8. Avery

CHAPTER 8

AVERY

The anxiety I felt slowly dissipated as the familiar face of the butler, Edmund, popped up behind the mahogany door.

As usual, the silver-haired man was dressed in an impeccable white shirt and a dark suit with our family crest on his left breast.

"Mr. Branson." His voice had a faint British accent to it. "Your sister arrived not long ago. Your mother has been expecting you."

He ushered us into the wide hallway that had always seemed to be more of a museum entrance than a room in our actual home.

I glanced around. It seemed my mother had gotten around to redecorating the house like she'd planned to. A moon-shaped chandelier hung down from the vaulted ceiling with star-shaped glass dangling down the sides to bathe the room in a warm, golden glow.

A staircase curved to the right with the silver bannister I had slid down one too many times as a child. Paintings now covered the once bare walls. I didn't have an eye for art, and I made no attempt to place or appreciate them.

Creed gasped beside me, his eyes wide. Sometimes I forgot what someone's first impression of this house could be. Having lived in the lap of luxury all my life made me take a lot of things for granted. I sent a silent prayer to the gods that being here for the holiday wouldn't be too overwhelming for Creed. He only had to pretend he was mine for a few days and then his life—and mine—would be back to normal.

Edmund extended his hand. "Would you like me to take your coats?"

Creed shrugged off his, quick as lightning, like if he was afraid Edmund would change his mind if he wasted an extra minute taking it off.

I followed suit, albeit much slower, handing over my leather jacket.

"Everyone is waiting for you. Dinner will be served shortly."

"Thanks, Edmund." I smiled, hoping it wouldn't betray my nervousness. "Right after you, Creed." I swallowed. My voice had sounded a bit more shrill than it should have been. Sweat beaded on the inside of my palm as we trailed after the butler.

As we strolled across the luxurious mahogany flooring, doubts about our ability to successfully fake this relationship without getting caught swirled through my mind.

"Calm down," Creed whispered fiercely beside me, sliding his fingers into mine. I'd forgotten our earlier agreement to walk in holding hands. My mind was preoccupied with my mother and what her reaction would be.

If she would accept us… if the rest of my family would accept us.

I willed myself to ignore how warm Creed's palm had gotten. And how long ago it was since I'd experienced this level of intimacy with someone.

Instead of dwelling on those thoughts, I took a deep cleansing breath and channeled the intensity of my stare directly at the woman that had birthed me.

Silence descended on the room. Tugging at Creed's hand, I led him to the empty couch that I was sure had been reserved for us. I could feel the intensity of my family's gaze on our conjoined hands. I tamped down the urge to pull away.

With a broad grin that was just as fake as our relationship, I nudged Creed playfully before looking back at her. Creed followed my gaze.

"Mother? This is Creed, my boyfriend. Creed? Meet my mother, Evelyn Branson." Despite the warmth of the room and the fireplace crackling sedately, I felt a shiver run through me.

"Hello, Mrs. Branson. It's nice to finally meet you." Creed held out his hand.

It was hard to look away from the exchange happening right in front of me. I wondered if my family could smell the bullshit, and if they would call it out.

No one did.

She glanced down at Creed's outstretched hand before she reached out and shook it. "Hello, Creed. I've heard so much about you." The lie fell easily from her lips. "Call me Evelyn."

Now that we'd gotten past that, despite my mother's stiff posture and forced smile, all that was left was introducing Creed to my sister and cousins and getting through dinner.

Soon, we'd be holed up in our room, having our much-needed privacy.

I whipped my head to where one of my cousins sat. "Creed, that's Nathaniel. Nathaniel, meet Creed."

With a broad, shit-eating grin, Creed turned in my cousin's direction. "It's great to meet you, Nate."

Fuck. I had skipped this part in my explanations.

Abbreviating names was a concept that my late father and uncle frowned on for reasons best known to them. And it was clear from the way my cousin rolled his eyes that he upheld this tradition too, as obsolete as it sounded.

I heaved out a low sigh.

