The Harpers

Chapter 2

My eyes shifted nervously from swimming gray eyes, to the group of reporters and paparazzi outside of the restaurant. The cup of nearly cold coffee and half eaten dessert were left untouched, my stomach deciding to do summersaults.

Since accepting his proposal—which was nearly two weeks ago—Elijah decided it would be best to make this look as "official" as possible. That meant going out on dates and being intimate in public.

Of course, with Elijah being a gentleman, he assured me that I didn't have to do anything I was uncomfortable with. At the moment, I was only comfortable with hand holding and hugs, maybe a cheek kiss as well.

But the most nerve-wracking part of this week? Introducing Elijah to my mother as the fiancée I never told her about. To say she was pissed would be an understatement. She threatened the both of us with a belt to the behind, and I was terrified she would actually give us a whipping.

She prodded him with question after question and, when she learned he was from the Harper family, her face brightened. She smiled, looked at me and said, "You did well."

I was so horrified; I didn't want Elijah to think we were some gold-digging family, when in fact my mother was proud I would have a secure future. I don't think I could ever tell her the circumstances behind this marriage.
Elijah simply smiled at us and said nothing of it.

"It's okay," Elijah said taking my hand. My eyes snapped toward his and I gave a weak, nervous smile.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to this," I said with a grimace. For two weeks, they've been following us and taking pictures. I've seen myself in the paper more times than I liked, with atrocious headlines about our mysterious relationship.

"It's okay," he repeated with a squeeze of my hand. "I'm right here. They're just taking pictures, but you can ignore them. I know it may seem like a lot and, honestly, I hate it too. Unfortunately, it's something that takes some getting used to, especially if you're the type who doesn't like attention."

"You don't like attention? You're Elijah Harper, I would think you would bask in it," I said with an amused smile.

"Sadly, I do not," he chuckled.
Goodness, he was gorgeous.
"Oh, we should head out. We have to meet the wedding planner in twenty minutes," he said checking his watch. I nodded and gulped, already feeling my stomach in knots.

He paid for our food and drinks and we headed out to meet the wedding planner. I did what Elijah said and ignored them, instead making small talk to get to know him better. If I was going to spend the next fifty to sixty years with this man, I wanted to know as much about him as possible.
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"You've never been to a public movie theater? Like, never?" I asked incredulously. Elijah gave me a sheepish smile as he shook his head. I tsk'd, saying, "We can't have that. One day, I'm going to take you out and we're going to do things non-rich people do."

"So you're going to take me out on a date?"

"That's right, I am," I said smirking at him. He simply raised his eyebrows as we headed toward the exit.

We just came from a four hour meeting with the wedding planner, and it was already dark out. All I did was sit there and let Elijah do most of the talking, giving me input only when asked. I paid attention to the conversation, so I was at least aware of how my own wedding would be like.

We exited the building and was met with pouring rain. I grimaced as I looked out through the rain. I hated rain and I hated being drenched even more. Elijah's car was parked on the next street and we would have to run in the rain, since neither of us had an umbrella.