5 One Golden Ring
ONE GOLDEN RING
Lucy
“ S eriously, thanks for doing this.” I’m still in disbelief, and we’re mere hours from my hometown.
After Justin left the day of my tipsy texting, my mind came out of its wine fog and realized too late what I’d done. Once he agreed to go home with me, he left abruptly, infuriatingly insisting on booking his own flight. Not only that, but he bumped me to first class so we could sit together.
While it might have been necessary since I needed to give him the lowdown on my family, I’m not sure how he’ll feel about paying for it when he finds out how wealthy my family is. I still haven’t told him about that, only that they have certain standards that are hard to live up to.
With two connecting flights, I took the easy route and told him all about my brother, who promised he’d be at the airport to pick me up this time. Since Trevor knows the truth, I figured it’d be an easier start to the week and assumed Justin would be relieved someone knew about our phony relationship, but he actually seemed put off by it, which was weird.
“If you thank me again, I’m taking the next flight home instead of making our connection. Now, tell me the rest of what I need to know to make this believable,” he says, taking a bite of his taco.
We’re sitting in a Mexican restaurant in the airport during our two-hour layover. The tacos are good, but the margaritas are better, and liquid courage is exactly what I need for this. I’m still not sure how we’re going to pull this off when I secretly want to rip his heart out like he did mine. Instead, I’m supposed to act like I’m in love with the guy.
I stick to the basics while we eat, only giving him names, jobs, and a few hobbies before calling it good. It’s not like any couple talks nonstop about their family, so too much information would be overdoing it. He’ll know all he needs to soon enough.
“Why do you only go home twice a year?” he asks, catching me off guard. I’d forgotten that slipped out during my explanation for this mess. Throughout our previous dates all those months ago, I happily avoided talking about my family. Instead, most of our conversations were centered on our likes and dislikes, favorite shows, hobbies, places we’d like to visit… those sorts of things.
“I’m busy with work, and I have a life. I can’t get away all the time.” That’s reasonable.
“What drew you to San Diego in the first place? Seems far from home. Did you go to school there?” He’s asking way too many questions. Freaking him out about what he’ll be walking into is probably not the best idea at this point. I need to shut this down somehow.
“I wanted to experience a different part of the country. The West Coast intrigued me. It’s an entirely different ocean, different climate, and new people. What about you? Did you grow up in San Diego?”
“No. The military brought me there, and I ended up staying. So, explain why you didn’t just tell your parents ‘no’ to dating some rando instead of lying about being engaged.” Justin quickly veers the conversation back to me. We’re halfway through the meal and two drinks in.
I shrug and down my second margarita, signaling the waitress for another. I’ll take all the help I can get.
“That’s it? No comment?” he asks, taking a bite of his taco while he waits for an answer.
“It was just a heat of the moment thing. They were relentless, and I didn’t like how they disregarded my relationship.” I’m still sore over it.
“Your fake relationship.” He smirks.
“Hey, they didn’t know that. What if you and I had been dating, and my parents tried to set me up with this guy? Then how would you feel?” I reply smugly.
“First of all, if you and I were really dating, you bet your ass I’d have known your parents by then, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have given them a chance to set you up with someone else. Not on my watch.”
With the alcohol setting in and a fresh drink in hand, I’m feeling more mouthy than usual. “Oh really, if we’d been dating, huh? That’s funny, coming from the guy who ran at the first sign of an actual relationship. Oh, I know… maybe you could give Nathan a few tips on how to get me into his bed while you’re there. I’m sure my parents would appreciate it.”
“Lucy, that’s enough.”
But I continue my rant, the alcohol taking control, “Speaking of enough, maybe you should be giving me a few tips since I’m obviously not enough when it comes to sex. I mean, why else would you never call me again? Unless you only wanted to see how long it would take for me to fuck you.” I lift my drink to take a sip, but before I reach my mouth, Justin leans forward and wraps his hand around mine, slowly lowering my glass back to the table.
