The Dare (21 page)

"You'll still attend therapy." This from
Grandma.

"Screw therapy," Jake argued.

"Jake, you are an ass," Grandma retorted.
"Which is why you still need to follow the rules. I know how hard
it is for you to color in the lines, but for my benefit, you'll go
to therapy. Poor Char, having to deal with all those anger
issues."

"I'm NOT ANGRY!" Jake shouted.

"Stop raising your voice," Grandma said
calmly. "I'm not deaf, and you will listen to me, or I'll fire you
again."

He stopped talking.

"Well," Travis rubbed his hands together, "I
guess that only leaves us one thing to do."

"What?" Beth asked, her voice small.

"Happy hour." He nodded. "I learned a long
time ago not to argue. Things go much easier with tequila shots,
wouldn't you agree, Jake?"

His eyes narrowed, and then he did the oddest
thing. He blushed as Char kissed him on the neck and laughed.

Clearly, I was missing something, but it
didn't matter, because Beth was still motionless. I almost waved in
front of her face.

"What say you, Thor?" Jake asked, hands on
hips.

"If he's Thor, I'm Iron Man." This from
Travis.

"Dibs on Green Arrow." Jake raised his
hand.

"Children." Kacey shook her head. "It's like
we're honeymooning with little boys and capes."

"Please, like he's cool enough to have a
cape." I pointed to Jake and instantly felt judged, and ten years
old.

That was what being around the Titus family
did to people. One minute you were a sane adult; the next you were
arguing over Marvel Comics and yelling at the top of your lungs at
an eighty-six-year-old woman while she blotted her red
lipstick.

Somehow, I'd lost my manhood. I'd lost my
maturity and everything else that went with it. Because I wanted to
beat the shit out of both Titus boys for no other reason than they
were arguing with me about something stupid like comics and refused
to let me be right.

I felt Beth's hand on my arm.

"So, that settles it." Travis clapped.
"Avengers… to the bar!"

"Best idea he's had all day." Char's amused
smile was lit with humor, making me feel slightly better about the
fact that my entire career was in Grandma's hands, her meddling,
terrifying, little hands.

I said a little prayer and followed everyone
down the dock toward the bar as Grandma paid one of the bellhops to
take the luggage down to the reserved huts.

Reserved. As in, everything was planned; it
had been planned a long time.

Hell, when God created heaven and earth, He
created Grandma on the final day and said, "I have a plan for those
men…"

And I was just unfortunate enough to be
included in said plan.

"How do you sleep at night?" the agent
asked.

"How lovely of you to be concerned." Grandma
touched his arm. "A tiny pink pill followed by two large glasses of
merlot. Works like a charm. I sleep like the dead, except for when
Charles Barkley gets agitated with my snoring."

"Charles Barkley?" the agent repeated. "In
your bed?"

"Well, where else would my dog sleep?"
Grandma rolled her eyes. "Some people."

Beth

My vacation was over. I couldn't bring myself
to feel sorry for Jace or for anyone else. Grandma was just trying
to help, though her motives were so very, very illegal. Still, she
loved them, and I loved her for it.

I couldn't even find it in myself to be
angry.

If anything, I was sad.

Because he'd promised me six days.

And they'd been stolen from me on day three.
I was owed three more days of romance, three more days of the
fairytale. Instead, I was given my sister, her new husband, his
brother, and wife.

Now that Jace had people watching
—
people who knew a heck of a lot more
about his past than I did, there was no way we'd have any more
stolen kisses, caresses, fights under the stars. I shivered and
closed my eyes for a brief moment as I remembered the taste of his
lips on mine.

At least I had that memory.

His hands on my body.

His mouth, hot and urgent.

I'd probably retell the story to my cats once
I got home and fully gave up on the male species as a whole. Maybe
I should count myself lucky that I hadn't fallen in total
irrevocable love with him. Because at this point, walking away
would be doable. Hard, but doable. Another four days, and it may
have wrecked me to see Jace turn his back on us.

