Pretend for Me (16 page)

“All you do is type,” he said, complaining.

“I type quietly for you,” she said.

He grumbled. His arm remained around her waist. Every
now and then his hand pressed the space bar catching her attention. She
chuckled every time he did it.

“I’m almost finished. When I’m done you can have my
full, undivided attention.”

“I thought you said you finished this book,” he said.

“No, I said I’d finished the first draft. There is
more to a book than writing it. I’m just perfecting the final piece I’ll send
to my publisher.” She turned to see him staring at her screen. “Hey, you can’t
read it.”

“I’m not. I’m cuddling up to you, baby.”

She laughed. There were only a few pages left for her
to finish and then she’d be all his. “I’ll be done by tomorrow.”

“Just in time for us to get ready for your family’s wedding,”
he said.

“I’m not looking forward to it either.” Dylan had been
trying to get in touch with her constantly. She couldn’t stand the man, and yet
he thought it was all right of him to keep calling her. He kept asking about
Andy. Andy and Andy’s clubs were not his business. She’d stopped telling Andy
because of the way he acted. He grew silent, which bothered her. Sara knew he
was keeping something from her. Each phone call she shot Dylan down, warning
him to keep his nose out of her business.

Andy never looked happy anymore, and he’d stopped
talking about the clubs. She tried to ask, and he’d merely reply they were all
doing fine. None of his friends would shed light on the subject of what was
going on in his life either. The whole situation made her uneasy.
 

She closed her laptop then placed it on the floor away
from the bed. Sara snuggled up close to him. Andy leaned over and kissed her.

“Do you want to go to the wedding with me?” she asked.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“You’ve been a little off at the idea. I don’t mind if
you no longer wish to come. I’m happy to go on my own.”

She wasn’t, but she would do whatever made Andy happy.
Her family was a daunting prospect to visit.

“I’m going with you, Sara. I wouldn’t dream of leaving
you alone to face them.” He kissed her one final time before pulling her in
close. “Get some sleep. We’ve got a long week ahead of us.”

Sara lay next to him and couldn’t deny the relief she
felt at having him close by. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to claim
her.

Chapter Fourteen

All too soon the week disappeared. Sara finished her
book and submitted it to her publisher to await their thoughts. She’d packed
for her and Andy. He was getting everything ready to take Champion with them.
She stared around the bedroom wondering if there’d been anything she missed.

Andy came through a few minutes later. “Are you
ready?” he asked.

“I’ve packed your tux. The moment we get to my
parents’ house I’ll take it out so there won’t be any creases.”

He nodded.

They were travelling down today, Friday, for the
wedding to take place on Saturday. On Sunday they were travelling back home.

“Everything is going to be fine. You’re going to be
the most beautiful bridesmaid at this ceremony.” He wrapped his arms around her
offering her comfort. She took every little bit of comfort he gave. There had
been something off with him the past few weeks. She wished he’d tell her what
it was that was bothering him.

“Are you bringing your laptop bag with you?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, my publisher will be in touch
when they’re ready, and after the mad rush I’ve just had, I need a break.” Sara
picked up her suitcase and followed Andy and Champion out of his apartment
door. She’d put her laptop back in her own apartment for the weekend. Work could
wait until Monday. She needed some time to rest.

They took the elevator down to the underground
parking. Andy took the cases off her then helped her into his car. She put her
seatbelt on as he climbed in beside her.

“Time to go and party,” he said. There was no
enthusiasm in his voice. She saw the strain in him, and it hurt her to know he
was hurting.

He pulled out of the parking area and started working
his way through the city. His hand tightened on the steering wheel. They
remained silent all the way onto the freeway.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“Yeah.”
He grabbed her hand kissing her knuckles. “I’ll be better when this
weekend is done. Your parents are hard to please.”

“I’m glad they haven’t frightened you away.”

Andy tapped her knee before concentrating on the road
ahead. She stared out of her window unsure how to pass the silence. They’d been
friends a long time, and she didn’t know what was bothering him.

When they pulled up outside of her parents’ house a
few hours later, Sara saw the garden had been transformed into a beautiful
reception area. Cars filled the driveway and street. Andy had to park away from
the house, which didn’t bother her. They grabbed their cases then made their
way up to the house.

She heard the sound of talking and laughter coming
from inside. Opening the door she saw her family standing in the sitting room
with relatives and friends. The chatter seemed to die down when they saw her.

Tracy pulled her into a hug as the rest of her family
gathered round. She noticed Dylan in the corner glaring at Andy.

“Honey, I’m so sorry, dear, but we had to put
Bethany’s aunt in the guest room. Andy, we’ve booked you into the motel in the
town. You’ll be fine there and well looked after,” Harmony said.

Sara’s mouth fell open at her mother’s rudeness. Why
couldn’t they accept Andy? Dylan may be everything her parents wanted for her,
but he wasn’t what she wanted.

“No, he’s not staying in town,” Sara said, pissed off
with their attitude.

“Sara, honey, don’t worry about it.” Andy turned to
leave. She grabbed his arm and mouthed “don’t” to him.

He stayed by her side.

“We made the arrangements, Sara. We did send them via
text,” Danny said.

“You made sure I wouldn’t get them. Well, Andy is here
with me. Bethany is sharing a room with Danny like she always
does,
and Andy can share with me. My bed is big enough for
the both of us.”