“Let’s get a few things straight. Most importantly, your skills in the bedroom are not an issue. I’m pretty sure the four orgasms I had that night prove it. As for adding a notch to my bedpost, I don’t waste time on dates for those. I don’t need to. And just to clarify, the two extra dates before we fucked ? That was because I knew the more the anticipation grew, the better it would be. And baby? It was explosive.” He lifts his hand from mine and sits back like he didn’t just light my core on fire. And did he just quote my final text from months ago?
I have no idea how to respond, so I take another sip of my drink in avoidance. This is going to be the longest week of my life.
Justin
Damn this woman is feisty. Not that she doesn’t have every right to be, but fuck is it going to be hard to manage myself around her. All I want to do is remind her exactly how explosive we are. The memory of it makes my dick swell underneath the table. At least she’s quiet for a moment, giving me a minute to cool my jets and get my thoughts under control.
She needs to vent, and it’s less than I deserve. I should’ve let her have her moment, but there was no way I was about to leave her thinking she was the problem. What kills me is that she’s probably been thinking these things ever since then. I’m an asshole for not explaining. It’s not Lucy’s fault I’m too weak when it comes to her, but she’s suffering because of it.
Hopefully, I’ve put some of her worries to rest. I’m going to have to get myself in check if I’m hoping to survive this week without losing my head again. Seeing her flushed cheeks from my speech tells me I’m not the only one with a problem. We need a safer topic.
“So, tell me about your family’s Christmas traditions.”
“Hmm… okay. On Christmas Eve, we each open one present, which is always a pair of pajamas. Then we put out milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. I try staying up every year to catch him, but I swear my parents put sleeping pills in my drink at night because I always fall asleep and miss seeing him.”
She looks so sincere that I can’t tell if she’s kidding, and I’m not sure what to say—until she bursts out laughing, and I deflate with relief.
“Oh my God, the look on your face was priceless. You seriously thought I still believed in Santa? Wow, you really do think I’m crazy,” she says, causing me to laugh along with her.
“Crazy or not, with acting skills like that, I’m definitely not worried about our performance this week.” Holding my glass up, she meets me halfway to clink our glasses together.
“We better finish these up and get to our gate. We’re boarding in ten,” I say, signing the check.
“I’m on it,” Lucy assures me, knocking back her drink.
Lucy passes out minutes after we board the next flight and is currently drooling in my lap. I’m sure her nerves are going haywire at having to pull this off. I know mine are. Having to convince her parents that we’re engaged when Lucy would prefer to push me off a cliff might be somewhat of a challenge.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m on cloud nine to be spending the week with the woman who worked her way into my heart so quickly. I haven’t stopped thinking about her since that horrible day all those months ago, and I’ve regretted every minute without her. She doesn’t realize she’s handed me a second chance, and it’s up to me to make the most of this week and rectify my mistakes. While I’m not sure how to do that yet, I’m determined to figure it out.
My mind swirls with what she’s told me about her family so far, which isn’t a whole lot. She’s been pretty elusive about her relationship with her parents. I’m anxious to meet them to satisfy my growing curiosity about why she resorted to telling them such a huge lie when she could have just said no. It confounds me how she can be so strong and capable in her personal life while still cowering to her parents.
I’m not happy with her brother knowing the truth about us. It would be easier if everyone were on the same page. This only makes it uncomfortable having to blatantly pretend to be something we’re not in the face of someone who knows it’s all bullshit. It complicates the situation rather than putting me at ease, which I could tell was what she was going for.
Another issue is that Lucy seems to have forgotten how to be comfortable around me, which won’t bode well when she introduces me to her parents. So, as much as I’d like to let her sleep since I’m enjoying her nestled up against me, it’s time for some practice during the last hour of our flight, and I’ve been looking forward to this all day.
My hand slowly rubs her back as I brush her hair from her face. “Lucy, it’s time to wake up, baby.”
Her eyes blink open slowly as she asks, “We’re landing?”
I chuckle softly. “No, we have about an hour left, but we need to deal with a few more things before we get there. Here, I got you some water while you were out.” She grabs it as she rises from my chest.
“Thanks. Sorry, I didn’t mean to crash on you. Man, those margaritas hit me hard.”
