me worry and squirm. Something is changing between us, and more than anything, it worries me. What if I actually fall for this new guy he’s becoming?
He opens my door and the movement makes me jump after being so lost in my thoughts. He holds out his hand and I slide mine into it. His warm skin is there to greet me with comfort, and it causes a fire to spread from my hand to my lower belly.
Whoa, body. Chill the fuck out. This is only pretend.
He leads me to the door and presses the doorbell. Only seconds later, it’s being opened by a maid dressed in a black and white uniform. “Good evening,” she greets us.
“Good evening, Rose,” he replies, stepping inside and dragging me in with him.
He shrugs out of his coat then moves behind me to help with mine. He hands them both over to her. “Rose, this is my fiancée, Poppy. Poppy, this is Rose. She’s worked for my grandmother since I was just a boy.”
I hold out my hand to shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She smiles and nods. “You too, dear.” She closes the front door. “Your grandmother is in the lounge.”
“Thank you, Rose.” Matthew takes my hand and wraps it around his elbow as he leads me to the lounge. We enter the room, and to my surprise, it’s just a living room. There are two couches facing each other, with a chair on either end of them and a table in the middle. There’s a warm and inviting fireplace with a fire burning inside, and a drink cart off to the side. There are also decorative pieces around the room, but I have a feeling the seating area is meant to be the focal point, meant purely for entertaining.
The old lady is sitting in the chair next to the fireplace and she looks to be about 200 years old. She’s a tiny thing—so small it looks like she won’t even be able to bear her own weight if she stands. Her graying hair is thinning on top, so much so that I can see her scalp, but she has it pulled back into a slick bun atop her head. She’s dressed in a long-sleeved black dress that’s probably as old as she is. She’s pale and looks to be nearly falling asleep—that is, until she notices us walking into the room. Her eyes pop wide open and a soft smile plays on her thin, dry lips.
“Good evening, Nan,” Matthew says, releasing my arm and going to lean over to press a kiss to her head. “I’d like to introduce you to my fiancée. This is Poppy.”
I smile as I move closer with my hand outstretched, ready to shake.
“Fiancée?” she questions, looking up at him.
“That’s right,” he agrees.
“You’re getting married? Finally? Oh, this is good news.” She turns her attention to me now. “What a beautiful woman you are,” she says, raising her hand to shake.
I take it gently, almost afraid of hurting the woman. “Thank you,” I reply. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you that I feel like I know you already,” I lie.
She blushes as she tears her gaze from mine to look up at Matthew. “Matthew, you haven’t been telling this beautiful fiancée of yours lies about me, now have you?”
He chuckles as he walks around her to sit on the sofa, motioning for me to join him. “I may have told her a few things—but lies, no way.”
I take a seat next to him and cross my legs so my knees are pointing toward him. My right foot touches the back of his calf, and with her eyes on us, I feel like I need to sell this a little better. I run my foot up and down the back of his leg as I take his hand in mine.
“Well, your father can’t be here tonight, as usual. He will make brunch, though, on Sunday. Poppy, will you be joining us?”
I smile. “Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t been invited.”
“Well, dear. I’m inviting you. Ten sharp,” she insists. “This marriage will be a big family affair and you need to meet your soon-to-be father-in-law. James will be thrilled. Have you told him yet?”
“Not yet. I thought it best to do it in person. I wasn’t sure what his reaction would be,” Matthew says, squeezing my hand.
“Of course he’ll be happy, Matthew. Have you set a date yet?” she asks, smoothing her gray hair