Chapter 4 #2
I’m sitting back at the dining table with my laptop, frantically finishing off an email outlining what I need my team to be getting on with for now so I can fully concentrate on being present tonight, when I sense Ida coming into the room.
Giving the end of the mail one last quick scan, I press send then turn to look over to where she’s standing, waiting patiently for me to finish what I’m doing.
Holy shit.
She looks amazing. The summer dress she’s changed into is an intense forest-green colour – that I can actually taste, somehow – and it fits her perfectly, showing off her amazing body, but it’s not so tight that it shouts ‘look at how gorgeous I am’.
Her hair is out of its ponytail now and it falls over her shoulders in waves, the dark sheen of it radiant in the bright light pouring in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
I’m guessing she’s wearing contact lenses too because the oversized glasses are gone and the smoky-coloured make-up she’s put on gives her eyes a sultry, sexy vibe, which I feel like a punch to my chest.
Ah, fuck.
She looks seriously hot.
I was really hoping we’d be able to get through this week on a purely friendly vibe, but nope, my body definitely isn’t playing ball with that idea.
‘You look great,’ I say, aware that my voice is a whole octave lower than usual.
She doesn’t seem to notice though because she gives me a warm, friendly smile and says, ‘You too.’
I stand up from the dining chair and glance down at the chinos and linen shirt I’ve changed into for the evening. At least our outfits match pretty well, which I guess is going to be helpful in convincing people we’re a real couple.
She walks closer to me, stopping a foot away, then reaches out to make a small adjustment to my collar. The proprietorial gesture makes my blood pulse harder.
‘So just to double check, before we go out. Is there anything you particularly want me to say, or not say, to your family about us? Or about myself? Any topics of conversation to avoid? I’d like to be prepared before we head over there,’ she asks.
My skin rushes with an electric kind of heat as her now-familiar scent hits my senses.
Oh man. There’s something about the way Ida smells that gets me right in the gut. I think it’s more than just her perfume. I think it’s the natural scent of her.
‘Fair enough,’ I say, aware of how dry my mouth is.
I try to keep my gaze casual, which is not easy when she looks like that.
‘Well, there’s nothing really to avoid, they’re a pretty liberal bunch.
Probably best to avoid politics as a general rule, but everything else is up for discussion.
I’m not going to police what you say though, that’s not my style. I’d never do that to anyone.’
She nods slowly. ‘Okay, cool. What’s our party line about our relationship though? Been dating for a while but not serious? Or serious but not even thinking about the future? Or serious and you’re about to pop the question?’ She flashes me a wide, mischievous grin at this last suggestion.
I let out a startled snort of amusement. ‘Let’s go with been dating for a short time but not rushing into anything. We’re both building our careers so just seeing where it goes.’
She nods again. ‘Okay. Good call. That way we can bat away any questions about the future.’
‘Exactly.’
‘So less lying required.’
‘I don’t see it as lying, exactly.’
‘Just role playing?’
‘Yeah. Precisely.’
We smile at each other and our gazes lock. I’m suddenly drawn into the strangest, most intense feeling of connection I’ve ever had with a person.
Like we understand each other.
It’s both comforting and deeply uncomfortable at the same time.
I wonder whether Ida might be experiencing the same thing because she breaks her gaze and walks over to the mirror on the back wall to check her make-up, leaving me standing there in a state of weird longing for something.
Okay, this isn’t good. I wanted to bring her to distract my family from my love life, not distract myself and start exploring how I feel about it.
‘Okay, I’m all set if you are,’ Ida says, turning away from the mirror and looking at me expectantly.
I swallow past a hard lump in my throat and give her a nod. ‘Right. Let’s do this thing. Then we can come back here and hang.’
She presses her lips into a smile, but there’s less warmth in it this time.
Shit. Did my expression give away what I was actually feeling in those moments?
Yeah. It probably did.
But whatever, right?
The good thing about bringing a virtual stranger with no ties to my real life is that I can leave all this shit behind me once we’ve got through our week here.
I really don’t have the capacity right now to worry about what any of this might mean.
It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
Getting through the first social occasion with everyone has to be my focus right now.
