by Anne Eliot
I ask her directly, “I’m not being immature or selfish if I agree to this, right? My father would be proud of me for not giving up, and even though it seems crazy, this is the best way route for me—for Sage, for everyone involved, right? Mrs. Felix, what do you think about all of this?”
Mrs. Felix answers, “Darling, in my day, when a man ruined a nice girl’s reputation, he offered his name and his fortune to make it right. It’s a tried and true method that has worked for centuries, darling.” She nods, her face confident and resolute. “Marrying my grandson is the only way to handle this properly and legally.”
Chapter 38
“We only want you to end up safe and happy,” Angel says finally after everyone’s grown too quiet.
“What do you say? Will you marry me? Can you accept this plan after only knowing me for one week? Will you have any chance at being… happy if we do this?” Royce asks.
Still uncertain as to how to speak about this in front of Sage, who’s big blue eyes are so wide and shining with the lies that have him thinking Royce is truly in love with me, I decide to answer from my heart, but only with words that I know will be safe until I can speak with Royce alone: “I’m so humbled that you all thought of this, that you want to protect us. If the result will keep Sage and I together, of course I will be happy.” I smile softy at my little brother. “And if it doesn’t work, I can safely say that Sage and I will at least be very happy that we tried. Is that enough of an answer for now?”
“Is that a yes?” Royce tightens his grip on my hands.
“Yes. Okay. Yes. but…” I dart a glance at Royce then look incredulously at everyone surrounding us. “But you can call it off any time you want and I hope you can accept my apologies for causing all of this mess. If we’d never come here to Orlando, none of this would have happened.”
Royce releases my hands, but only so that he can pull me into his side and drape his arm around my shoulders. “You think you ran away, came here and caused us all trouble, but don’t you see your impact on all of us? You brought us all together, you’ve melted everyone’s hearts, all while caring for little Apple, and I think you’ve changed our lives forever. Please never say that again. Imagine if we’d never met.”
“I am imagining it right now. How can I not?”
Mrs. Perino shakes her head at me. “Never say that again, Robin. Without you and Sage, where would we be today? Angel and I would still be stuck grieving for Cara. Even better, now we all get to keep you in our lives forever. Once things die down, you will always get to be ours. If you’d never run away and met us, where would be all be today? Still absolutely lost. That’s what.”
Sage’s smile is so wide it’s almost falling off of his face. “Someone pinch me. Is this a dream? My sister is marrying the lead singer of Guarderobe and he’s going to save me from foster care. They’re right, Robin.” Sage laughs. “You’re special and that’s why all of this is happening and why Royce told me he fell in love with you so fast.”
“Is that so?” I feel my face heat fire-hot and I don’t answer more, because they’ve all been so nice about how I messed up everything for all of them, I have nothing else to say.
Sage marches over and stands in front of me and Royce. “I can tell she likes you back so much. She’s turning red every time she looks at you, like she did back when she had a crush on this lame-ass hockey player at her school, but Royce, I need to discuss a few more things with you about my sister. Man-to-Man. Because like…yeah. It’s only been one week and this is my sister we’re talking about.”
“Okay?” Royce’s smile fades, and he gives me a look that reads half panicked, half guilty. “Shoot.”
“Even though you’re famous and rich and possibly my favorite person in the world outside of my family, I need to be sure of your intentions. That she’s going to be okay, that you will treat her like she’s made of glass, that you will never be mean to her or hurt her feelings, that you won’t…uh…drink or drive with her in your car and that you will never shout at her even if she is annoying, because my dad would want me to ask all of this stuff and more.”
“Aww.” Vere’s got her hands up to her chest. “I love Robin’s little brother.”
Sage colors at that but he forges on with his head held high. “Maybe you are in love with my sister, because I fell in love with a girl last year in ten short minutes, so I get how that can happen, but you two haven’t even been on any dates yet as far as I know. Because if you had, Robin would have told me, so how can you just get married without all of that first? She doesn’t even have a ring!”
