One Fake Fiance - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,18
to make it to Asheville?” Magnolia’s stomach clenched as she looked through the windshield at the leaden sky. It looked like it could dump snow any second.
“We’ll be fine,” Lucas said, a faint edge of irritation needling its way into his voice.
Magnolia was fast learning that Lucas didn’t like her questioning his judgment. Well, the brooding cowboy had better get used to it because she’d always spoken her mind and didn’t intend to stop doing so now. “I still think we would’ve been better off to fly,” she huffed, “if someone weren’t afraid.” She cut her eyes at him.
His response was as immediate as it was forthright. “I’m not afraid. It’s like I’ve told you a hundred times, I don’t like to fly. I prefer to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground.”
She stifled a grin. It was endearing how quickly Lucas rose to the bait. She rolled her eyes and responded with a flippant, “You don’t have to get so bent out of shape about it. I was just making a statement.”
“No, you were trying to pick a fight.” He shot her an ornery look.
“Okay,” she admitted, her voice smooth as silk, “you caught me. I guess I was picking a fight. You looked so serious over there that I had to do something to lighten the mood. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us. I don’t want to sit in stone silence the entire time.” She shifted in her seat, flicking an imaginary speck of dust from her pants. Lucas wasn’t the only one keyed up. She was so nervous she could hardly sit still. She forced herself to take a deep breath in through the nose.
“You can turn on the radio.”
She sighed in exasperation. “What I want to do is talk. We need to get our stories straight. My grandfather and Eric Stanford will put our relationship under the microscope. We only have a few hours to coordinate everything.” They were going into the danger zone here, and Lucas seemed oblivious. It was two days before Christmas! Only two days! Could they pull off the charade? Beads of perspiration popped over the bridge of her nose. Get a grip, she commanded herself, balling her hands into fists.
In Lucas’s defense, how could he possibly know what lay ahead? Magnolia’s grandfather wasn’t quite as icy and aloof as her grandmother had been, but he was definitely a close second. Grandfather hadn’t masterminded the trust fund and all of its rigid rules. That had been her grandmother’s doing. However, Grandfather was fully determined to carry out Grandmother’s wishes to the extent of his ability. When Magnolia spoke to him yesterday over the phone, he questioned why she’d broken up with Roman. He expressed concern that perhaps Magnolia had grabbed the first man she could find so that she could fulfill the terms of her trust. Her denial had slipped haltingly from her lips, her face scalding. “You’ll see how much in love Lucas and I are,” she replied with a light chuckle. Yeah, right! This was a disaster! Desperation clawed at the base of her skull.
Lucas shrugged. “If you wanted to talk, then why didn’t you just say so instead of needling me about flying?” He hunched his shoulders like he was drawing into himself.
Why was he in such a foul mood? She could feel the animosity pouring off him and souring the air like rancid milk.
Her spine stiffened. “What’s with you today?” As if she didn’t have enough to worry about without adding his rotten mood into the mix.
“Nothing,” he grumbled.
Ever since Lucas had picked her up at Lexi’s apartment, he’d been on edge. They’d been driving for roughly thirty minutes and all the while Magnolia’s fears were gnawing at her like a pack of ravenous wolves. Apprehension squeezed her lungs in a tight grip, making it difficult to get a good breath. Was Lucas having second thoughts about the marriage? All had gone well with their shopping trip to Atlanta. They’d gotten Lucas a whole new wardrobe. When Magnolia saw him in the expensive, tailored clothes, her heart had skipped a few beats. She realized with a startling jolt that appearance-wise, Lucas could give Roman Abbott or any other upper-crust guy a run for his money. Lucas could walk through the doors of any country club, and they would roll out the red carpet. It was when he opened his mouth that things got dicey. Not because Lucas wasn’t cultured enough to measure up, but rather