Chapter 9
VIOLET
Istare at the ring, the entire world slowing to a stop.
I know I shouldn’t be reacting this way . . . I mean, we just went shopping for this ring fewer than eight hours ago. But looking down at the band of platinum and diamond with pink rubies dotted around it, I can barely breathe.
It’s gorgeous, but more important is the look in Ross’s eyes.
I was so ready to smack him when he patted his knee earlier, silently ordering me to sit like some obedient little Barbie doll.
And I could tell he was enjoying the uncomfortable silence as Abi fetched the ring, the cocky smirk on his lips making me sweat bullets while his parents and Courtney stared at us like goldfish in a bowl.
But now, there’s no laughter in his eyes. There’s no teasing, no deception. He’s looking into my eyes, just me and him as the rest of the room disappears. And in this instant, I can almost imagine that this charade is real, that I’m actually marrying the boy I had a crush on a decade ago.
I’m so in shock that I can’t think, and silence stretches, my heart pounding like a war hammer. I only remember myself when Ross nudges me with his thumb on my kneecap and the world starts up again.
“Yes!” I shriek, forcing the word out, and then more quietly, “Yes.”
Ross’s smile is genuine again as he slips the big rock on my finger, and the way his eyes twinkle in the light of the living room makes my head swim. His handsome face is filled with emotion, forcing my heart into a double-twisting triple-backflip.
Real. This feels real, and that’s weird and dangerous as fuck.
He surges toward me, standing to clasp a powerful hand on each side of my face, and then we’re kissing again, his mouth powerful and claiming me with a single touch.
I give in to him, kissing him back just as hard, and this time, I’m the one pressing on his lips to wrap my tongue around his, invading his mouth and claiming him right back.
In just a second, we’ve gone from a polite post-yes kiss to full-on tonsil hockey mouth snogging, and it’s only our need for oxygen that forces us to pull back.
He presses his forehead to mine, his eyes gleaming as they fill my field of vision.
His cheeks puff up as he grins, and suddenly, I’m reminded of that same grin ten years ago.
My stomach drops. This isn’t real. No matter how much of a roller coaster ride this has been in the last twenty-four hours, it’s all a front.
He’s not like Colin, not at all, but Ross is all about the image, at least right now. The image I just helped him present.
And the real Ross is triumphantly laughing inside, maybe not at me but at his own family, at Morgan and Kimberly and Courtney. Hell, maybe even at Abi some, although she’s obviously a partner in all of this.
Ross is still the same asshole you’ve always known.
There’s an audible dramatic gasp from Courtney, followed by momentary shocked silence.
Morgan and Kimberly both look absolutely gobsmacked, the first time I’ve legitimately been able to use that word since reading it back in junior high school.
They all look back and forth at each other with wide eyes and open mouths.
Before anyone can say anything, though, Karl comes in, clearing his throat. “Excuse me, but dinner is served.”
Oh, great. Now the fun starts.
Courtney is the first one to break the silence when we sit down around the dining room table, her face pinching when Ross takes my left hand, showing off the ring even more.
“But, Ross . . . Violet?” she asks in disbelief, her nose wrinkling like someone unleashed rotten eggs. “Isn’t this the same girl you held down against the grass and then farted in her face because she called you a big hulking ogre in front of your friends when you guys were in middle school?”
OMG, I think, almost choking on a piece of my salad, I’d almost forgotten about that!
Just remembering it brings the annoyance I felt with Ross during our youth, and without even thinking, I nudge him in the ribs with my elbow.
Not to be undone, he nudges me right back, except his is so powerful I almost fall out of my seat.
Luckily, no one notices.
“Courtney!” Mrs. Andrews—Kimberly, gotta remember to call her Kimberly—scolds. “Please, let’s not dredge up ancient history!”
Courtney doesn’t back down. “What, Mom? It’s true! I spent my entire childhood listening to Abi and Ross fighting like cats and dogs, and more often than not, it was over how Ross treated Violet. I really don’t see how this could happen. I mean, seriously?”
“I guess opposites attract,” I say as I pinch Ross’s thigh underneath the table while maintaining a fraudulent smile.
“And when we looked at each other with fresh eyes, we realized that there was something there the whole time.” I look at him lovingly, which is somewhere between easy and hard.
Too easy to be real, too hard to be fake.
“All of my antics were apparently because I wanted her so badly,” Ross adds, grinning at me in a picture of happiness. In contrast, his returning pinch is so sharp I nearly gasp out loud.
Courtney scowls. “You must really love the smell of his farts then.”
“Courtney!” Kimberly scolds again. “No more, please!”
“It’s fine, Mom. Court . . . it’s like that old cartoon I saw on TV when we were kids,” Ross says, turning to her with a placating plea on his face. “It was an old Looney Tunes, I think. But in it, there was this bear.”
“Oh, great, a love story with a bear,” Courtney groans, but Ross chuckles and looks at me in such a way that I’m suddenly enraptured by him again. He’s damn near magnetic when he wants to be.
“Yeah, so there’s a bear who was raised in the circus. And one day, the bear gets released into the wild, I forget how. But he meets this girl bear, and at first, he tries to be nice to her. The girl bear ignores him for a few days, but he doesn’t give up.”
“I bet,” Abi says sarcastically, one eyebrow lifting up her forehead. “So, what happened?”
“Well, the boy bear approaches the girl bear with a bouquet of flowers like he saw the humans at the circus do,” Ross continues, “but the girl bear hauls off and just smacks him across the face, sending him flying backward.”
