19. Dani #3
“Welp.” I stand up and clap a hand on Graham’s shoulder. “Sorry, but it turns out this isn’t going to work out after all. It was nice knowing you.” I salute him. I almost trip over the coffee table.
Graham grabs me, swearing.
“Just kidding!” I tell his family’s shocked faces.
“Oh my god.” Hannah and Ryan collapse, laughing in relief, clutching their chests.
“I actually just have to use the little girls’ room. Graham is a control freak and wouldn’t stop the car so a girl can powder her nose.”
I wander down the hall to the half bath.
“Damn, this is a nice house,” I tell my reflection when I’m inside the bathroom.
Dani: I am making a fantastic and positive impression on his family!!!!!!!
Piper: His sister posted a video. You look drunk as shit.
Piper: Also pull up your pants. I saw a little bit of butt crack.
Dani: Fuck!!!
I sit down on the toilet. The wallpaper in the powder room is an abstract forest scene.
“You’re not going to puke up all that caviar. Pull yourself together, woman.” I splash water on my face and spray it all over my shirt.
“Who makes a sink out of a barrel, anyway?” I mumble as I walk out and face-first into Graham’s massive chest.
“Ughn.”
“Dani—” He grabs me.
“Piper thinks I’m drunk.”
“Yeah, no shit. What the fuck.”
“Do you think they like me?”
“I don’t know. I don’t care. I just need them not to think I’m a serial killer.”
My stomach lurches. “God, why does anyone date? This is so stressful,” I groan.
“Please don’t puke on me—this suit cost more than your entire year’s salary.”
“I am in the process of securing all the groomsmen’s suits. They are bespoke, and they are not that expensive.” I wave a finger at one of the two Grahams in front of me. “I’m not a struggling waitress that you lured into your lair.”
Graham hisses.
“I actually make a lot of money as an investment analyst, buddy.” I poke that hard chest.
He grabs my hand. “Dani, shh.”
“You shush.” I slap his hand. “I bought all that lobster with my own money.”
“No, you didn’t. Your dad bought it.”
“I went to Costco with him—it’s our daddy-daughter time.”
Graham shoves me against the wall. “You need to get it together.”
“I’m not gonna survive this. You can’t make me go hiking.” I start to sob. “I’m not built for stressful outdoor situations. You can’t treat me like your prisoner. I am a human being, and I need to be inside.”
“For god—”
“Graham,” his mom says from behind him in the dim hallway. “Could you help monitor the twins? They’re going to burn something down. They’re roasting marshmallows.”
“Sure,” he says, his eyes not leaving mine.
“I’m sober,” I tell his mom when Graham’s gone.
“Look, Dani…” She hesitates and looks over her shoulder, worried. She drops her voice. “Is everything… okay?”
“No, it’s not—I mean…” Be a good guest, I hear my mom chastising me. “Of course it’s fine. I can hike. I walk all over New York City. Sure, it’s on concrete, and I can stop for a latte whenever I need one, but I’ll survive.”
“No, I mean… with Graham. Is he treating you well?” she asks softly. I can barely hear her, she’s talking so softly.
“Yeah. I mean, he’s Graham, so he’s not going to, you know, be that nice. No billionaire is.”
His mom looks worried.
I’m not sober enough to do this.
“My parents really like him. My mom worships him. Gran is still waiting for a—” I clear my throat. “Never mind. Graham’s a good sport, though. He’s the first guy I’ve dated that I was like, ‘Huh, he’s actually not a serial killer.’”
“Okay,” his mom says, sounding concerned. “As long as he’s being nice.” She hugs me, suddenly. “Thanks for bringing Graham here.”
The party is winding down when I get back into the great room. Claire is half asleep on Ryan. Frank reaches for Graham’s mom’s hand.
I plop down next to Graham, wrap my arms around his shoulders, and nuzzle his neck.
“Paris, Paris, Paris,” I hiss in his ear, pretending like I’m play-kissing him.
“I think Dani’s tired.” He stands up, dragging me with him. “I’ll show her to one of the guest rooms.”
Hannah looks up at him blearily. “You don’t want your hot girlfriend in your bedroom?”
Frank’s eyes narrow.
Graham is tense. “I thought you didn’t want people sharing a room unless they were engaged.”
“Well, yes—” Frank and his mom look at each other. “But I think it’s a little different with you…”
“That’s not really fair to Ryan. Don’t bend the rules for me,” Graham argues.
“It’s because you’re old,” Bridget jokes.
“Also, you bought this house, G-dogg,” Sean adds. “So I think you and your girlfriend can share a room.”
It takes a minute to work its way through my rum-punched brain. Share a room? With my kidnapper? What if he wants to have sex? I haven’t shaved. Anything. At all. Anywhere.
This is a disaster.
“No, really, it’s fine.” I try to struggle away from him. “I can sleep on the floor. I’m used to it, actually.”
“You sleep on your floor?”
“At Svensson Investment.” I hastily correct myself. “Those all-nighters, you know.”
“Uncle Gino’s kids are coming, so all the guest rooms will be full. So you have to share,” Aurora tells us.
“Go on and show her up,” Frank orders him.
Graham takes my bags, and we slowly make our way up the grand staircase under the eyes of his family.
“I think I’m going to puke.” I gag when we’re down the hallway with all the bedrooms.
“Do not puke on me, Dani,” he warns me, opening up a door at the end of the hallway.
“Oh my god,” I wail.
Graham claps a hand over my mouth. “Dani, you’re being too loud.”
“This room is a closet,” I hiss at him. “There is a tiny bed, like a twin bed.”
“It’s a double.”
“No, a double bed is huge. My parents have a double bed.”
“Your parents probably have a queen bed.”
“This is a miniscule bed. I’m not sharing that with you.” I take deep breaths. “It’ll be fine. I’m just going to sleep in the bathroom.”
“You have to sleep with me,” he says, his voice urgent. “Frank’s going to check.”
“I’m not having sex with you!” I shriek.
“Dani!” He puts a finger over his lips. “You’re going to screw me over. We are not having sex. We are simply going to sleep in the same bed.”
“It’s a toddler bed.”