Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“Every year since I was a kid, our annual family reunion is always here,” he says, and alarm bells start to go off inside my head.
“But that’s not happening this week, right?”
“No, it is.”
“Oh my God!” I cry out in disbelief. “You want me to lie to your whole family?”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“It is! I mean, it was already a big deal lying to your parents, but now you want me to lie to what… a dozen people?”
“One hundred and thirty-six,” he says under his breath, but I still hear the number so loudly I’d swear he yelled it.
“I think I’m going to pass out.” I lean down and tuck my head between my knees, forcing myself to slow my breathing as I feel a panic attack coming on.
“It’s going to be okay.”
It’s not. It’s totally not going to be okay. This was stupid, and I don’t know why I even agreed to do this. I squeeze my eyes closed.
“Hey.” His warm, heavy palm lands on my back, and he starts to rub it in circles. “Breathe.”
I am—or I thought I was. I take in a gulp of air and urge my heart to stop racing. “This is going to end horribly.”
“Look at me.” I shake my head, and his hand stills, then I feel his fingers on the back of my neck. His touch causes goose bumps to tingle down my spine.
Jerking my head up so I can get away from his hand and whatever the hell that was, I look at him and realize he’s pulled over to the side of the road. “I need to go home.”
“Penny.”
“Seriously, Jace. This is dumb. Just tell your mom you need to work and that you have no desire to settle down. She’ll respect that.”
“I’ve tried, and she won’t.”
“Well, try again.” I toss my arms in the air. “Plus, don’t you think your mom is going to be more upset when you tell her that your fake engagement is off?”
“No, she’ll feel bad for me when I tell her that you ended things, and then she’ll understand why I don’t want to search for another relationship.”
“Wow, you have this all planned out.”
“Yep.” He shrugs.
“If this goes bad—”
“It won’t,” he cuts me off before I can say it’s on him, not me. “It’s one week, and it will be over before you know it.”
Seeing the desperation in his eyes, I inwardly groan, then whisper, “Okay, let’s go meet the family.”
Chapter 7
Umm… what?
We pull onto a dirt road less than five minutes later, and before long, a two-story home with a red roof, gray-blue siding, and white shutters comes into view. It’s one of the nicest houses I’ve seen since we’ve been driving, and it looks big enough for a family with a dozen kids. There are also a multitude of smaller homes similar in color in a long row along the edge of the water.
He parks under a wooden deck, and as I unhook my belt, he does the same.
“Ready?” he asks, looking over at me after he shuts off the engine and opens his door.
The truth is, no, I’m absolutely not ready, and I’m pretty sure this is the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life. But instead of saying all that, I say, “Yep,” and push open my door.
Once my feet are on the ground, I pull in a breath of fresh air that is much cooler than back home and walk to the trunk, where he’s already pulling out our bags.
I try to hype myself up as he lifts both our suitcases off the ground and walks toward a set of stairs, reminding myself about what I learned when I was in theater as a kid, because my acting skills are going to be needed over the next few days. But no matter what I do, I still feel unprepared.
When we reach a deck that overlooks the lake, I want to stop and take in the view of the tree-covered hills and the water, but a sliding glass door opens, and chaos ensues.
“My baby!” an adorable, petite woman with shoulder-length blonde hair cries in happiness, rushing toward Jace. I stand back and watch the two of them embrace, and I can’t help my smile as she rocks him from side to side and chatters quickly about how thrilled she is he’s arrived.
Feeling heat hit the side of my face, I look over and find an older gentleman and a guy who looks almost identical to Jace standing in the open doorway, watching me like I’m an alien from another planet.
As I try to decide if I should introduce myself, I hear a gasp come from the woman, then a warm hand engulfs mine, startling me.
My eyes fly to Jace’s face, but he’s not looking at me. His attention is on his mom, whose eyes are wide on mine when I glance back at her. “Penny, I’d like you to meet my mom, Janelle. Mom, I’d like to introduce you to my fiancée, Penny.”