Page 32 of Pretend I’m Yours
I gestured toward the other side of the room where Drake was speaking with a couple of men from the fire department. He looked to be perfectly at ease in his tux and with a glass of champagne in his hand. The men were laughing and talking, and for a brief moment, even I might have been fooled.
I knew he could fit in anywhere he wished, but he had all the elegance of any of the politicians in the room, as well as the ease and grace of those my parents would have called well-bred. It didn’t matter that he had spent most of his adult life in the military and had come from a difficult childhood, he may as well have been born right into the world I lived in.
“Well, he looks like he’s a little busy at the moment, but I’m going to get my chance to see him before the night is out,” Mrs. Yandy said.
“I’d like to talk to him as well, but I’m afraid that I’m going to have to cut out early tonight,” Candace said. “I’ve got a date myself that I can’t be late for.”
“You should have brought him here,” I said. “It would be a great way for the two of you to get to know each other while you have your other friends around.”
She laughed. “He would never want to come to anything like this. People trying to prove to each other how wealthy and important they are. No, he’s secure enough in his own service to society and his finances he doesn’t need to make a show of it to the rest of the city.”
“How nice!” Mrs. Yandy said. She was easily impressed by money and those who allegedly had it, but I had a feeling the entire person was fabricated out of jealously. Candace never did like it when I was succeeding in life and she wasn’t, and there was little doubt in my mind she had to make up for the fact I was married to a rich, good looking man and she was still single.
If only for her sake she knew the truth. Tonight, I could pretend to my heart’s content that this was how my life had turned out, and no one at the dinner would know otherwise. I could be the person they wanted me to be while still holding to my own values.
Hell, I could make any one of these bitches jealous. Little did they know that they had nothing to be jealous of. It was just me trying to get rid of my ex. This was all going to come to an end, and I would have to figure out how to tell them why it didn’t work out.
But that was in the future. Tonight, I wasn’t going to even think about it being over. Tonight, I was going to be that girl with the husband and the happy life.
“Well, good luck with your date. I think I’m going to refresh my champagne,” I said, taking the opportunity to get away from the two women. I quickly grew tired of the competition, as good as it felt for me to be the one on top in their eyes. Mrs. Yandy was already engaged in another conversation with one of her old friends, and Candace was clearly pissed off enough I was sure she’d be leaving soon.
I headed over to the champagne table, glancing around the room to gauge where my parents were, where Drake was, and whether Brandon was there. I hadn’t seen him all night, and a large part of me hoped that he hadn’t come.
It was surprising, that was for sure, but it was also a relief. If he wasn’t around, I didn’t have to worry about anything happening between him and Drake. Then again, if he wasn’t around then he wasn’t going to get to see me and my new ‘husband’, either.
I had to admit, there was a secret part of me that almost hoped he wouldn’t. The longer it took for him to figure out I was allegedly married and back off, the longer I would be able to keep up this façade with Drake. Perhaps it would last another month, maybe even two.
Of course, the longer it lasted the harder it was going to be for me when it finally ended, but I didn’t want to think about that right now. I just wanted to focus on the moment, and how I felt in it.
I made eye contact with my father and quickly turned away. I didn’t want to talk to him or my mother, that was for damn sure. We had barely spoken in over a year, out communications kept to familial obligation. I was tired of the fighting with them, of never feeling as though I was good enough in their eyes.
