intricate ice sculpture and silver champagne fountain.
What the…?
“This is your small family gathering?” I asked in a harsh whisper as he directed us to the outdoor bar manned by two uniformed bartenders. They passed us each a flute of champagne, informing us not to drink until the “special toast.”
Special toast? What the hell was this? When had I crossed the magical threshold and stepped into a real-life version of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous? And would those champagne wishes also be accompanied by caviar dreams?
Gag. I’d never had caviar before but the mere idea of eating fish eggs made my stomach roil. Sure, we British Columbians loved our fish but give me a nice freshly baked Sockeye over hoity-toity fish eggs any day of the week.
I spared a glance at my husband. He did not appear thrilled. Of course, with Lucas, one never knew. He could have that stoic face even while in the throes of ecstasy. Maybe his O-face looked just like that.
I yanked my gaze away from him—and my thoughts away from what he might look like during the height of pleasure. Just not a good place to go, mentally, when you were sexually frustrated and stuck under the same roof with a handsome and maddeningly annoying man.
Lucas’s parents swiftly followed us to the bar and were presented their own glasses of champagne by the bartenders. I glanced at the pile of napkins on the bar—decorated with silver congratulations and stylized wedding bells. Movement out of the corner of my eye had me turning my head, only to be blinded by multiple flashes from the largest camera I’d ever seen. Two professional photographers did a small dance around each other to capture every moment.
Holy shit… Lucas’s parents were going to toast us in front of this huge crowd. All this meticulous décor, the drinks, the food and this party had been thrown together at the last minute.
Suddenly self-conscious, my gaze dropped to the ground. Lucas’s dad took up his glass and tapped on it with a spoon to get everyone’s attention. In no time, everyone was staring at us. The head of the Van Den Household spoke in a clear, well-trained, almost Shakespearean voice. “Let’s start this off right. We may have been taken by surprise about this lovely new addition to our family but we’ll welcome her right. Everyone, this is our new daughter-in-law, Katharina Ellis. Please join me in a toast of congratulations and well wishes to the newlyweds. To Lucas and Katharina.”
Everyone around us echoed the toast, clinked glasses and we drank. Murmurs echoed the new father-in-law’s well wishes. Then some rando in the crowd called out, “To Baron and Baroness van den Hoehnsboek van Lynden.”
More mutters and another sip from everyone. My arm froze before taking a second sip. That had been a joke, right? But if so… why was no one laughing? I glanced at Lucas to confirm that was, indeed, a joke. But he wasn’t laughing. Instead he was gazing daggers in the direction of whoever had said it. And Lucas’s dad looked like someone had just stomped on his foot. He, pointedly, set down his champagne glass, not drinking to that toast, whatever the hell it meant.
His son then downed the remaining contents of his own glass and pointedly refused to look at me after that. Maybe he could use a good stomp on his foot, too. Dude had a lot of ‘splainin to do.
Someone banged their own glass with a spoon—and unlike the plastic cake fork against the plastic juice glass in the Den, this one rung out. A woman called out from the crowd, “Kissing time!”
Lucas turned to me and lifted his brows in a question. Despite being extremely annoyed with him, I sidled up to him, merely for appearance’s sake. But I sent a heated glare at him as his face came closer to mine for the kiss.
Whether or not he noticed, he did not react. At least he was consistent. Lucas’s hands came around me and pressed on my back to pull me against him. My fingers curled around the lapels of his jacket. Then he leaned in and pressed his mouth to mine.
People clapped and cheered and… well I didn’t pay much attention at that point.
The minute his tongue entered my mouth, I stiffened. The hands on my back pressed a little harder and his mouth did the same, deepening the kiss. For a guy who didn’t show much emotion on the surface, he really