I knew Katie was right. But the question remained whether the “explosion” she mentioned could be controlled. Or if it’d take us all with it.
Chapter 34
JOSH
It was Christmas Eve, and I’d barely heard a word from Cass since yesterday afternoon. We’d exchanged a few texts, and she seemed her normal self, but I had a feeling in my gut that I couldn’t shake. Then again, maybe it was nerves on her part. Tonight was poised to be a huge deal—the annual Taylor Christmas party would make the shindig at the Victor place seem like a laid-back lunch at Applebee’s.
So I told myself not to be too worried about it. Stressing wasn’t going to do anyone any good. Besides, after our talk the other day, Cass and I were on totally the same page about everything. Our feelings were out in the open, and I didn’t have to worry about never seeing her again when the plan was over and done.
Who knows? Maybe she and I could turn this pretend relationship into a real one. I’d have been lying if I said the idea wasn’t appealing as hell. I mean, I’d never felt like I had toward another woman the way I felt toward her. It could’ve been a sign that as crazy as the circumstances that had brought us together were, they might’ve been for a reason.
Wishful thinking, maybe. But what was wrong with that? Everything was going well so far. Why wouldn’t it continue to go that way?
But that was something to think about later. At that moment I was more concerned with seeing Cass and making sure she was ready for the evening ahead. And on top of that, I wanted to ensure that her family had a good time. Her mom was pretty sweet, so I wasn’t too worried about her. Mark, on the other hand, while definitely a good guy, seemed a touch more on the prickly side.
“When’s your fiancée and her oh-so-charming family arriving?” Sam was seated in the kitchen when I stepped in, a knowing smile on his face that I didn’t like one bit.
“Any chance you could keep a lid on the attitude for one night?”
“I’ll do my best. But then again, you could tell me now what’s going on with you two and save me the trouble of having to find out for myself.”
“You know exactly what’s going on, and it’s what it looks like.”
“I’m sure.”
“What’s with the paranoia, anyway?” I asked. “Can’t you be happy that your brother’s getting married?”
He looked away for a moment before turning his attention back to me. “Dad always said to follow your gut, right?”
“He did.”
“Said it was the key to his success. I believe him. We’re his sons, so if he has a gift when it comes to intuition, then we’ve got it too. And right now, my gut’s telling me there’s something rotten about this whole thing.”
“So you are being paranoid.”
“You can call it paranoia if you want. Or you can call it me seeing right through you. I know you, Josh, and I know that when you want something, you’ll go to any length to get it. And you want to be in charge more than anything else. I know Dad’s been pushing you to get married, and then you end up happily engaged within weeks of him having a heart attack that might make him need to step down as CEO –you end up looking like the exact sort of responsible son he’d consider to take his place You’re telling me that doesn’t seem strange?”
“You can think it seems whatever you want. But I know what it is for a fact. And the sooner you accept it and stop letting your weird little quest for power make you act like this toward your own family, the better. And the happier of a holiday we’ll have.”
I had to admit I was impressed with my own bullshit. So impressed, in fact, that I decided to leave it at that. I stepped from the kitchen, forgetting why I’d even come in to begin with, and went into the main hall of the house.
The Christmas décor was all done, and the place looked the part it would need to for the party tonight. The tree in the entrance room was titanic—no other way to put it—and reached all the way to the third floor of the house.
But the cheer from the decorations didn’t distract me from the way I’d been feeling about Cass. I wanted to see her and speak to her and make sure everything was OK. I hated that such doubt had taken hold.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that having her by my side through this was doing me a world of good. You had to have a fake fiancée to have a fake engagement, sure, but I wasn’t sure if there was any way I’d be able to do it without her.