Royce laughs. “You’re so right. I agree that it’s all happening backwards and your father would agree, it’s way too fast.”
Sage nods, flicking me a glance. “He would punch you in the face for even asking her. If he saw you kissing her? Dude,” Sage shakes his head and punches a fist into his other hand. “I’d have to drag that man off of you.”
Hunter and Adam crack up at that, while Royce holds his hands up like a shield against my brother. “And I’d deserve it.” Royce starts, “But, Robin is going to be okay. More than okay. She and I are taking this slow. I can only give you my solemn promise. Man-to-man like you wanted, that I vow not to hurt her in any way. We’re getting married to save you, my little future brother-in-law and future friend, from getting shafted into foster care. Your sister and I will date while we are married, and we will check every box on whatever list you hand me that you think your father would like me to do before being worthy of your sister. And eventually, our relationship will even out and she and I will be just like every other married couple.”
A small laugh escapes my lips at that, because he’s made it all sound so easy, when in fact this is crazy! Flicking me a look, Royce turns back to Sage. “Also, please know that Robin gets to call all the shots. I won’t kiss her or even hold her hand without asking permission, okay? I even asked her if I could do the kiss that you saw. I swear.”
Sage crinkles his forehead. “Is that true, Robin? He asked permission? Would dad be okay with this?”
I nod, because I can’t say yes out loud. There is no way in hell our dad would approve of this.
“Well then, I’m in.”
“Thanks, bro. It’s so important to me that you’re with us.”
I almost laugh again but clamp my lips together, because Sage looks so happy that Royce Devlin the rockstar just called him bro, that it’s obvious the kid’s mind has been wiped clean of all rational thoughts.
Royce goes on, “Unfortunately, the details are going to have to develop on the fly now that the paparazzi has written lies about her. I’m going to ask you the same thing I asked her. Can you at least trust us and your sister’s choice to marry me enough to help us out by playing along during all of this?”
“I’ve been playing along ever since she and I ran away. I know how to do that.”
“We’ll talk again before we leave in a bit, because I’ve got a few other things to share with you. Secrets and surprise wedding type things. Okay?”
Sage looks at me doubtfully for some last assurance, but I already know his answer. These are his idols. As long as I don’t look distressed, only happy and calm, from this point forward, my brother will agree to anything Royce Devlin suggests. I use all of my strength to nod, wrap my own arm around Royce’s waist and make sure my face, my body and my pasted on smile read all of that and more.
Mrs. Perino calls out to Sage, “How about you go check on the girls for us, Sage, while we all get the rest of this plan sorted?”
While he’s running off, I can only shake my head at all of them. “Thank you. Thank you so much. But why didn’t you tell me right when you arrived that you had this idea to get married?” I step out from under Royce’s arm.
“You’d have bolted or tried to get out of it,” Angel answers. “Admit it.”
Again, I don’t answer, because I hate that he’s right.
“My dear,” Mrs. Felix spins her wheelchair a
round the patio circle like she’s pacing. “We didn’t tell you the wedding plan on purpose, because we felt you’d be much more convincing in your natural, genuine state in front of that cameraman when Royce got down on his knees so the photographer could get his shot.” She pauses in front of me and reaches to finger the bottom edges of my veil hanging past my waist. “We set you up, dear. We had all of the candles lit in the garden and this is my veil, from my very own dress, and we’re all dressed up to look like we stopped here before the concert to be at an engagement party.”
“That’s what the awkward kneeling in front of me was all about?” I ask.
Royce nods. “Only I forgot to give you the ring.”
“He wasn’t supposed to kiss you at all,” Mrs. Perino says. “He was only supposed to offer you a ring so the photographer could get photos of him putting it on your finger.”
Royce shrugs. “Sorry. This girl and the way she looks at me with those big eyes of hers, she scrambles my brain. Besides she’s so gorgeous in that veil, what’s a fiancé supposed to do?”
Mrs. Felix is shaking her head at Royce. “Follow the plan.”
