Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Jade gasped. "Is that it?"
Camilla arched a brow at her. "I take it from your reaction you've never been on a private jet before?"
"Of course I haven't. I grew up on a farm in Ohio. This is... wow."
Camilla placed a hand on her arm. "You can gawk all you want now, but when we arrive in Aspen, you'll need to act unimpressed. Remember, we're supposed to be in a relationship. My family won't believe we’re engaged if you're starstruck by all of this."
Jade nodded, taking a deep breath to compose herself. "Right, got it. Unimpressed. I can do that."
They approached the jet, where a smartly dressed flight attendant greeted them with a warm smile. "Good morning, Ms. Parkes. Welcome aboard."
“Good morning, Amanda.” Camilla smiled, guiding Jade up the stairs.
As they entered the cabin, Jade's breath caught audibly.
The interior was a vision of luxury, with cream leather seats, polished wood accents, plush carpeting, and soft lighting created an inviting atmosphere.
The spacious cabin held four sets of facing chairs with a table in between, and in the back was a daybed with a large TV.
"Please, make yourselves comfortable," the flight attendant said, gesturing to the seats. "We'll be taking off shortly. Can I offer you anything to drink before we depart?"
"We'll have coffee and a glass of Champagne, thank you. And a light breakfast once we're in the air." Camilla turned to Jade. “Is that okay with you?”
“Uhmm… yeah, of course. This is incredible. I feel like I'm in a movie."
"Well, you are an actress. Consider this your first scene.
" Camilla took a moment to appreciate Jade's appearance.
Her assistant had done an excellent job selecting a wardrobe that perfectly balanced Aspen chic with LA lifestyle.
Jade wore a cream-colored cashmere sweater, paired with tailored dark wash jeans.
Over this, she had on a camel-colored wool coat with leather trim, and leather ankle boots with a modest heel, perfect for navigating both city streets and mountain resort pathways.
"You look nice, by the way," she said. "The clothes suit you. You can keep them, of course."
Jade's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? But they’re almost worth more than you're paying me for the week."
"It's a necessity. Not that there was anything wrong with your style before," Camilla added quickly. "In fact, I quite liked it. But for this week, you need to look like you can afford to be with me."
“You look pretty great too, and that’s a nice sparkle I bought you,” Jade joked, her eyes lowering to the engagement ring on Camilla’s hand.
“Yeah…” Camilla laughed as she outstretched her manicured hand. “This pretend engagement turned out to be quite costly, but I can always sell it.”
The flight attendant reappeared, this time pushing a cart with two cappuccinos and a bottle of champagne nestled in ice.
"I don't usually indulge in champagne with my breakfast," Camilla said as she took one of the flutes the attendant poured them, "but I thought it might help loosen you up a bit."
Jade accepted the glass with a sheepish smile. "You're right. I'm just not used to... all of this," she gestured vaguely around the cabin. "The wealth, the luxury. It's a little overwhelming. But I promise I'll pull myself together before we get to your family's estate in Aspen."
Camilla nodded, taking a sip of her champagne. "I appreciate that. And I understand it's a lot to take in. Just remember, for the next week, this is your life too. You need to act like it's normal."
"I will," Jade assured her, sipping her champagne. "So, tell me more about your family. You mentioned your uncle owns a chocolate brand?"
"That's right. Uncle Robert's chocolates are sold in high-end department stores and airports across the world. And my aunt Vivian - my father and uncle's sister - is the founder of Vivian's Glow, a successful cosmetics brand."
Jade whistled through her teeth. "Very impressive. You come from quite the entrepreneurial family."
"We do have a knack for business," Camilla agreed. "It's been both a blessing and a curse, to be honest. There's a lot of pressure to succeed."
“That’s understandable. Is there anyone I should be particularly wary of?” Jade asked. Anyone who might give us a hard time?"
Camilla's expression darkened slightly. "I’ve never brought a date to a family gathering so I expect them all to be skeptical. But I’m mostly worried about my cousin Theresa.
” She hesitated, not sure how much to share.
She couldn’t mention the part in the will that stated she’d have to be married in six months.
Jade would freak out. But maybe once they got to know each other better, Jade would agree to a short marriage of convenience that would bulk up her bank account nicely.
“Theresa’s always been... competitive, to put it mildly,” She finally said. “And she doesn’t believe I’m engaged."
"Well, we're not," Jade pointed out with a smirk, then quickly sobered at Camilla's sharp look. "Sorry, bad joke. Don't worry, I won't let her catch us out."
Camilla sighed. "There's something else you should know," she said hesitantly.
"I'm not actually gay. I sort of... blurted it out in the heat of the moment when.
.." She stopped herself. God, she really had to be careful around Jade, and she sincerely hoped her family wouldn’t mention the will to her.
“I mean, when I realized that they expected me to bring someone to the family Christmas gathering.”
“What?” Jade burst out in laughter. "That's... a bit complex, don't you think? I mean, it would be much easier to fake the chemistry if you were actually into women. Or if I was a man."
"I know it complicates things," Camilla admitted. “But they commented they’d never seen me with this so-called fiancée, so I told them that was because I was engaged to a woman, and I’d kept my sexuality private until now. Somehow that felt more believable than me being engaged to a man who wasn’t even there with me at the reading of the will.
” She shrugged. “Anyway, it will be fine.
I've never really had chemistry with men either.
I'm just not interested in relationships, period. So in a way, it's all the same to me."
Jade studied her for a moment, her head tilted slightly. "Okay, in a weird way that sort of makes sense. Why go through all this effort though? Why can’t you just go there solo?”
“It’s complicated. And private,” Camilla added. “Just trust me when I say I had to bring a fiancée. That’s all you need to know.”
“Okay. As long as you don’t expect me to actually marry you. “Jade chuckled. “Imagine that.”
Camilla felt a blush rise to her cheeks. “Yeah, imagine that,” she echoed. This situation was already turning more complicated than she’d anticipated.
“Anyway, we'll need to discuss how we’re going to make this convincing. Maybe run through some scenarios, figure out how we'd react in different situations," Jade said.
"That's a good idea,” Camilla agreed. “We have two hours. Why don't we use that time to get our story straight and work on our couple dynamics?"
For the duration of the flight, they role-played various scenarios they might encounter with Camilla's family. They practiced how they'd react to nosy questions, how they'd show affection without overdoing it, and even came up with a few inside jokes to make their relationship seem more authentic.
Camilla was impressed by Jade's quick wit and adaptability, and she suggested little details that Camilla would never have thought of on her own.
"So, what's our song?" Jade asked, curled up in her seat with her third cup of coffee.
Camilla blinked. "Our song?"
"Yeah, you know, the song that was playing when we first met or one we both love. Couples usually have a song. We’ll probably have our first dance to it at never-going-to-happen wedding."
"Oh," Camilla said, caught off guard. "I hadn't thought about that. What do you suggest?"
"How about 'La Vie En Rose'? It's romantic without being too cheesy, and it fits the story about how I proposed to you at that French restaurant in Hollywood.” Jade winked. “After dating in secret for three years.”
“Sure, that works. I like that song.” Camilla connected her phone to the jet’s speakers and put on the song. She was surprised when Jade started singing along in French. She had a beautiful voice.
When the song finished, she was momentarily speechless. “You can sing,” she said after a pause.
“I can play piano too.” Jade wiggled her fingers. “I’ve done musicals. It’s not like I’ve never worked… I’ve had some cool jobs throughout my not so very successful career.”
“Huh…” Camilla stared at her, a smile spreading across her face. “Well, that makes you even more charming,” she said, pleased with her brand-spanking-new talented fiancée. I think this could actually work."