The Playboy's Princess (20 page)

“Thanks for coming, Jade. I’ll take care of the cab,” Aaron said, getting out of the driver’s seat.

He went to pay the driver, and the driveway grew dark as the taxi drove away.

“Drew?” she whispered, leaning through the car’s window.

“Ariel?” he asked, his sour expression turning to curious. “What are you doing here?”

“Come on, son. Time to come inside,” Aaron said, opening the car door and trying to help Drew to his feet.

“Fuck off.”

“Drew!” Jade scolded.

“I don’t need your fucking help. I’m not a child.” He pushed his father’s hands away and got out of the car.

He swayed and staggered all the way to the front door but couldn’t manage to open it. His fingers kept slipping off the handle.

“I’m sorry he was so rude,” Jade said.

Aaron gave her a dark look. “He’s always like this when I bring him home.”

Jade frowned. Aaron opened the door and let Drew inside. They both entered, and Jade wondered if she should just go home.

“Come on, Ariel,” Drew called from inside.

She walked up to the door and saw he’d collapsed on the day bed in the foyer. Laura came running down the stairs in her nightgown and fussed over her son.

“Drew, we were so worried.”

“I’m fine, Mom.”

“You’re not fine,” Aaron said sternly. “This is the last time, Andrew. Do you know the risk I take for you every time I head into Hollywood in the middle of the night? What if I’d been photographed?”

“Because that’s what’s important, Dad, right? Your career?” He then vomited on the floor.

Jade pressed herself against the wall, trying to stay out of the way. “Would you like me to clean that up?” she offered, unable to picture the regal Laura Malik on her knees mopping up vomit.

“It’s fine, Jade. Our housekeeper will take care of it. Perhaps you could help him to bed?” Laura asked.

“Yes,” Drew said with a wonky grin. “Join me in bed.”

He stood on shaky legs, and Jade ran over, letting him put his weight on her shoulders. She slowly walked him up the stairs to his bedroom.

“Would you like to have a shower?” she asked once the door was closed.

“Only if you join me.” He gave her that lazy grin again, and she blushed.

“Probably not a great idea.”

“Then just lie with me in bed.” He collapsed onto the mattress and fell to sleep right away.

Jade thought about sleeping on the floor, or finding a guest bedroom to sleep in, but what if Laura came to check on Drew? She would find it strange if they didn’t share a bed.

So, she slipped her jeans off, kept her shirt on, and climbed under the sheets.

Drew rolled closer and draped his arm over her stomach, holding her close. She fell asleep to the sound of Drew’s soft snores and the smell of cigarettes and vomit.

Drew stirred. His head spun a little, but he was more concerned with the warm body next to him. All he could remember from the night before was that the band at the club was fantastic and he’d had fun. It looked like he’d had more fun than he remembered. It wasn’t the first time he’d woken with a mysterious girl in his bed.

He brushed the red hair back and started when he saw it was Jade. He didn’t remember seeing her at the club, but he couldn’t hide the fact he was happy it was her. The attraction he’d felt for Jade had really messed with his heart. Knowing they’d taken their relationship to a physical level would make their deal easier. He wouldn’t have to worry about hiding one-night stands from the media.

He reached out and stroked her cheek, making sure she was real, and her eyes slowly opened.

“This is a new development,” Drew said, smiling down at her. “I’ll be honest that I don’t remember a lot of what happened last night, but waking with you in my bed was a lovely surprise.”

He leaned down and kissed her. She froze for a second but then kissed him back. With her encouragement, his body shifted and slid over the top of her, pushing her into the mattress.

“Drew,” she mumbled into his mouth. “Stop.”

He pulled back. “We didn’t?”

Jade shook her head, and his heart plummeted. He closed his eyes and tried as hard as he could to remember what’d happened the night before. He had no memory of seeing Jade at all. Tully had been with him, as well as some of her friends. He remembered making out with one of them in the bathroom.

“Why are you here, then?” he asked.

“You were drunk. Your mom called me to see if I knew where you were, and I wanted to make sure you got home safely.”

“Oh.” His body rolled to the side. She was only there because his meddling mother couldn’t keep her mouth shut. It wasn’t that she wanted to be there with him.

“Is that okay?” she asked.

He rolled to the other side of the bed and stood up, swaying slightly on his unsteady legs. “I’m going to take a shower.”

He left her alone in the bed. When he came back, she was gone.

Drew opened the door and smiled at Jade. He reached for her, pulling her by the waist into his arms and pressed a kiss to her mouth.

“You’re very happy to see me,” she said.

“Well, I missed you. After you disappeared from my bed the other day, I was worried you’d run.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“You ignored my calls.” He raised an eyebrow, daring her to deny it.

“I just needed some time to think about things. You scared me the other night. I’ve never seen you act like that before.”

“It’s nothing to worry about. I can handle myself,” he assured her. “So, we’re good?”

