"Do you know if Cordelia is coming to the island?" Grayson asked Andrew, assuming he would know the whereabouts of the oldest Thorpe sister. Last he knew, Cordelia moved to London as well. But maybe he was wrong.
Andrew's brow puckered in confusion...
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Grayson
"Do I look okay?"
Collecting his thoughts, Grayson glanced down at his girlfriend who stayed seamed to his side where she was comfortable. He smiled. "Yes, you look more than okay. You look beautiful."
Sabine curled a soft blonde tendril of hair around her finger and returned his smile. "Thank you, babe."
"You're welcome," he said, placing his hand at the small of her back, while the family ahead of the Mitchells boarded a small boat.
He tried to think of how he got where he was right now. Standing on a dock over the ocean, waiting for a boat. Holding his girlfriend close to his side to protect her from what lie ahead. Wearing khaki shorts, boat shoes, and a Hawaiian shirt that his mother found. Swallowing roughly and pretending he wasn't filled with fear. Regretting even saying yes to this whole crazy Hawaiian party in the first place.
Grayson couldn't place any blame but on his own shoulders. It was a collective effort of all of the women in his life. His mother first asked Grayson to invite Sabine to the engagement party. Then Georgia and Camilla overheard their conversation in the Thorpe's kitchen, so they tag teamed him too. Also, Charlotte had been at his neck about meeting Sabine. On top of that, Delilah believed a party was the perfect occasion to introduce Sabine to the Thorpes because everyone would be on their best behavior. And Grayson had no excuses. He should and would bring his girlfriend.
There was just one little problem with this whole thing - Grayson hadn't told Sabine that the "old friend" he had been hanging out with since summer started was in fact a female. Charlotte. Conveniently, he forgot to mention that. Sabine was not an overall angry person, but he didn't think she would be too happy to find out he had been skipping dates and hang out sessions with her to spend time with Charlotte.
Delilah interrupted his thoughts by tapping on his arm. "Do you think they'll have those flower necklaces?"
His mother answered for him. "The Thorpes don't do things on a small scale, honey."
"What's that mean?" Delilah asked.
"It means there will be flower necklaces," Grayson muttered under his breath. His mother nailed that right on the head. Every minuscule detail about this engagement party had been overseen by Camilla herself, and therefore, everything would be perfect and extremely authentic. If Hawaiian luaus had flower necklaces, then there would be flower necklaces on this yacht.
Grayson drowned his fear with protective instincts. Though Sabine came from a wonderful family who knew, understood, and surrounded themselves with wealthier individuals, his girlfriend wasn't accustomed to extravagant displays of wealth. The more time she spent with him, she saw the goings-on of rich families that he grew up with. Sometimes, Sabine was shocked at the costliness and excessiveness of their parties, dinners, and overall lifestyles. If there were any occasion where all of those things would be in full swing, it was the Thorpe's engagement party for their middle child who was the first to get engaged and married.
