Competing for His Heart

Chapter 5: "A WEDDING?"

My jaw dropped. I stared at Katie in shock.

Then...I started laughing!

"Katie! You can't be serious! You're hilarious. You really are a great story teller, have you ever considered being an actress?" At this point, Cassie took the White Claw from my hand because I was laughing so hard.

"Olivia, Katie's being serious, and I'm being serious when I say that you have to compete." 

"Cassie. What? You're joking. Both of you are. There's no way that this is real, and even if it is, why would I compete to date my own boyfriend?" I said, finally calming down from my laughing fit.

"Liv, if you don't compete, you'll have no chance of being accepted into this family. Especially by my mother. This competition is serious. Girls are flying in from all over the world to compete. That's why Vanessa is here. She wants to win." Katie said, taking my hand, "But- we're on your side! We'll walk you through this!"

"How can you walk me through this if you didn't know it was a thing until 30 minutes ago?!" I exclaimed, jumping off the bed to pace the room.

"Because we'll be working with the judges! AND Levi will obviously be a judge, and who else is he going to pick but you?" Cassie said, jumping off the bed to sling an arm around my shoulders.

"Look, we're going to figure this out. We want what's best for our brother, and after spending time with you, we know that you're what's best for him." Katie reassured me.

"Oh, uhm, and Olivia, there's one more thing." Cassie looked up at me sheepishly, "this competition ends with a wedding."

"A WEDDING?" I threw my hands in the air as the tears began to fall. How could what was supposed to be a simple trip of meeting the parents go so wrong?

I knew what I had to do. I just hated that I couldn't talk to Levi about it until he got home tomorrow. 

"Wait, does Levi know anything about this?!" I asked.

"No, he's just as much in the dark as we were. Our mom's been freaking out wondering where he is. Turns out he never told her Blake stole him away for a fishing trip. She actually had to call B's mom to find out where they were." Cassie said with a little twinkle in her eye.

I made a mental note of the way Cassie lit up when she talked about Blake. We'll be revisiting that, but for right now, we have a competition to win.

"Okay, so let me just make sure I understand. Tomorrow, at your parent's anniversary party, is the first round of the competition?" 

"Yes, tomorrow is the first round, but we have an advantage. The other girl's don't know the competition has started yet, they just think it's a regular, old Anniversary Ball. In reality, the judges will be watching your every move to assess your ability to navigate in High Society." Katie said, obviously feeling proud of herself for her insider information.

"So what that means is, you have some learning to do," Cassie said, opening the door. Suddenly her room came alive with various butlers and maids, all carrying in different items. Some had place settings with an unimaginable amount of spoons, knives, and forks. Others had heels to practice walking in, and even books to balance on my head. I couldn't believe my eyes.

"This," Katie said, motioning to the room full of people, "is our team."

"In the next 24 hours, we are going to teach you everything you need to know about how to behave in High Society" Cassie beamed.

.....................

'Wait- the dessert fork goes WHERE?" I asked for the third time.

We'd been at this for hours and there was no way I was going to learn everything I needed to know before the competition started tomorrow.

"On the very end- right here", Katie pointed out.

"You're doing great, just keep working" Cassie said from her bed, she'd spent the last four hours coordinating my outfits for each round of the competition.

I continued reciting conversation topics, walking around with books piled on my head, and perfecting my waltz until finally, Cassie and Katie deemed me ready.

"You're going to be perfect tomorrow," Cassie said from her spot on the bed. 

We'd decided on another group sleepover tonight, but this time, all smushed on Cassie's bed. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had sisters. I had to win this competition. Not just for Levi, but for the girls too. I couldn't let Vanessa win and force Cassie into having a miserable sister-in-law that she hates. 

"Do y'all really think I have a shot?" I asked sheepishly.

"Honestly, Olivia, I'm not sure how you could lose." Katie said sleepily.

We were all exhausted from the long day of training we had, so we fell asleep pretty much instantly.

I spent the whole night dreaming of Levi and what our life would look like together.