9. Harper

"Wow. My husband is gorgeous."Which I already knew, but it doesn't hurt to point it out to him, right?

Bailey blushes.

"Our limo is waiting, and so are my parents." I mutter the last part of the sentence. I'm not exactly looking forward to this dinner.

I adore my parents, but they love asking questions, especially Mother. Although Bailey and I have our stories straight about how we met, I'm still concerned one or both of us might slip up. On the other hand, it's going to be easy to give him sappy looks like we practised when he's looking so outstandingly beautiful.

"That suit brings out the colour of your eyes," I say.

"Thanks. You look amazing too."

I put my hand on his waist. Neither of us moves. I want to kiss him, but I have no reason to. We're not in public. We don't have to pretend to be in love.

"Should—" Bailey dips his chin as his blush intensifies. "Should we practise kissing again?"

Thank fuck he suggested it.

"We only practised sitting down. What if we need to kiss standing?"

"You make a good point." I cup his cheek like I did earlier, nudging his face so his gaze meets mine. The pinstripe suit he's wearing compliments the blue of his eyes perfectly.

"PG rated," he whispers as he puts his hands on my hips.

We kiss, lips firmly closed, but I want more.

"I think we nailed it," he says.

"Really? I think we need a bit more practice."

"Maybe you're right."

We kiss again. His lips part ever so slightly, but I'm good and don't slip my tongue between them no matter how much I want to.

A horn beeps outside, ruining the moment. Bailey pulls away. I hold out my hand. Concern creeps into my gut. Will he accept my hand? He does, and we walk to the limousine together. The driver opens and closes the back doors for us. When he gets into the driver's seat, he puts the privacy screen up so he can neither see nor hear us.

"Your parents know about me, don't they?" Bailey asks.

"Of course."

"What did they say when you told them you were married?"

"Not much. They're looking forward to meeting you."

It was a short conversation. I called, announced I was married, arranged dinner, and then claimed I needed to run to a meeting. Unfortunately, I won't be able to avoid their questions this evening, and I know they'll ask lots. My only wish is that they direct their shock and whatever else they're feeling at me, not Bailey.

The drive to The Dorchester takes forever. London traffic is a nightmare. Bailey and I chat about everything except dinner and my parents. He's sweet and fun to talk to.

"We're here, sirs," the driver says through the intercom.

I squeeze Bailey's hand. "Are you okay?"

He takes a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Is he nervous because they're my parents or because his parents were arseholes to him?

We get out of the car on the pavement side and go inside. The lobby is a visual feast of marble, gold, dark wood, and sparkling crystal.

"Mr Carr, right this way. Your parents are waiting for you," a concierge says.

Bailey glances at me, one eyebrow arched.

"We come here a lot," I say in answer to his unspoken question.

The concierge leads us into a private dining room with a round table positioned underneath a crystal chandelier. My parents stand. As ever, they are impeccably dressed, Father in a suit and Mother in a knee-length dress complimented by sparkling diamond jewellery.

"Darling." Mother comes around the table and hugs and kisses me on both cheeks. "And you must be Bailey." She smiles warmly at him and greets him in the same way. "I need to know everything about you. Harper has told us nothing other than that he met the love of his life and decided to elope." She glares at me. "I was looking forward to helping to organise your wedding."

I shrug. "I thought you'd have had enough of weddings after planning four."

"Five, including ours." Father shakes my hand and then Bailey's and retakes his seat.

"You're my baby. Of course I wanted to see you get married," Mother says.

Bailey and I sit beside each other and opposite my parents.

"If it means that much to you, we can have an elaborate renewal of vows ceremony on our anniversary." I put my hand on Bailey's knee and give him one of those sappy looks we practised. "It will give us an excuse to go on another honeymoon."

Mother sighs. "I suppose that will do."

My gut pinches. We won't get to have a renewal of vows ceremony because Bailey and I will be getting divorced. I'm an arse.

"Where did you go on your honeymoon?" Father asks.

