Page 31 of Love You, Mean It

“I’m just saying, we’re not playing any frat boy faves at the wedding.”

Theo laughed genially. He’d insisted on mentioning the memory loss—It never hurts to have some extra cover—but we’d agreed it was wisest not to led Ted think he’d been seriously incapacitated. Still, I could feel my armpits going damp in the close-fitting velvet dress. Could Sam have told him anything? I’d given her a different timeline in the hospital. And Ted seemed to have an awful lot ofquestions about our “history”…though that could just be because, according to Theo, their only reliable interactions were the semiannual board meetings Ted swooped into town for.

Luckily, instead of pushing back from the table and bellowingJ’accuse,Ted simply sighed.

“I suppose that’s lucky.” He raised a bloody bite to his mouth. “We’ll just have to hope it’s not impacting your long-term decision making.”

“But the engagement happenedbeforethe accident, isn’t that what you said, Theo?” Marta said from the other end of the table. Ted’s head jerked up, but she was focused on slicing a thin strip of steak.

“That’s right. Just last weekend, actually.” Theo swallowed hard, then pasted on a dazzling smile. “When I booked the trip I’d only been thinking about a romantic getaway, but…I suppose I just couldn’t help myself.”

“Can I see the ring, Ellie?” Marta held her hand out expectantly and I placed mine in hers.Smart thinking, Theo.“Oh, that’sgorgeous.Ted, isn’t it gorgeous?”

“It looks like you’ve spoken to your mother about this.” Marta glanced up and, noticing Ted’s simmering fury, she quickly dropped my hand, lowering her eyes to her plate. Not exactly a loving father’s response, but Theo’s quick nod my way told me we were on track. Apparently this fell within the expected range ofTed. Exhaling shakily, I focused on my food again.This wasn’t goingsobadly…considering…

“Mom gave me the ring years ago, Ted. You know that.”

“You must have swept my son off his feet.” Ted skewered a piece of asparagus. “Proposing in just a few months with a family heirloom? It’s certainly…unexpected.”

“To me, too! Though I don’t know if it wasmedoing the sweeping.” I chuckled, not quite sure where this was going.

“Oh, I just assumed.” Ted stabbed a chunk of filet and held it a few inches over the plate as he leaned across the table to peer at me. The meat bled slowly onto the porcelain below,drip, drip, drip.

“Why do you say that?”

“You’re just so different from the other girls Theo’s dated.” He stuffed the meat into his mouth, chewing slowly. “So much more…salt of the earth.” His eyes dragged over my dress, which fuck right off, vintage mod clothes are cool even if theyareobviously polyester. “And of course we actuallymetthem before Theo went so far as to propose.”

“One of my favorite things about Ellie is how down to earth she is,” Theo said, not bothering to make eye contact with his father. I couldn’t tell whether he was chewing, or if biting back his words had become a physical endeavor.

“Don’t get offended, I’m just surprised. Would you ever catch Olivia at Major MacLeod’s? Or Sam?” Ted laughed at the absurdity of that idea—clearly Olivia, whoever she was, wasfarabove my local. Sam…I could have guessed that.

“You met Olivia what…three times? In two years? I’m not sure you know her as well as you think you do, Ted.” Theo tossed it out so casually it was clear he always referred to his father by name, even to his face. “Anyway, all the more reason to change up my MO. Clearly the approach I used in the past wasn’t working.”

“Maybe. I sometimes wonder if you didn’t simply give up too soon,” Ted mused. Wow. Didn’t even bother to look at me as he slipped that knife under my ribs.

“Have you been by the club lately?” Marta said softly. “There’s a new chef in the dining room, we really like him.”

“No, Marta, it hasn’t been high on the priorities list,” Theo snipped.

“Oh, well…when you have a chance.” Marta’s smile looked strained. She was clearly doing her best to redirect us toward casual dinner conversation but…“uphill battle” didn’t even begin to describe it.

“All I’m saying is I’m surprised you two ‘knew’ in such record time,” Ted said, pointing his fork between Theo and me, eyes fixed firmly on me, “when you’re so clearly outside each other’s usual circles.”

I dug my nails into the top of my thigh, swallowing hard. Hopefully I hadn’t snagged my tights. We all chewed in silence for a few minutes, my heart rateveryslowly descending as I focused on the food, the flavors of the rich cabernet,anythingthat could keep me from actually baring my teeth at this—Mimi was dead on—complete prick.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t get over how fast you two are moving.” Ted leaned back and threw his leg over his knee. “You’re sure you’re not rushing into this?”

“We’re sure,” I said, hand tightening around my steak knife. I forced myself not to stare at Marta. Ifthosetwo had been “together” for more than a year before Ted put a ring on it—affairs don’t count—I’d eat my hat.

“And you don’t feel…out of your depth?”

“Ted, what are you—”

He cut Theo off with a raised hand.

“Our world can be overwhelming to someone who wasn’t raised the way you were, Theo. Different sets of rules, different social cues…”

“Don’t worry, the existence of country clubs isn’t as hard to understand as you might think.” My lips were twisted so tightly I knew it had to look like a throwdown, but I couldn’t, for the life of me, manage to unwind any.Keep your temper,the little Bella in my head said. Butgod,he was soinfuriating. No wonder Theo made a concerted effort to keep his distance.

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