Ida leads the way out of the villa, leaving me to close the door and follow her as she makes her way carefully along the long, wood-decked walkway in her heels.
I catch her up and we stroll in silence towards the main hotel where the party is being held.
We’re running a bit late so my stepbrother and Margot will no doubt already be there greeting people. I want to check in with them right away so we can then move to the outskirts of the group and Ida and I can slip away early without it being noticed.
Glancing over at her as we walk through the dense, lush greenery of coconut palm trees and frangipani plants that border the path leading to the main building of the hotel, I take a moment to congratulate myself on what I think is turning out to be a good decision.
She’s being super cool about all this and has made a huge effort to fit into this crazy situation at the very last second.
Seeming to become aware that I’m staring at her, she turns to look at me. Her smile is wide and relaxed and her eyes are alive with what I guess is intrigue. She’s about to meet my extended family and find out a lot more about me.
They’ll all be intrigued to meet her too, I’m sure. Because I don’t turn up to many family events now, they’re going to be all over the fact I’m actually here and desperate to know who I’ve brought with me.
But at least I won’t get endless questions about who I’m seeing and when I’m going to settle down, like Darian, and have kids now I have Ida at my side. At least, I hope not.
Why is the older generation so obsessed with younger people’s futures? I guess they like to live vicariously through us, now they’ve made their own choices and are having to live with them.
That’s exactly why I’m in no hurry to settle down. How can you possibly know whether the person you’ve chosen to be with is going to be in it with you for the long haul?
‘You okay?’ Ida asks me as we reach the doors to the main entrance to the hotel. ‘You seem a bit tense.’
I shoot her a nonchalant smile, though she’s not wrong.
I am tense. I really don’t like walking into big gatherings and I always feel a certain amount of stress in the minutes before I do.
Once I’m there and I’ve scoped out the place and done the first round of chatting with everyone, I can usually relax into it.
It’s the not knowing how it’s going to play out that gets to me.
‘I’m fine. Just psyching myself up for the onslaught of questions from family I’ve not seen for a while.’ I take a breath, then flash her a smile. ‘Okay, let’s get this over with.’
Her brows pinch together. ‘You realise how ominous that sounds. It makes me wonder what you’re leading me into.’ She’s joking, but I sense an underlying tone of concern.
Which is fair.
I grin. ‘Ignore me. I’m just a bit cranky after not sleeping much.’
‘Oh. Okay.’ But the look in her eyes tells me she’s not entirely bought my lame excuse.
We take a couple of steps into the lobby, then I stop again, holding up a hand to ask her to wait for a second.
‘Also, look, I’m sorry if people act a bit strangely around me when we first talk to them.
Some people get a bit weird about wealth.
At least, that’s been my experience since we sold the app. ’
‘Right,’ Ida says, with a glint of humour in her eyes.
I let out a breath of laughter. ‘I know, I probably sound like a total tool saying that.’
‘No, I get it. People do get weird if they feel like you’re out-leaguing them.’
‘Hmm. Interesting way of putting it. But yeah, that works.’
She laughs too and I feel it like a warm balm in my chest.
‘Anyway,’ I say, ‘hopefully once they’ve met you and satisfied themselves we’re not of much interest they’ll move on and leave us alone and we can hang out by ourselves in the background.’
‘And let your broth— stepbrother have the limelight?’
‘Exactly. I’m really not interested in being the centre of attention.’
Something I can’t quite read flashes across her face, but whatever it was is quickly replaced with an expression of compassionate understanding.
‘Okay, dude, then chill. It’s going to be okay. I’ve got your back.’
To my surprise, she reaches out and takes my hand, gently squeezing my fingers in a show of solidarity.
There’s an intense lifting sensation in my chest as I gaze into her dark eyes.
She seems to instinctively know how to distract me, in the very best ways.
I have a strong urge to lean in and kiss her, but I know that would be a terrible idea. I need to keep my head on straight for this evening and the last thing I want to do is complicate things with Ida right now.
So instead, I squeeze her fingers back, smile, then lead her by the hand towards our first challenge of the week.