moved to sit beside him. “I got a sense that you were pissed with your dad.”

“That? It’s nothing. Just the same old shit but different days.” He ran a hand down his face. “The truth is, I haven’t stayed back home for long, in a long time.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay. I get that. So we don’t talk about it, ever.” She got to her feet. “Fine. You know what, I can totally do this. Sharing a bed with my boss to have a job for life, totally worth it. We can do this, Preston. We can be the most amazing engaged couple, get the Aguire deal, and life will be perfect.”

It was strange, but he believed her.

Chapter Eight

“We’re so screwed,” Eliza said, arranging her perfume bottles.

They had already gone down to eat some food, and her stomach cramped. They were too stilted. The time they’d spent together wasn’t helping. Around his parents, she found herself feeling wooden. Like they would know she was lying to them. What didn’t help was the constant glint of the engagement ring.

There was no denying it was a beautiful ring. Breathtaking, but the moment he slid it on her finger, her entire body had clammed up.

These were true lies they were telling his parents.

Marsha was telling her about how she wanted him to settle down. To find a nice girl to start a family with.

“Calm down,” Juliet said.

“I cannot calm down. I am freaking out.”

“Where are you?” Mackenzie asked.

“Our bathroom. We just had the dinner from hell, and now we’ve got to share a room. With one bed. One. He lied to me,” she said.

“Eliza, you get to sleep in the same bed as a hot guy. Don’t think of the particulars.”

She groaned. “You two are not helping. You’re supposed to be on my side, and it feels like you’re taking his.”

They both denied it.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Eliza said.

Her doubts had been mounting by the second. She felt sick to her stomach, not to mention the overriding fear of being a disappointment.

“You’ve got this,” Juliet said.

“If you don’t want to do this, then you can come home, and you can look for another job. We both know if you fail at this, you won’t want to stay working with him.”

Eliza groaned.

The long hours.

The pain in the ass he’d been.

For the most part, she happened to love her job. There were a few elements she couldn’t stand, like the destruction of other companies. Seeing Preston let people go. That was hard.

She rested her head against the mirror and groaned. “I’m not coming home. I will not admit defeat so easily.”