23. Chapter 23
Chapter 23
-Annabella-
K ace was interestingly quiet at this dinner. I looked over at him all the time as we ate our food, but he said nothing. He remained quiet, looking deep in thought.
I knew he had had a visitor earlier today. I had only briefly come by Cody, and we had greeted each other but nothing else. I knew he was Kace’s friend, and I had seen him, but I had never spoken to him either. Did something happen between the two of them?
“Kace?” I called, finally breaking the silence.
He looked up at me, waiting for me to continue.
“Did your friend make you upset?”
“No, why?” he asked.
“Just wondering. You’re quiet, and he was the only person who came to see you today.”
Kace seemed to realize something, then smiled a little at me. “No, he didn’t make me upset. I was just thinking.”
“A lot of work to do?”
“Unfortunately, yes, and your family is coming next week.”
I sighed, rubbing my eyes and already feeling drained. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than having to spend a whole evening with them.
“What is that look?” Kace asked.
“Did you really want to go ring shopping?” I asked him.
He looked surprised as I changed the subject. “You didn’t seem very interested.”
“I'm not because we are still learning to be married, but I bet if I don’t carry one at dinner, there will be lots of comments about it, and I know a lot of remarks are already coming. I really don’t want to pile more on top of it.”
Kace looked at me very intensely, which I found quite weird. It made me pull back in my seat, trying to get away from the look in his eyes.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“No, let’s go ring shopping before they come here Friday,” he said, the sharp look slowly softening, which only perplexed me even more.
“Did I say something wrong?” I asked.
“Huh?”
“Just now. You looked at me weirdly. Do you not want to go find a ring? I mean, we don’t have to, but my sister is going to come for us like a shark would,” I explained.
“Like a shark?”
“Just keep biting until we are unable to move and drown in the water.”
Kace blinked fast many times, looking at me surprised as I painted a very dramatic picture. But honestly, I believed a shark would go gentler on us compared to what my sister had planned.
“That’s… descriptive,” he teased.
“I can be descriptive too,” I informed him.
“Maybe use that skill for other things.” A dark smile spread across his lips.
“Other things?”
“Like I like to tell you what I would do to you, you can paint the same picture.”
“Kace, let’s stay focused here. This dinner is serious.”
“Are you scared of your family?” he asked, looking worried.
“Scared? No. Completely terrified out of my mind and thinking that this dinner will be one from hell? Yes.”
Kace seemed to grow more serious, and he put away his fork and knife, giving me his absolute focus. “Should we make a plan then? Can we figure out what your family might choose to go after?”
“Well, first, the ring,” I said.
“Then what else?” he inquired.
“Probably take a swing at our… eh… intimate life.”
“With your parents there?” he asked.
“It can be subtle, as you suggested. My sister will do it,” I explained.
“What else?”
“My outfit. My hair. The way I eat. How I sit. Oh, and probably if we have left the house yet,” I listed.
Kace let out a deep sigh, looking tired already, and I felt the same.
“Then I guess we should get you fixed up as well,” he suggested.
“What? What does that mean?” I asked.
“Get you a new dress and your hair done, and I can see why they might go after the way you sit,” he said. “You’re hunched over like you have back problems.”
“What?” I exclaimed, looking at him like I couldn’t believe he just said that.
“Yeah, straighten your back a little.”
“And here I thought you would be on my side.”
“You want to survive this dinner, right?” he questioned.
“Doesn’t mean you have to be mean. I told you, your honesty can be quite rude as well,” I reminded him, crossing my arms.
“I’m trying to help.”
“You’re not helping. You practically said I look like Quasimodo when I eat,” I spat.
“I never said that. You said that,” he countered.
“You said I had back problems.”
“Many people do. Just straighten your back a little."
“You know a husband wouldn’t tell me that. He would tell me they are rude for pointing it out all the time,” I told him.
“A husband would not want his wife to later on have back problems because of the way she sits,” he countered.
“A husband would be supportive!”
“That is being supportive,” he argued.
God, how did we get here? Were we not moving a little past the arguments? I thought we were getting better at this, but clearly we weren’t. However, I didn’t want to argue.
I wanted to figure out a way we could survive this dinner. I studied Kace closely before I realized how to reset us. It might not work, but it seems to have had an effect so far.
I stood up from my chair, surprising Kace, as I came around the table and placed myself in front of him. Then I reached out, placing my hands on his neck.
“What are you—” He didn’t get to finish that sentence because I kissed him. I pulled him closer for a demanding embrace that conveyed that he should “shut up”. And it seemed to work because Kace melted into my kiss, responding to me.
Then his arms were around me, bringing me down on his lap while our lips moved over one another. For a moment, I forgot where I was and what we were really supposed to do because the kiss was so good. It was so easy to lean into him, and being enveloped by his arms felt even better, but I had to remember that this was a reset button for us.
So I pulled back, and I was pleased to see how stunned I made Kace. It was a confidence boost to see that overly confident man shocked by my kiss and rendered mute because of it.
“Better,” I breathed.
“Definitely,” he whispered.
“We need to focus here.”
“Focus… right,” he murmured, but his eyes were focused on my lips and wandered lower. I was wearing a dress again, and the front had a plunging V-neck, making my cleavage clear to him.
But I grabbed his chin, lifted his head, and made him focus on me. “Kace!”
“I wasn’t doing anything,” he promised me, but we both knew he was, and I gave him a scolding look. “They are right at eye level.”