Both her parents started to protest. She glared at
them. “If he goes and stays in town then I’m going with him. I’ve had enough of
your treatment of him. He’s my boyfriend. Deal with it, or I swear I will turn
back around and I won’t come fucking back.”

Dylan had something to do with this. She was convinced
of it.

“Sara—”

She glared at her mother, shutting her up. “I mean it.
Back off, or I go. I don’t care anymore. You’re embarrassing to yourself and to
me.”

Her family moved out of the way, and she walked up the
stairs. Andy followed behind her. She dropped her suitcases in her room and
slammed the door closed, fuming at what her folks had done. “I have the most
horrid family in the history of families,” she complained. “Can you believe
them? I can’t believe I’m related to them at all.”

Andy sat next to her on the bed. “They have your
future planned out for you with a man of their choice.”

“Exactly, their
choice, not mine.
Ignore them, Andy, please.”

“I’m ignoring.”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry about
this.”

“Don’t apologize for them.”

Sara let out a sigh before grabbing her case. “We
better unpack and go down to mingle.”

She took his tuxedo out of his case to get the
wrinkles out. Andy placed some of his clothes in her closet. They finished
putting away a few of their things before they walked down the steps together.

“Why don’t you go out and mingle and I’ll grab us some
food.” It was lunchtime, and she was starving. Andy walked out into the garden
while she went to the kitchen. All the counters were laden with food. Her
parents had ordered in for the amount on display.

Her tummy rumbled, and she reached for a plate.

Someone cleared his throat to let his presence be
known. She turned to see Dylan leaning against the doorframe.

“I guess you’re the one I have to thank for trying to
get Andy into a motel in town.” She didn’t pose her words as a question.

“Your family doesn’t want him around you, Sara.”

“They don’t get to decide what’s good for me. Andy is
good for me, and nothing they say or do is going to change that.”

She grabbed two plates then made her way around the
food.

“He’s not like us.” Dylan came to stand beside her.

Ignoring his closeness, she started to fill the
plates. “No, he’s not like us. He’s better because all I’ve seen is nothing but
a load of bullshit coming from the lot of you. Andy is a great guy. He’d never
hurt me, but you’ve all been rotten and rude to him. I’ve never been so
embarrassed in my life.”

Dylan caught her arm in his, pulling her close. “Why
are you being so difficult?”

“Let go of my arm or I swear to God I’ll scream this
fucking house down and claw your eyes out.” She spoke each word slowly and shot
him a glare.

He let go of her arm.

“We’ve been planning our marriage for years. Your
family and my family want this, Sara.”

“Too bad you couldn’t keep it in your pants long
enough. There is never going to be a marriage between us, Dylan. I don’t love
you, and I never will. Everything I had with you was a mistake.”

“There was a time when you did want me.”

She shook her head. “I was a fool.
A
stupid, idiotic fool who didn’t know a thing about true feelings.”

Sara finished loading their plates with food. “Stop
trying to win something you
have
no chance of being
the victor over. I don’t want you. Andy is the man I want.”

Grabbing their plates, she made her way into the
garden. Andy stood alone staring at the waterfall where her and her siblings’
handprints were. “Here, I went hunting, and I got us some food.” She handed him
his plate.

 
Andy took what
she offered without saying a word. They ate in silence. She saw Dylan
constantly staring at them. Something was off with Andy. She sensed it now more
than ever.

The rest of the day went uneventful. Bethany gave her
the bridesmaid’s dress for the following day. She put it in her room for safe
keeping. Her mother cornered her on the stairs. The rest of the family was out
in the garden. They were the only two in the house.

“What’s the matter, Mom?” she asked, exasperated with
her family.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“Why? Is this another talk where you tell me what you
guys think and expect me to follow it through? Or maybe it’s another attempt to
be rude about Andy.” Her temper was getting the better of her, and she finally
snapped. “Andy is a good man. Why can’t you give him a chance and stop being
rude to him?”

“He’s not right for you. Dylan is right for you. When
you were growing up, you were always around him. You were so happy when you
started dating. I don’t understand what has changed. You were in love with him
and told me more than once how much you loved him.”

Sara shook her head. Her temper grew with every
passing second. “No. Dylan is not the right man for me. He will never be the
right man for me. You can keep arguing this point with me until you’re blue in
the face, Mom. I’m not giving up Andy for Dylan. That ship has sailed, and it’s
never coming back in to dock. I wasn’t in love with Dylan, and if you actually
looked close enough you’d see how much I love Andy.”

She brushed past her mother and went down to Andy. If
she had to spend the rest of her life fighting her family then that was exactly
what she’d do.

****

Andy lay in Sara’s bed that night. Her heat calmed his
nerves. Tomorrow he’d have the answers to his questions. His clubs’ future was
in the balance. Seeing her family once again had made him realize how much they
hated him with her. They were too protective of her and did everything in their
power to drive the men away.

He knew Dylan was the one responsible for trying to
shut him down. The bank had declined him any delay on his loan and he needed
more time to pay them back because of how long the clubs had been closed. He
held her close. Her scent was the only thing that could calm him down. She
meant so much to him. He didn’t want to let her down.

Rubbing his temples, he stared past her to the window.
The moon shone through the curtains highlighting her to him.

“I love you,” he said.

For the first time in his life he understood what his
parents felt all those years ago. There was a deep possessive feeling in the
pit of his chest that refused to go away. The feeling had always been there
since the first moment they’d met. He never wanted to share her with his
friends. For five years he’d kept their friendship a secret in the hope of
keeping it sacred.