"You look like you need this." Char pushed a
shot of tequila toward me. "Pinch your nose and throw it back. I
don't care how vile it tastes, because right now you look like
someone just told you
Vampire Diaries
got canceled."

"Not funny." I glared.

"Take the shot," Char countered.

I took it and winced as the liquid burned
down my throat.

"Olé!" Jake shouted, joining us at the
table.

The man could try the patience of a saint. He
had the most gorgeous hazel eyes and dark hair, both Titus men
did.

"Beth, seriously, if you want me to
assassinate Mr. Senator, just say the word. Or nod." When I didn't
do anything, he continued, "Or blink. Hell, just breathe. One
exhale and I'll do it."

"I doubt she wants me dead when I can make
her feel things I'm doubting you've ever made any woman feel in
your entire existence," Jace said in a tense voice from behind me.
His hands rested on my shoulders and then ran down my arms. I
shivered in response and gave Jake a cocky grin.

"So," he returned my grin, "I guess a cheers
are in order."

"Cheers?" Jace repeated.

"To the senator who found his heart." He held
up his glass.

"Just like the squirrel who found its nuts."
Jace winked.

"What?" I looked around the table.

Travis laughed. "Just go with it."

"Seems to be a common theme," I muttered,
lifting my rum punch.

"Always is." Kacey clinked her glass with
mine. "So what's the plan for the day?"

"Plan?" Grandma waltzed up to the table like
a woman on a mission. "I've got everything settled. First a fake
bachelorette party, and, Jake, try to keep your pants on this time.
We don't want any more elderly ladies having strokes."

His eyes narrowed. "That was one time."

Grandma ignored him. "Followed by a lovely
outing tomorrow morning after group therapy. Of course we'll later
have a rehearsal dinner. Would you believe I already had dresses
brought in? Oh, and Javier! Javier!" Grandma yelled, breaking the
sound barrier and my ear drums, for that matter. "This is Javier.
He's going to be taking the wedding pictures."

"Fake wedding pictures," Jace corrected.
"You're not pulling a Jake and Char on us."

"Aw, we're like a verb." Char and Jake bumped
fists.

I ignored their cuteness just like I ignored
the excitement bubbling around me. What would it be like to be a
part of this family? What would it be like to be so in love with
someone, so in sync that you were deliriously, hopelessly
happy?

Jake and Char shared a kiss and laughed.

"Of course not." Grandma put her hand over
her chest and sighed. "I would never. Believe me, I've learned my
lesson. It's best that love happen naturally. At any rate, we'll
snap some pictures and lie about the wedding, saying it's too
private to share with the world."

Jace gripped my hand. "So we pretend."

"Of course." Grandma's keen eyes examined our
joined hands. "After all, you have three more days of the
fairytale, don't you, Jace? We wouldn't want to mess with curses
and folklore, now would we?"

I bit down on my lip to keep from
laughing.

"Who told you?" He slammed his fist down onto
the table.

"Oh, the captain and I go way back," Grandma
smirked.

I hoped to God that Jace wouldn't ask what
that meant, because by the looks of the way she was blushing, it
probably wasn't appropriate for the general public, or anyone for
that matter.

"Now," Grandma sat down at the table, "enough
of that. I've set up a few outings for us to go to as a family.
Javier will take pictures, and everyone will go home with smiles on
their faces. Of course, at the end of the next three days."

"Does that mean I get a new honeymoon?" Jake
asked. "Since you crashed this one?"

"Ditto." Travis grumbled.

"Oh, please." Grandma waved them off. "I let
you have at least three days. I thought it very generous, all
things considered."

"How do YOU FIGURE?" Jake asked.

"Jake stop yelling. You should be thanking
me, not scolding me." She waved him off. "So are we in agreement?"
Grandma looked hopefully to everyone's faces.

Was no even an option with this woman?

"Question," Jace asked calmly. "If this is
all supposed to be a ruse to save my career from tanking, and I'm
supposedly at my own destination wedding, wouldn't my parents be
here? And what about Beth's?"

