Page 20 of No Rings Attached
Glamma gave an evil cackle. “Oh don’t you worry. I’ve got that covered. How can they dispute the word of a whole town?” She pulled out her phone. “Ruby River Rumor Mill activated. By tomorrow morning there won’t be a single person in town that doesn’t know you two have been dating.”
Sweat beaded my brow. Now we were getting the whole town on board with this? “But isn’t there a greater chance for error if the whole town knows we’re faking it?”
“Pshaw. I’ll just talk about how excited I am to finally meet my grandson’s girlfriend and they’ll do the rest from there. No need for anyone to know it’s fake. They can be mad at Drew for hiding you from them for so long.” She winked.
Small towns were clearly the gossip hub of the world.
I picked up my glass and slowly sipped my remaining water. Before I set it down, the office door opened.
“Hey, Dad!” Drew called out.
“Perfect timing, Robert!” Glamma greeted her son. “You can meet your future daughter-in-law before the town does!”
I choked and water spewed out of my mouth before I could stop it. From the way my nose burned, I had a feeling it shot out of there too.
Oh my God.
What was Glamma doing?!
Drew’s dad laughed and pushed his wire rimmed glasses up his nose. He was a handsome man and I could see a faint resemblance to Drew. “This must be Ellie. Mom, stop teasing her.” He moved close enough to extend his hand to me and I immediately saw that he and Drew shared the same eyes. “I’m Robert. Sorry to have you involved in my mother’s schemes. Just give her a few days and she’ll probably come up with something else.”
I shook his hand, wincing slightly when I noticed the beads of water on my wrist and down my shirt. What a way to meet my fake boyfriend’s dad. I suppressed a sigh. When we let go, I reached for the tissues on the coffee table to wipe up my mess.
Glamma glared at her son, but he only rolled his eyes.
I was surprised he took his life into his own hands like that.
“This isn’t a joke, Robert. Poor Ellie here has the misfortune of being born into a terrible family. So we’re adopting her as one of our own, and we’re going to help her.” Glamma stabbed her pointer finger in the air with each syllable to emphasize her words and I found myself distracted by and admiring her intricately painted nails.
Robert didn’t say a word, although the crease between his eyebrows indicated he was listening intently. While Drew was in a suit, his dad was dressed in jeans and a long sleeve polo. I estimated him to be at least six feet tall.
“She needs a boyfriend to fend them off once they descend on our town to have her sister’s wedding here,” Glamma explained. “I’ll fill you in on the worst details later. But we’re helping. Got it?”
I couldn’t stop the full body shudder that rippled through me.
Robert’s slow nod of understanding and acceptance was so foreign to me that I might have let my mouth drop open. “Ahh. Okay.”
Okay?
Okay?!?
His mother just told him I was going to fake date his son and that’s the only response he had?
In my house, my dad would sit by silently as my mother and sister reminded me how stupid I was being and how it would all blow up in my face.
My palms dampened as my nerves grew. What if this did blow up in my face? How was I going to recover from that?
As though sensing my distress, Drew’s hand squeezed mine. “It’s all going to be fine.”
Robert stared at me and then Drew for what was probably a few seconds, but felt like hours. “I hope you two know what you’re getting into.”
Drew gave an emphatic nod.
I answered with a weak shrug. I don’t think anything could prepare me adequately for Glamma’s brand of help.
“Okay, then.” Robert grinned. “What do you need me to do?”
This one conversation was such a direct opposition to my family I had to fight back tears. How was it that this strange turn of events didn’t even phase him?