I scoff as she guzzles it down. “Yeah, you can say that again. Three will do that to someone your size who doesn’t usually drink that much.”
“Apparently. Anyway, what else do we need to go over? I think I covered enough to make it through the week.”
“You did… but there’s a couple things you forgot about, baby.”
“What’s with the baby? And I think I’d know if I forgot something about my own family, so enlighten me, oh wise one.”
“Well, for starters, you realize you’ll have to treat me a little differently in front of your parents—as in nicer?” She rolls her eyes until I reach for her hand, causing her to look down and furrow her brows. “And you’ll have to get used to me touching you. I’m a very affectionate fiancé.” I run my thumb along her cheekbone, cupping her chin while caressing her hand. “Can you handle it?”
Her eyes widen as I slowly lean in for a kiss when she pulls back hastily, snapping her hand back. “What are you doing? You can’t kiss me!”
“Will that be your reaction in front of your parents?” I smirk.
“You’re not going to kiss me in front of them.”
“Oh? So they’ll never see your fiancé show you affection?” She doesn’t answer quickly enough, so I continue, “Should we try that again?” I raise my eyebrows in question.
“Uhhh… I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I mean, I don’t know. I don’t think PDA is proper in front of parentals, so… no?”
“Think again, Lucy. If we’re going to make them believe we’re so in love that we’re engaged, we’ll have to be convincing. You don’t want them to see through it and keep trying to set you up over the next year, do you?” I’ve got her right where I want her.
“No.”
“That’s what I thought.” My head dips as my hand wraps around her neck and pulls her in.
The moment our lips touch, I’m in heaven. This is where I belong. She feels like home, and I’ve finally returned after a long journey. Too long. It’s been way… too… fucking long since I’ve had my lips on hers.
Within seconds, neither of us can hold back our moans as the kiss progresses. When her mouth parts, my tongue sneaks in to find its mate, reveling in the feel of her softness, seeking more. Her hands grab my head fiercely, deepening the kiss. This is what I remember. Our chemistry is off the charts.
Unfortunately, if I don’t stop now, we’ll be joining the mile-high club, and there’s one more critical piece to our deception that needs to be taken care of. So, I reluctantly pull back to a dazed Lucy, causing my balls to tighten. Fuck, what I wouldn’t give to keep going right now.
“You have no idea how difficult that was to stop, baby.”
“Why did you then?” she asks impishly, retreating into her seat, making me chuckle.
“Because we’re running out of time, and there’s an essential part of this you didn’t think about.”
“What now?” So sassy.
“We’re engaged, right?”
She nods.
“What’s the first thing people usually ask to see when you tell them you’re engaged?”
Understanding dawns. “Oh shit. I don’t have a ring. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. Mom even asked me about it the minute she heard, and I came up with some bullshit reason. Crap.” She slaps her forehead with the palm of her hand.
“It’s a good thing you have such a smart fiancé then,” I say as I reach into the breast pocket of my shirt.
Her hand flies to her mouth when she registers what I’m doing. “What…? How did you…?” I notice the second the light bulb comes on in her head. “Wait a minute—is that why Lily randomly asked me to go ring shopping with her last week ‘for fun’?” She makes air quotes. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because this is so much better.” I smile and reach for her hand. “Would you like me to do the honors?” I present the two-carat princess-cut solitaire encased in thick gold prongs with diamonds between each one. I slowly slide it onto her finger while her eyes widen in shock.
“Holy shit! Why did you get such a big one? Please tell me it’s borrowed. It didn’t need to be real; we could’ve just used a knock-off.” Her hand is shaking as I slide it on.
“I’m not letting my fiancé, fake or not, walk around in a cubic zirconia knockoff or anything less than she deserves. Plus, do you want your parents to question the stability of your future husband if they look too closely?” Once the ring is in place, I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it.
The flight attendant announces we’re making our final descent, and I look at Lucy, wondering if she’ll ever take her eyes off the ring.
“I’d say we’re all set. Though we should practice showing our affection some more.” I wiggle my eyebrows. That gets her attention.
“Ha. Nice try, buddy.”