Grandma's smile grew. "Perfect timing,
wouldn't you say, Your Honor?"

Jace's face drained of all its color as he
slowly turned around and swore. "Father."

"Son, we need to talk."

"I find it hard to believe that you were able
to convince the judge to make an impromptu trip to Hawaii in order
to attend a fake wedding for his wayward son."

"Oh, it didn't take much convincing." Grandma
laughed. "After all, I told him it was life and death. And when
that didn't work, I told the judge that his son had been kidnapped
by pirates scouring the Hawaiian islands.

"And he believed you?"

"He had no reason not to."

"Why's that?"

"It's amazing what one can do with a
microphone, voice encryption, and email these days. It truly never
ceases to amaze me."

"Shall I add that to your rap sheet as
well?"

"Genius?"

"No. Lying to a judge."

Grandma sighed. "If you must. But he won't be
pressing charges. I hardly think it matters, considering his son's
missing."

"The son you kidnapped."

"Details."

Jace

As a child, I'd always hated getting scolded
by my father. It was rare when he had scolded me; after all, my
entire goal in life had been to make him proud of me. So when I did
get in trouble, it had been life-altering.

After the accident, things had gotten worse.
I'd woken up with no recollection of how I'd even gotten in the
hospital
—
my parents said a light in my
eyes had died. It pissed me off that after all this time, I felt
like I was still trying to get the old Jace back. The one who
believed in fairytales and magic; the one who believed in optimism
instead of cynicism.

I could still smell my dad's musty study.
Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined every single wall of the room,
and a green leather chair was always facing the mahogany desk. Dad
wouldn't turn his own chair, not until I spoke up and alerted him
of my presence. Then, ever so slowly, he'd turn in his chair, lean
slowly across the table, and say, "Are you ready?"

I'd nod as tears streamed down my face, and
then I'd confess what I'd done wrong. I never usually had to be
told. I always knew when I was in the wrong, whether it was from
disrespecting my mother or eating cookies before dinner. He was
always fair in the way he scolded, always giving me a chance to
plead my case before the gauntlet fell.

I was suddenly ten years old again. Waiting
for the damn words I knew that he'd say in a few seconds. We walked
along the beach, both of us silent as the waves crashed against the
shore.

How had one week messed up my life so much? I
had no one to blame but myself.

"Is mom here?"

"At one of the huts." Dad said crisply, still
not looking in my direction.

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

We walked a few more feet, away from watchful
eyes and people playing in the water. Finally, I sat on one of the
lounge chairs and waited.

The silence was just as heavy as the
flower-scented air, thick with tension, thick with shame. He was
disappointed, and even though I'd tried to do everything right
since the day I'd been able to make my own decisions, it seemed it
still wasn't enough. Not that he ever said that
—
t was always assumed in the way he barked orders and
the way he held himself.

"I am…" Dad's weathered face cracked into a
bright smile, "so proud of you."

"Come again?"

"Nadine, or sorry, Grandma," he rolled his
eyes, "confessed to everything. How you fell in love, tried to keep
her out of the media, even decided to keep her from me and your
mother." He sighed. "I'm proud that you didn't flaunt it. You did
it right this time, Jace. Things with Kerry." His voice lowered.
"It wasn't well done of us to encourage the match. We should have
seen through her. We should have made you wait, instead of pushing
you to commit in order to further your career. But. at least now,
you're doing things right. I admire you for that."

Hell had officially landed on earth, and I,
being an idiot, had jumped into the hand basket and was now
floating around, ignorant of every single string Grandma had pulled
until now.

"What exactly did Grandma tell you?"

"Everything." Father chuckled. "You're in
love. You're using your friends' honeymoons as a way to cover up
the wedding. I will admit, at first she said you'd been kidnapped
by pirates. But to be fair, it got my attention. I was on the next
flight out after we talked. That woman is something else."

"Yeah." I croaked. "She's something."

"So, now that we're here, there's really no
reason for you not to get married. I figured now would be best,
since the media's been placated for a while."