"Bora Bora. It was beautiful," Bailey replies.

"How did you meet?" Mother asks.

Bailey and I look at each other.

"At a charity event." Bailey's tone is smooth.

"You know the type. Representatives from different charities attend to convince people like me to donate to them. Bailey was assisting one of the representatives."

"We started talking, and something about Harper took my breath away. He's special."

"Not as special as you, snookums." I lean close and rub the tip of my nose against his. Okay, so we didn't practise that, but it feels right, and he's not pulling away or collapsing into fits of laughter.

Are we laying it on too thick? Does our story sound too rehearsed?

"I asked him out when the event ended, and luckily for me, he said yes," I say.

"We talked all night, and I-I?—"

"Knew he was the one."

"You didn't think it was a good idea to get to know each other better before dashing to Vegas to get married?" Father asks.

"When you know, you know. Why wait?"

"To be sure. You're a nice young man, Bailey, but you don't know each other."

"We do," I say.

"And we're getting to know each other better every day," Bailey says.

"I hope I never stop discovering new things about you." I peck his lips before I can stop myself.

Bailey puts his hand over mine. "Same. I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you."

Damn, he's good. I believe him, and I know this is a sham.

"Aw." Mother clasps her hands under her chin. "You're adorable together. But I'm not going to forgive you for depriving me of seeing my baby get married, Harper Ptolemy Carr."

Bailey widens his eyes a fraction, then schools his expression.

"You're in trouble now." Father chuckles.

It's true. I am. Mother only uses my full name when she's annoyed with me.

"We'll have the most lavish renewal of vows ceremony ever."

Mother tuts and shakes her head. "It's not the same. How do your parents feel about missing your wedding, Bailey?"

Shit. I should have anticipated that question. I turn my hand over so I can squeeze his.

"I'm estranged from my family," Bailey replies.

My parents stare at him.

"They weren't supportive of me being gay."

Mother presses her hand to her chest. "Oh, you poor dear. You're married to Harper, which makes you our son now, and we will never be anything other than supportive of you."

Bailey blinks several times. "Thank you." His voice is uneven.

The waiting staff enter and serve our food. Perfect timing. My parents must have ordered for us.

"What charity do you work for?" Father asks as he cuts into a steak.

"One that works with teens to help them get off the streets and get qualifications and another that provides overnight accommodation and on-the-street aid."

"Send us the details, and we'll donate to them."

"Thank you."

"Whatever is dear to your heart is dear to ours," Mother says.

Damn, I love my parents.

As the meal progresses, the conversation gets more relaxed. Thankfully, Mother doesn't quiz Bailey too much. She does wheel out some embarrassing stories from my childhood, though. Why isn't there a huge, gaping hole to sink into when I need one?

They want to know more about Bailey's charity work. He talks about it with animation and passion. My heart quivers. I'm utterly captivated by him. I've already donated to the charities he told me about on the private jet, but that money feels like a drop in the ocean as he tells us about the reality of living on the streets. My gut churns. He doesn't mention it, but I know he's talking from experience.

Once dinner is over, Mother takes me to one side. I give Bailey an apologetic smile, although to be fair, Father is the better parent to abandon him with.

"He's lovely," Mother says.

"Why do I sense a but?"

"Don't you think you rushed into getting married?"

"I thought you wanted me to settle down. You should be happy for me."

"I do, and I am. But I'm also worried. What if he's not the one?"

"He is. He's special." My heart swells, which is a new, strange, and slightly unsettling reaction. "Sure, we could have waited and done the whole courting thing, but it wouldn't have changed how I feel about him and each other. I love him."

"Yes. I can see that." She smiles and glances at Bailey. "And I can tell he loves you."

Wow, we're both good at this fake husband thing. Real husbands, fake emotions.

She pats my cheek. "Congratulations, darling."

"Thank you."

"Promise you'll have a beautiful renewal of vows ceremony?"

"Cross my heart."