“We’re great.”

He grinned and gave her a pointed look, hoping she’d pick up that she had to play the loving fiancée right off the bat. The buffer of a little time together before they saw anyone else was a luxury they didn’t have today. His mother and the wedding planner were waiting for them just down the hall.

“I’ve missed kissing you,” he said loudly so his voice would carry into the house.

“I can tell.” She giggled. To Drew’s surprise, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her, initiating a long kiss. “Is that better?”

“Much.” Drew laughed and laced his left hand through her right, guiding her to the den.

“Ah, here they are. Cassandra, I’d like you to meet my son, Drew, and his lovely bride-to-be, Jade.”

A scary-looking woman with tightly curled gray hair and a face that had so much Botox it was a wonder she could blink stared back at them. She looked down her nose at the couple and folded her arms over her large chest. Drew thought he’d seen the woman on one of those plastic-surgery-gone-wrong exposés on TV.

“You’re a
new
couple,” she said with distaste.

“Yes,” Laura said. “The relationship is quite new, but it’s clear how perfect they are together. My husband and I are very happy for Drew that he’s found someone he cares about.”

“Hmm,” Cassandra hummed, obviously not impressed.

Drew put his arm around Jade’s shoulder, hoping to show they were a solid couple, which was actually a little ironic.

“We’ve already had a few talks, and the palate is going to be centered around blues,” Laura said.

“Jade, come and talk with me,” Cassandra said, holding her hand out and ignoring Laura’s comment.

Jade looked up at Drew, and he released her, but he leaned down and pecked a kiss to her cheek for show.

“All right, Cassandra,” Jade said.

The wedding planner stiffened and pursed her lips.

“Cass-ahhhn-dra, not Cass-an-dra,” she said curtly.

“Oh, sorry.” Jade looked over her shoulder at Drew and cringed. He shrugged to show he couldn’t tell the difference in pronunciation. Jade followed her out of the room, and Laura walked over and took her son’s hand.

“It’s happening, Drew. You’re getting married.”

She glowed at him, and Drew felt like dirt. For the first time since he’d agreed to go ahead with the fake marriage, he thought about how it was affecting his family.

“I’m just going to see if I can help Jade out,” he said, giving his mom a quick hug and heading to his father’s study.

He knocked on the door and stuck his head inside. Jade sat on the love seat, her back rigid and her eyes wide as Cassandra paced in front of her, waving her arms to emphasize a point that he’d missed out on hearing.

“Yes, Andrew? Do you need something?” Cassandra asked, turning with a click of her heels and frowning at him.

Jade gave him a pleading look with her eyes.

“I thought my opinion might be of some use in the planning,” he said, stepping into the room.

Jade’s shoulders relaxed, and she gave him a smile.

“Not necessary. Jade and I have everything under control.” Cassandra tapped her long-nailed fingers on the keyboard of her laptop while she spoke.

“I don’t mind sitting in. After all, it’s my wedding too.” He walked across the room and took a seat next to Jade.

She reached over and grabbed his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Cassandra let out a loud breath and stopped typing.

“Really, Andrew, you’ll just be in the way. I’m sure you have more important things to do. Leave this business to us. I won’t keep your girl from you for much longer.”

“Oh…okay,” Drew said, shrugging his shoulders and giving Jade an apologetic look. He hoped it screamed that he’d tried to help her.

He closed the door behind him just as Cassandra asked Jade if she wanted doves or butterflies released after the ceremony. Drew’s eyes went wide, and he decided that perhaps it was better that he wasn’t helping out.

He figured they would be quite a while so he went out to the backyard to shoot some hoops. He didn’t like the fact that several of the kids were better than him. Not that he thought he was the best player out there, but he didn’t feel right being the coach if his students had more skills than he did.

He was twenty-three for thirty and sweating profusely when Cassandra appeared at the back door with her hands on her hips.

“Andrew, could you join us inside, please?”

“All right.” He jumped and threw a final ball, pumping his fist as it swished through the net without hitting the backboard.

He grabbed a towel from the outside cupboard where his mother kept the pool towels and wiped the sweat from his face and hair. He slung it over his shoulder and headed into the house.

Jade sat in the formal lounge room with her ankles crossed and her hands folded neatly in her lap. He smiled at her, but she gave her head a tiny shake. Obviously they were supposed to stay quiet. He sat next to her and ignored the narrowed eyes of his mother, hoping that he wasn’t sweating on her suede couch.

“Jade has given permission for me to plan most of the details myself as she doesn’t appear to have any ideas of her own,” Cassandra said, looking down her nose at Jade, who shrank back into the cushions.

Drew thought about bringing up the fact that he’d offered his ideas and had been sent away, but he didn’t want to take on Cassandra, and he didn’t want to embarrass his mother.

“Because of this responsibility, I will require meetings with you on a regular basis to check in on details,” she said, looking at Jade.