Page 31 of Pretend I’m Yours
Immediately, Hannah’s face lit up as well. She chuckled. “It was kind of amazing to watch you deck him that night. I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.”
“I doubt your parents would see it that way,” I said. “I’m sure that’s not the kind of publicity they want to deal with.”
Hannah shook her head. “Probably not. I swear it’s going to be fine, though. I know Brandon doesn’t have the balls to do anything that stupid at a place like that.”
“Hopefully,” I finished my drink. “Where and when is it?”
“Friday, down at the Warming Center. Don’t worry, we’ll be going together so you aren’t going to have to try to find it. Just make sure you look the part, okay?” she asked as she finished the rest of her yogurt.
“Anything you need Hannah.”
Hannah grinned and my heart melted. Good God the woman was going to be the death of me.
“Thank you. Anyway, I’ve got to get going. This is exactly what I needed from you. This might actually work!”
“Glad I can help,” I said. She grabbed her purse off the counter and flounced out the door, leaving me to turn my attention to the rest of my show. I got up and poured another half glass of whiskey. I didn’t want to go to this gala. In my mind, it was the best way for this entire scenario to be blown and the real truth to come out.
But, if Hannah thought that this was the answer to her problem, I’d be there for her. After all, that was the agreement. That was what she was paying me for, and that’s what I was going to do.
Hell, I didn’t think there was anything I wouldn’t do for Hannah.
14
Hannah
“And how is school coming? I can’t believe this! Last thing I hear is that you go through a nasty breakup, then here you are with a ring on your finger and a degree in the near future!” Mrs. Yandy beamed.
“Life certainly is full of surprises, isn’t it?” I said, trying to act as natural as possible. “I never thought I’d get swept off my feet like that, and school is fabulous. I’ll have my degree and be helping the kids in no time.”
“Yes,” she let her voice drift off. Though she had more of a heart for others than my parents or Brandon ever did, there was still an arrogance to the woman that prevented her from truly meeting me at my level. I brushed it off, after all, reminding myself that it didn’t matter if I had the support of the people who tried to impress my father.
As long as I was doing what I knew to be right, that was all that mattered. I was going to help those kids, and no one was going to discourage me.
“Married? Are the rumors true?” Candace Wilhelm walked over, champagne in hand and her nose slightly upturned. She looked suspiciously from me to Mrs. Yandy and back again.
“It’s true. You know, when you find the one, you just know,” I said, brushing off her comment.
“And how do you know that this is the one?” she asked. “I thought Brandon was the one, but he’s not the one who put the ring on your finger, is he?”
“Brandon and I didn’t work out, but I did find a man who was exactly the kind of partner I was looking for. I just knew he was right for me,” I shrugged. “What can I say?”
“And you just ran off and got married?” Candace asked.
“We eloped and went on a nice honeymoon over spring break,” I lied. I knew I could pull off the story with how much I’d practiced, and Candace appeared to be satisfied even if she didn’t agree with what had allegedly happened.
“Are you happy? Really, truly happy?” she asked, still pushing for more details.
“Deliriously so,” I said. “He’s wonderful.”
“And what does Mr. Wonderful do for a living?” Mrs. Yandy asked, clearly feeling left out of the conversation now.
“He’s an investor first and foremost, but his father is in the auto industry, and he works with him. He’s going to inherit the family company in a few years when his father retires, but until then he likes to spend his time with investments,” I said.
I’d talked with Drake extensively about what he allegedly did that brought him into money, and we’d practiced our angles and answers to the questions that might be asked. After a couple hours of laughing and making fun of each other, we had the story down.
It didn’t matter which of us were talked to, our stories would line up and we had the answers right on the tips of our tongues.
“Where is he? I would love to meet him,” Mrs. Yandy said. “He sounds like a real catch.”
“You might say that,” I said with a laugh. “He’s over there right now.”
