Page 79 of It's About Time
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “This isn’t about you needing anything, Dilynne, which seems to be a pain point for you, obviously.” His eyes meet mine again. “I’m just offering since this dinner is my fault.”
“How is this your fault? This whole thing was my idea.”
“Yeah, but if it weren’t for my dad, it wouldn’t be an issue.”
I take a moment to pause before I speak again. “It’s fine. We’ll satisfy Daddy Dearest, tell him what he needs to hear to believe us, and then hopefully by the time Motorlux is over, we can avoid him again.”
Elliot’s brows draw together as he nods. “Yeah, but…”
“But what?”
He rubs the back of his neck as he starts to pace. I just watch him, wondering what on earth is taking him so long to get out. But when he speaks, I can’t deny that he sparks my interest. “I sort of overheard a conversation between my dad and Tori today that has me wondering if I’m missing something.”
“What do you mean?”
“They were outside the office building, behind the dumpsters, and my dad was being demanding…”
“Okay…”
“He told her to figure out a way to get me to give her another chance or to just bide her time.”
My confusion grows. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Well, the next thing he said was that they bothneedme to get married to get what they want.”
My entire body tenses. “I’m sorry. They said what?”
“Right?” His eyes find mine again once he stops pacing, standing right in front of me. “Why on earth would theyneedme to get married?”
“I have no fucking clue, Elliot. But I think you are definitely missing something. I mean, if Tori and your dad are talking about shit like that, then I think there’s more to her reappearance than just wanting you back.”
“But how am I supposed to figure out what it’s about? It’s not like I can outright ask them…”
The corner of my mouth lifts. “Looks like your fake fiancée is going to come in handy, huh?”
His face falls. “What are you going to do?”
I pat him on the shoulder. “Don’t stress, honey. Just let me stew on this for a while and I’ll come up with a game plan.”
***
I drain the rest of my glass of wine and then slide it across my kitchen counter to Laney. “Okay, no more. One to take the edge off and that’s it. I need to be in the right headspace tonight.”
Laney nods. “I know, but you were so fidgety when I got here that I just wanted to help.”
It’s Friday afternoon, and Elliot will be at my house in a little over an hour to pick me up for dinner with his parents. After digging through my entire closet and finding nothing that would suffice, I texted Laney yesterday and asked her to bring me some options from her closet.
Now, it’s time to decide what to wear and attempt to do something with my hair that isn’t throwing it up in a bun and covering it with a bandana.
Girly shit isn’t my thing. It’s not that Ican’tdo it, I justdon’tdo it often. And for some strange reason, I want to look nice tonight.
Is that for Elliot, or yourself, Dilynne?
A knock on the door startles me. “Is that Elliot already? He’s an hour early!”
Laney laughs as she walks to the door and opens it, revealing Elodie and Vienna on the other side. “Hey, girls! Thanks for coming. I’m going to need all the help I can get,” Laney says, widening her eyes.
Elodie laughs as she carries a bag inside over her shoulder that looks to be about half her size. “I brought everything I could think of.”