"Did I say something wrong?" Creed mumbled, just loud enough for me to hear. I looked around the room; all eyes except Nathaniel's regarded me carefully.

My cousin was too focused on glaring at my fake boyfriend with narrowed eyes. His nose wrinkled in disgust.

"No. You're doing great. The problem is this stuck-up human. He doesn't like his name being shortened."

"Oh, shit!" That was all Creed could manage.

I continued as though nothing had happened. "The gentleman over there is Joseph Branson."

Creed nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Joseph."

"Welcome, Creed. Guess you're a part of the family now."

I fought the urge to punch my cousin in the face for his insensitivity. The attitude of every last one of them grated on my nerves. Every time I thought it couldn't get any more awkward, one of them somehow managed to raise the bar. I could only imagine how Creed felt.

Before I could think of a word to put in, Joseph continued with the same sly smile on his face. "So how did you two meet? It seems everyone is shying away from the subject. I'm tired of holding back. I'm curious."

Creed gave a single nod. "We met in a coffee shop. Avery stopped by for his daily dose of caffeine, just like I had. It was love at first sight and from there we got talking. So here we are today."

Damn! If I didn't know better, I would have believed every sweet lie that flowed smoothly from his lips.

"Who made the first move?" Joseph pressed further. He had a weird glint in his eyes and his mouth curved upwards in a half-smile. "You or Avery?"

The question made the ball of anxiety lodging in my stomach grow even larger. I smelled a trap, but I had no idea who set it, or why any of them would want to set me up. "You'll be better off not knowing whatever it is you think you need to know, Joseph Branson."

Edmund chose the right time to arrive with our coffee.

"Or maybe you could just tell us the answer to that question, little cousin," Nathaniel added, sarcastically. I stared straight at him as I took a sip from my cup, forcing my facial features to remain normal as the bitter aftertaste of the beverage dragged across my tongue and slid down my throat.

Maybe I'd made a mistake taking up my mother's offer to spend the holiday here. I would have been better off staying at my place alone.

All I could see were a group of people that claimed to love me but would pick on my partner—my fake partner—at each goddamn opportunity because my choices didn't fit into their worldview.

"I made the first move," Creed blurted out.

I couldn't help but feel conflicted as I watched Creed sacrifice his reputation for my sake. On one hand, I appreciated his selfless act and felt guilty for putting him in such a position. But on the other hand, I resented him for taking away my agency and making me look like a helpless victim in front of my family. I didn't know how to feel about his actions, torn.

"That sounds great. How long have you both been together?" Joseph probed further.

I couldn't help but feel a surge of anger towards Joseph as I watched him relentlessly interrogate Creed about our fake relationship. It seemed like he was purposely trying to make Creed uncomfortable and I couldn't stand for it any longer.

"We've been to?—"

"You don't have to answer that, Avery," Creed interjected, placing his hand on my arm in a show of support.

Creed looked at me with a smile, and it dawned on me that it was the first one I'd seen from him. My heart skipped a beat before going back to its regular rhythm. He then turned to my cousin, addressing him. "Let me be clear about this. Anyone who needs to know about our relationship can direct all questions to me, or forget about it."

His words were sharp and filled with confidence, more confidence than I could muster, and I couldn't help but feel proud of the way he stood up for us and our situation. I sensed Creed was smiling even before I glanced at him to confirm it. His eyes beamed, which delighted me and made me feel guilty for resenting him earlier in equal measure.

Joseph raised an eyebrow but he didn't push any further. Instead, he changed the subject by asking Nathaniel about his work.

As the conversation shifted, I took the opportunity to observe Creed more closely. He seemed relaxed now that Joseph had stopped grilling him, sipping his coffee and soaking in the ambience and being a support for me.

I couldn't deny that we made a good team when it came to fooling people. We were both quick thinkers and had a natural chemistry that made our interactions seem effortless.

And yet, as much as I enjoyed being around Creed, there was a lingering sense of discomfort at the back of my mind. Maybe because our fake relationship was only temporary and based on lies, or maybe because deep down, part of me wished it was real.