Courtney shrugs. “And?”
“So, the boy bear tries again,” Ross says, still looking at me, “and again he gets smacked. The boy bear thinks the girl hates him, so he goes off to sulk . . . and one of the other animals fills him in on the deal. In the wild, bears would smack each other when they like each other! So the boy bear, realizing the truth, runs over to the girl bear, and when she smacks him, he hauls off and smacks her right back. Boom! Happily ever after.”
“So, you’ve been flirting all this time? How stupid are you, brother bear?” Courtney asks, but if she’s teasing him, she must be at least starting to believe us.
It’s my turn to nod, looking over at Ross’s eyes a little dreamily. Is he serious? He’s explaining us using bears and flowers and the circus? “Stupid enough,” I quip. The barb doesn’t seem as funny as it would’ve just a few short days ago, though.
“This is ridiculous,” Morgan says, his voice tight with anger. “What are you trying to pull, Ross? And how did he get you tied up in his mess, Violet?”
“Morgan!” Kimberly says, but apparently, nobody is listening to her admonishments about the rules as Morgan continues.
“No, Kimberly,” he says, making the barest effort to soothe her before turning back to Ross. “How can you two be engaged when just a few days ago, she was set to marry Radcliffe and you were splashed all over the papers with Joeden Snow’s wife?”
“Because things change, Dad. Isn’t that what you wanted?
Me to grow up and settle down? Well, I am.
With Violet.” He gives my hand a little squeeze that reminds of the band on my finger.
“As for Colin, he didn’t see what was right in front of him, and I’m damned lucky he didn’t.
I was near blind myself. It took me so long, and I’m going to make up for that lost time. ”
Morgan’s about to reply when Kimberly reaches out, putting her hand on her husband’s forearm. “Morgan . . . please, let’s enjoy dinner?”
He glares at Ross for a moment, then shakes his head in obvious disbelief and confusion. “This isn’t over.”
Ross glances at me, but I don’t need to reply to feel the burning ember in my chest. “Dad . . . it’s like I just said,” he finally replies, making one more attempt.
His voice is softer, more vulnerable than at any point in our conversation.
“The fact of the matter is, we’ve always been in love.
We just were too caught up in our heads to admit it. ”
My heart skips a beat at the seeming sincerity in Ross’s eyes. He looks a hundred percent genuine, and I have to keep repeating a mantra in my head.
This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real.
It only partially works because Ross’s fingers are woven through mine as he fidgets with my ring.
“Yeah, right,” Courtney hisses, looking down at her plate as Karl and the caterers bring out platters of beef Wellington and vegetables.
“I’m with Dad. You can’t be in love, either of you.
Violet was just engaged to someone else, and now she’s marrying Ross.
It doesn’t work like that, just turning it on and off like a faucet. ”
Ross, who looked so genuine and heartfelt just a moment ago, shrugs and snaps at Courtney. “Oh, and you know so much about love? Remind me, how many serious relationships have you had?”
That seems to be a sore spot because she shuts right up, though she’s eyeing Ross with fury and hurt. I tell myself to ask Abi what that’s all about later.
“And you’re such an expert?” she fires back.
“One, that’s how many. One serious relationship, and she’s sitting right here next to me,” Ross tells Courtney.
Morgan stabs at his beef with his fork so hard that I’m surprised he doesn’t put the silverware through the china. “This is just such a surprise.” Morgan is trying to backtrack, but only slightly, still keeping everything on his terms.
“You’d better get used to it fast,” Ross says, raising his voice for the first time and taking over the room, “because the wedding’s in two weeks.”
Everyone stops in shock, except Abigail, who still looks like the cat who got the cream. She’s loving this, for some reason. The whole damn thing.
“Is this your way of testing us, Ross?” Kimberly asks, her voice half choked with emotion. My heart aches for her, and I realize that regardless of why we’re doing this for Ross, it’s going to play with people’s emotions.
We’re going to have to tightrope this as carefully as we do with my own family to avoid hurt feelings on both sides.
Ross turns on his mom, his eyes wide. “You know what Dad said to me?” She nods, though it looks like it’s painful.
“Testing you? I think it’s the two of you testing me!
Well, never fear, you got your way. I’m just lucky that it’s with someone I love, Violet, because this could’ve backfired on us all, Mom. ”
I can sense that Ross is even more hurt that his mother knew about his Dad’s ultimatum than he was about his Dad’s part in the whole argument. They’ve always been such a tight family, one I envied, so seeing them at odds this way is setting me on edge.
“Enough,” Morgan growls, his eyes blazing. “Fine, Ross, you’re engaged. Congratulations, Violet. Or condolences. I’m not sure which.”
“Morgan,” Kimberly says, trying to soothe her husband. “Give them a chance.”
Morgan growls, getting up. “Excuse me. I’ll take my dinner in my study.”
Morgan disappears, and a tense, ugly silence drops over the remaining five of us. I look at Ross, who sighs and gives me a supportive pat on my thigh.
“Well, that could’ve gone better,” he says dryly.
How the hell are we supposed to make this work? And we still have my family to tell. The folks flying in I’m not worried about, but Papa, Nana, and Mom?
Boom. Like that, my headache’s back, and I haven’t even touched the wine after my boozy behavior last night.
“Really? I thought that went well,” Abi says cheerily, downing the rest of her glass of Shiraz.
The rest of us stare at her, and she just grins, shrugging. “What?”