“Why did you all do this much of a set up? Why a ring and a garden party and…all of this?” I ask.
“My grandson is not going to marry you without doing it right, and having a formal engagement party and a real engagement with his family looking on, no matter how short, is the correct way to proceed.”
Vere adds, “When you took off so fast the other day, you left your purse.” After the gossip article went viral, we had a group meeting as to what plan we should create and we came up with this one. I found your ID which was so lucky because we needed to get a marriage license this afternoon. The stylists popped in colored contacts so I could have blue eyes like yours, and they also curled my hair into a million curls to try to match yours. Royce and I put on hats sunglasses and baggy clothes to pretend we were obviously in disguise, off we went to get a wedding license. We paid off the people in the office to keep silent which usually works to make people talk double, but in this case, it backfired. They never told anyone.”
Royce laughs at that. “We thought the people working there would have leaked that information by now. My name connected to yours is what we wanted, and as quickly as possible. That leak would have helped us a ton, but they didn’t tell, so we had to regroup, rally the photographer and come here and create the stir in person with the hired photographer.” Royce nods. “Now that you’re eighteen, you can get legally married to me without a parent’s signature. And don’t worry, it’s in name only, of course. Like, we don’t, won’t—you know.”
“You most certainly will not, young man. After the wedding kiss, which is necessary to make this believable, you two can stop all of that, of course.” Mrs. Felix scolds.
“I don’t think that’s exactly true,” Royce answers, his face going somber. “Robin’s going to have kiss me in public a ton as the months go by. We’ll have to go out, and get into each other’s space while I’m on tour, and while I’m visiting her when she starts art school, because that all has to look as real as the wedding looks, or we’re all sunk.”
I bite my lower lip, processing all that he’s saying.
Mrs. Felix wheels her chair around in a little circle, looking between me and Royce while clicking her tongue with her usual, disapproving, “Tsk. Tsk.” Before saying, “I was so focused on preparing the wedding details, I didn’t think about what might come next.”
“Well I did.” Royce also starts pacing around. “So you guys can’t bust on me every damn minute about those kisses if you want, but I won’t go one step further if Robin’s not okay with what happens in public after we’re married. It must be believable. We are going to have to sleep in the same hotel rooms and cuddle up in restaurants and limos, flirt with each other on red carpets, and hug or look meaningfully at each other at charity events and award shows. We will hold hands everywhere, and be a real couple, or this won’t work.” He stops in front of me. “Are you okay with that part of it? Are you, truly? Because if any of that scares you, we may as well not proceed.”
“I, uh.” I place my hands over my heated cheeks. “What am I supposed to say here? I’m not afraid of all that. And I trust you won’t go over the line with me.”
“I won’t,” he promises quietly.
I look away and let out a shuddering breath, not bringing up that each we’ve shared has already gone way over all of the lines! To change the subject away from kissing, I add, “But what do you mean by months going by? And what do you mean…when I start art school?”
“Oh, dear, Robin. The wedding part of the plan is going to be quick but, the marriage, that will take at least a year.” Mrs. Felix wheels closer to take my hand. “It’s the only way. At first, I thought a long engagement would work, but the attorneys said that in order for us to protect Sage, you must legally bind yourself to us so you and he can have access to our financial stability. Our combined sets of lawyers have already drawn up documents. They’ve assured me that no one will be able to take Sage from you if we do this. They’ve also advised us to use the media to build a sympathetic case about you. We are, from this point forward, to be open and honest about how you ran away to protect your little brother. We shall reveal how Royce is marrying you fast to save your little brother from being taken, how your father has been lost and how no one can find him, and we will openly publicize how much you miss your father and what you did all by yourself to stay by Sage’s side. It is our job to make sure the public finds this story poignant, romantic and irresistible.”
“Which it is,” Vere breathes out. “It really is.”
“I don’t have to keep any of that a secret anymore?” Overcome, I sit down at one of the picnic tables.
