The Fake Engagement

“I never said that,” he said, the lie falling easily from his lips.

“Admittedly, everyone thought it was going to be with Caroline, but this is good. Eliza seems nice.”

He slapped his brother on the back. “She is.” He stepped toward the table and went straight to where his woman sat. There was a singular chair available.

“Well, well, big brother, this is a surprise. Normally, you try to stay as far away from us lady folk as possible,” Trudy said.

There was a chorus of laughter.

“Yeah, well, I’ve got to protect my woman from your evilness.”

Trudy blew him a raspberry.

“Eliza, I’d like to introduce you to Lydia, she is married to my brother Roger.” He pointed toward Lydia.

“So formal with all of these introductions,” Lydia said.

He wasn’t going to point out to her that he’d only done one so far.

“This is Grace, and she’s with Kian. I have no idea why. She is way too good for him.”

Grace laughed. “You charmer.”

“And finally, you’ve got Scarlett, who for some reason, decided she was in love with the youngest one of us all, Andrew.”

“It wasn’t exactly hard to fall for him. He’s a sweetheart and you all know it.”

He did know it.

Andrew had a heart of gold. Growing up, there were often times he felt people took advantage of his brother’s good nature. He didn’t like it, not one bit. Andrew was the person in control of the family’s charity organizations, and he helped to push for donations and organized special events in the town.

He was a well-loved guy. Everyone adored him.

“Ladies, this is my fiancée, Eliza.”

“We can see that,” Lydia said. “Ever since Roger told me you were engaged, I couldn’t wait to meet the lucky woman who finally snagged you.”

Preston couldn’t help but laugh.

Lydia wasn’t his biggest supporter. She felt, as he imagined many of his family did, that he’d abandoned them to go on to bigger and better things. He’d often heard her say that he felt he was better than all of them. It was never the case, but he refused to get into an argument with family over the decisions he’d made for himself. This was his life, and he’d do whatever the hell he wanted to do with it, and to hell with what other people said.

“Tell me, Eliza, what made you fall madly in love with him?” Grace asked.

Eliza’s face had turned a slightly deeper shade of red. This wasn’t good. They’d never discussed this element before.

“Wow, it would be easier to say what I don’t love about him. I guess at first, it was the fact he gave me this incredible opportunity. I know. I know. I work for him, and there never should have been a relationship developing, and I get that. It’s the little things that started it. He’d ask me to get me coffee, and he’d hand me the company card, and he’d tell me to make sure I got myself whatever I wanted. In his own way, he’d take care of me, probably without even realizing, and over time, I slowly fell in love with him.”

Preston was blown away. For a short second there, he actually thought Eliza was telling the truth.

“He’d never allow any of the men or women he dealt with to treat me like crap. If they tried to abuse their position within the boardroom, or a meeting, or whatnot, he’d put his foot down. Demand that they apologize for insulting me. Little by little, he got under my skin.”

“Aw, now that is a love story in the making,” Grace said.

“I didn’t know you had it in you, big bro,” Roger said.

He chuckled. “I guess I’m good at surprising everyone.”

“So when did you two, you know, even realize that you wanted to be together?” Scarlett asked.

These weren’t questions he anticipated. His mother got up, asking for them to hold that thought, and came out seconds later with more pieces of bacon.

He distracted himself with filling his breakfast plate.

“Well?” Scarlett asked when a short time had passed.

“I’ll let Preston answer this. It was he who made the first move,” Eliza said.

All gazes turned toward him. It felt similar to the night he said he’d started up his own company and was heading to the city. How he didn’t want to stay in Westcliffe Heights and had big plans of his own.

“Her ass,” Preston said.

This created a few chuckles. His mom slapped him on the arm.

“No, I … she’s amazing. When I first hired her, I thought I’d made a big mistake. I didn’t know anything about her. Within the space of a few days, my chaotic life had order. She made sure everything was dealt with swiftly. Day by day, month by month, I started to notice her. The first time was when she dropped a file leaving my office. She bent down, and I looked up, and I admired the curve of her ass. It was the first time I noticed her as a woman, not as my PA. From there, my feelings just built, until one day, we were waiting for an elevator, and I just felt this connection. I dropped my case, grabbed her, pressed her up against the wall, and kissed her. From that day on, we’ve been pretty inseparable.”