Best Laid Plans

Negotiations

Perrie

"I cannot believe that you just told your family that we're getting married next week. That is really messed up, Jade."

"Oh, sorry," she responds, sounding anything but sorry, hitting the button for her floor then leaning against the elevator wall, watching me. Her gaze is fixed on mine, her brown eyes steady and self-assured. It makes me nervous, this confidence. Like she's got everything figured out. People who have everything figured out are annoying. "Do you own the announcement? You're the only one who gets to tell my family we're engaged?"

"I've already apologized for that! You know I had a valid reason. You don't!" I'm pointing at her as I speak, and I'd stab her with my finger if I didn't think it would hurt my finger more than it would hurt her.

"Don't I?"

"No!" Why is she so freaking calm? "Why are you dragging this out?"

"What was I supposed to do? Thanks to your stunt last night my entire family thinks we're engaged. My grandmother was the last to know and Julia telling her was a foregone conclusion. The damage has already been done." She shrugs, as if we're having anything resembling a normal conversation.

"You didn't have to make it worse!"

"How did I make it worse? You're the one who gave an Oscar-worthy performance, you little liar."

"We were in too deep at that point!" I snap, stepping out of the elevator on Jade's floor. "I thought I was helping by making you look good."

"Sweeter than ice cream, baby?" she deadpans as she unlocks her door, a long sideways glance with a giant smirk on her pretty face.

I feel my cheeks heat. Admittedly, that was a cheeseball thing to have said. I will cringe to my death over that line. But I'm not going to admit it to Jade. "I did you a favor by making you sound romantic."

"Great job." Honestly her tone is a little sarcastic so I'm not sure we're on the same page about how great that proposal story was, but it's okay that she's wrong.

Once inside, Jade heads straight ahead to the dining room while I trail behind her.

"Sit," she tells me, pointing at the chair she's pulled out for me like we're on a dinner date or something. "Let's negotiate."

I sit. She takes the chair next to me at the head of the table so we're sitting both beside each other and face to face.

"What are we negotiating?" I ask, breaking the tension because she hasn't said anything. "I already told you I don't want anything."

"Well, I do."

All righty then. I stare at her, waiting.

"The thing is, Perrie, I've got a traditional family. And a board of directors to report to. And an impressionable baby sister."

"She's eighteen." Poor Julia. She really does baby her.

"You're pregnant. We need to get married."

"Excuse me?" I'm positive my eyes must be cartoon wide right now. "What did you just say?" My heart has started to race and for once it's not because I'm having dirty thoughts about her or because I feel queasy or because I'm pissed off. She can't be serious.

"Let's get married."

"Oh, no. No, no, no." I'm shaking my head as I speak. "Nope. Not happening."

"Do you have a better plan?"

"A better plan than pretending to be your wife? Are you insane? As in, legally mentally deranged?"

"Do I need to remind you that you started this?"