Page 24 of Accidental Proposal

I knew getting close to Liam’s family would only hurt me and them, but I could already feel myself starting to. Hell, I just told Lily stuff about my life that it took even Sophia months to get out of me. I was walking on dangerous ground already, and we weren’t even close to the end of the year. If I wanted to make it out of the deal unscathed, then I needed to stop myself from forming a bond with the family, but could I do that? Could I go back to being shut-off and lonely?

***

Liam

I didn’t know about Jenna’s parents, and to say I was shocked was an understatement. I wasn’t really that shocked at the news but more of why she didn’t tell me when I called her a “spoiled rich daddy’s girl.” I knew I should have known that before I brought her here, but I couldn’t let myself become interested in her. I didn’t plan on falling for her, and I wouldn’t. Getting to know Jenna would somehow make this deal something more than a deal, and I wouldn’t let that happen. Hell, I didn’t even know she was only nineteen! She looked a lot older than she actually was.

Yes, I felt bad for Jenna not having a family growing up. That would be terrible for any child. If I didn’t have such great parents, I honestly didn’t know how I would live. I loved my family immensely.

I was sitting there at the table taking in Jenna’s news, same as my parents and sister. Next to me, I could practically feel the nerves radiating off of Jenna. I didn’t know how to comfort her, so all I did was squeeze her thigh. During rest of lunch and dinner, I spaced out thinking about Jenna. Yes, she was different, very different than the girls I had been with during the last few years. She didn’t seem to care about fashion, her looks, or what people thought of her, and I’d started to think that she didn’t care about money. That wasn’t really true, however, since she did take the deal for the money.

Something about Jenna intrigued me. I felt myself turning my body as she talked to my parents, my hand resting on her thigh the entire meal, and I kept looking at her face. I hadn’t spent any time with her and now, sitting here at the table, I’d started to notice she talked a lot using her hands. She could hold her own in a conversation, and she blushed easily. She was definitely different than the other girls; she didn’t scream confidence. Instead, she seemed like the type to stand off to the side so others got attention while she observed.

The sound of Julie practically squealing jerked me out of my thoughts and back to the present. I caught onto the conversation when my mom asked us how I proposed. My mind seemed to blank of a story my mother would believe.

“Liam, you tell it the best,” Jenna said, placing her hand on my arm. She was looking at me with those wide green eyes that seemed to sparkle with mischief. I could tell she wanted me to say it so I’d mess up or something.

“No, you do, sweetie,” I bit out, not liking the endearment on my tongue.

“Okay. Well…” Jenna started instantly, and I knew I’d fallen for the trap. She wanted me to say that so she could make me look bad. As she continued on with the make-believe story that would never happen in a million years, I narrowed my eyes at her. She was making me sound like a stuttering wimp, and I was anything but that. The more she lied, the more my nice thoughts and feelings flew out the window.

“Awww, that is so sweet,” my mom cooed, smiling at us.

“Honey.” I looked down at her, clenching my jaw. “I don’t remember it being that way.”How was my mother buying into that?

“It was, sweetie pie, but it was perfect.” She squeezed my upper arm hard, but it honestly felt like a small pinch.Man, she’s weak.

“Awww, look at you two,” Mom said, grinning like an idiot at us. Beside me I watched Jenna’s lips twitch, like she was holding back a smile. “Let me go get dessert really quick.” Mom had really gone all out on this one. Jenna asked if she could help, and I quickly squeezed her thigh, warning her I wanted to talk to her about what just happened. Thankfully, my mom brushed her off and my father got up to help.

“You’re going to pay for that later,” I whispered into her ear, satisfied by her reaction.

Jenna turned to Julie a few minutes later, asking her about modeling. I tuned them out, not wanting to hear their girl talk. It didn’t surprise me that Jenna knew my sister was a model. Lennon must have told her. As I thought of Lennon, I realized I needed to talk to her; I didn’t want her to get close to Jenna. I didn’t need any more issues or drama concerning this deal. The moment Lennon found out, and I had to tell her since she was going to be Jenna’s ‘assistant,’ she flipped. By the end of her rant, I felt like my ears were going to fall off. I didn’t understand why she freaked out the way she did, but whatever.

“So, Liam and Jenna…” my mom said, making me turn my gaze toward her. I instantly knew what she was going to ask. She was never one for letting things slide by. “When is the wedding?” I looked down at Jenna just in time for her to turn to me, her eyes wide.

“We haven’t decided just yet,” I said, not really knowing what else to say.

“You haven’t thought about the date, location, guests, anything?” Mom looked like she was about to have a heart attack any moment.

“No, Mother, we haven’t. We’ve only been engaged a few weeks.”

“It’s okay, no need to stress. I’ll help you guys get everything ready, and so will Julie. We are going to make this the greatest wedding ever.” She fanned her face with her hands. “We have so much to do!” She clapped. “We need to get a date set, then think about a theme, guests, and bridesmaids! And a dress!” I groaned inwardly, knowing my mother would make this wedding over the top. Having your mother be a designer wasn’t the greatest sometimes.

“Honey, not right now. We can figure that out later,” my father said, putting his hand on my mother’s arm.

“Sorry, you’re right. I’m just so excited.”

I ran a hand down my face, already thinking about how this wedding was going to be a disaster.

The rest of dessert thankfully went by fast. I was more than ready to get Jenna out of here as quickly as possible. Once we got to the living room like my father suggested, I could make up a lie so we could leave. I could already see my mother and sister taking a liking to her, and I didn’t know if that was a good idea, especially for my mother. She could get attached pretty easily, and if she got attached to Jenna, at the end of the year she would be heartbroken. It was just better that my family didn’t like Jenna too much, so this all could work out. If not, everything would have just gone down the drain.

Chapter Eleven

Jenna

Bored. Lonely. Those two terms I had become very familiar with. It was now Sunday morning, exactly five days since I’d met Liam’s parents, and five days of doing absolutely nothing. I hadn’t seen Liam since we visited his parents, and it was starting to annoy me. I thought he would be here this weekend and maybe, just maybe, we could “bond,” but apparently not.

Right after my talk with his mother, when I walked into the living room, he was out of his seat and ready to leave. I barely had time to say goodbye to his family before Liam was pushing me out the door and into the car. I tried asking why we were leaving so soon when I had just started to bond with them. All I got in reply was, “We are going home” or a grunt. The moment we got home, which was around four, Liam walked away from me down the hall, and that was the last time I had seen him. He was always gone before I got up in the morning and was always getting home after I was already in bed.

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