“The only secret will be that you and Royce aren’t really in love,” Mrs. Felix confirms. “But it’s important that the press believes you are and that they pick up the whole entire story. Government organizations like social services get very helpful and work extra hard to do the right thing when bright lights and cameras are pointed at them. Once the North Carolina caseworker is satisfied we are all doing what’s best for you and that Sage is safe and supported, which he will be, you will come to New York City to live with us, and you can be in the penthouse with us as well, and go to Ridley in the fall as planned.”
“Meaning you won’t have to defer.” Vere hugs herself. “Isn’t that awesome?”
“I’ll get to start my scholarship?” My head starts spinning and Royce comes over to sit by me as though he understands I need someone to hold my hand.
Mrs. Felix continues, “Since Sage needs a home and to go to school, we assumed you wouldn’t want to be too far from him while you also began university. The Orb hotel in NYC will be your new basecamp. You won’t get to have your dorms, dear, but we will get special guardianship of your brother assigned to you, all while myself and Gregory will become Sage’s other legal guardians. Until your father is found, Sage will go to the best private preparatory academy in Manhattan and you shall keep your husband’s grandmother company while Royce is out on tour. If that works for you, Robin. You can, of course, say no to any of this.”
I breathe in a full breath and finally, I feel like smiling. “That works. If you and the lawyers think it works, then, it works.”
“For now the plan is that you will be flown out to visit me on breaks once the tour starts, and I’ll come home when I can,” Royce adds, squeezing my hand. “Because we will miss each other very much, considering we are going to be newlyweds and all that. But don’t hold me to that plan, as you know how they change.”
“Now that we’ve said it out loud, how does it all sound? Really?” Mrs. Felix drives her wheelchair to stop in front of me and Royce.
“Like I’m in one of those historical novels where my husband’s gone off to war after ravishing me, but they made us marry while holding shotguns to our backs, and now and I’m stuck living with the kind dowager duchess in her
elegant mansion?”
“Exactly what I thought.” She beams at me. “Isn’t it all so very proper and perfect? There’s not a chink in our armor.” Mrs. Felix claps her hands. “I also will be thrilled to have extra company—family—in my too-large, Manhattan home, dear. It’s going to be wonderful.”
Adam adds, “I will announce my marriage to Eve tonight, as well. To keep all of the cameras off of you, Robin, we will show off our baby just as soon as Eve, Apple, and I are reunited. She won’t like it, but once she gets over the shock of having to do it, she will rally.”
Royce sits beside me again, and puts his arm around me so he can slide me closer to him. “Best of all, the media storm all of this will cause will ensure that no one even remembers you stayed a week in Orlando at a house owned by people with the last name Perino, or that people once gossiped about you being a prostitute. Okay?”
“We’ll also make sure the Perino’s stay out of the news, dear,” Mrs. Felix agrees. “Once things calm down, we will figure out a way to integrate the Perinos back into our lives sooner or later.”
“Sooner,” Gregory almost shouts, scowling darkly. “And I don’t give a crap if things don’t calm down. If I have anything to do with it, the Perinos will be moving to New York City eventually, too. Or, I will be moving down here.” Gregory flicks Mrs. Perino a sweet smile and she smiles back, blushing like a teenager.
Mrs. Felix smiles fondly at her son. “One love story at a time, please. Back to Robin. She shall have to visit Royce at various cities around the world over the summer. And like Royce said, however inappropriate, you’ll have to pretend to be newlyweds when you do visit, whatever that entails, but with strict limits, of course, until we all decide on when to get you two divorced.”
“Grandmother, please. Let’s just get through today.” Royce shakes his head.
I take a deep breath and swallow it all down, trying to stem my waves of panic by focusing on my dad’s mantra like I always do: One minute. One day at a time. Only, for the first time, those words don’t bring me solace and I speak my thoughts out loud, “Two years. Two years could feel like…forever, I glance doubtfully at Royce. “What if life is going on, and we’re living in this fake relationship—but what if we want to be with other—people, or…” my voice trails off to a whisper. “What if this messes up, fate or destiny or we simply get lonely?”
