“Tonight’s function is dinner. I’m famished and I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone, so let’s go.” He helped her out of the car and again, he took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze as he shared a warm smile with her. “Let’s go do it. Just think, in a few hours this will all be behind us.”
She tried to comfort herself with the thought and allowed him to lead her through a beautiful garden and giant courtyard to a side door on a long glass hallway that led from one side of the house to the other.
They entered and he took her down the hallway and into a main foyer. She looked around at the wooden floors covered with oriental rugs, the thick carpeting in some areas, and marble columns stretching up to the ceiling, more than fifteen feet in some places, as the heights of the rooms varied some.
There were several doors leading off the main foyer and a grand staircase winding up to the second floor. Above them hung a great crystal chandelier, glowing with light and scattering small rainbows all over the domed ceiling above it and the room around them,
“It’s magnificent.” She tried to take it all in.
Holding her hand still, he pulled her closer to his side. “There’s the library.” he said, pointing off to one set of open doors that led into a large room filled with bookcases from floor to ceiling, two stories tall. There were an arrangement of sofas and chairs with low tables in it, as well as a big fireplace on one wall that she could see from where she stood.
“That’s my father’s study.” He pointed to another room just down the hall, where only one of a wide dark set of double doors was opened. There were soft voices coming from inside the room, though she couldn’t make them out at all or hear what they were saying.
“The kitchen is down that way, and the dining room is just beyond it, though we’ll be entering the dining room from this hallway. That’s the lounge.” He pointed to the room just off to their left. It was designed in an old French style, with chairs, lounges, and settees placed just so, tables adorned with fresh vases of flowers, and paintings hanging along the walls. There was a grand piano in the room, and she could see that there were great glass doors that opened onto a patio from the far wall in the room.
“These stairs go up to the second floor. Camille lives up there at one end, my father is off at another end, and Pierce has quarters off behind the dining room, closer to the pool. My quarters are here on the main floor, past the study there to our right, and they open up to the gardens.” He had given her a pseudo tour just from where they were standing.
“There’s a great deal more; a grand room, a great room, a ballroom, tennis courts, a gym, an entertainment room, and more, but you’ll see the whole thing later. For now, we’ll head to the dining room and have dinner, if you’re ready.” He turned his head to look at her and stopped, smiling at the awe with which she looked around them both. It was as if she was a child on Christmas morning, gazing in wide-eyed wonder at what she could not make herself believe, even though it was right before her eyes.
“Come along.” He gave her hand another gentle squeeze before taking her off down the hallway toward the dining room. She followed silently, trying to wrap her mind around everything that she was seeing, and struggling with it. It was nearly incomprehensible to her.
The dining room was done in dark mahogany woods and there were tall and wide windows that looked out over a lake at the side of the house. She was told that on the other side of the kitchen, the house backed right up to the beach and that the ocean washed up on the sandy shore there. It seemed like a dream to her.
Ryder poured her a glass of wine and she took it gratefully, hoping that sipping it would steady her nerves somewhat before his family came in. He downed a glass of bourbon and poured himself another, and watching him, she realized that he was probably just as nervous as she was, though he seemed to be hiding it very well.
It was only a few minutes later when a beautiful blonde woman came into the room. She was wearing a light dress that seemed to float all around her as she moved, as though it was dancing on the air over her skin. Regina felt a little ill that she had let Ryder talk her into wearing the red dress she had on. She had a few other dresses that were much more like what the blonde woman was wearing, and she wished desperately that she was in any of them rather than what she was dressed in.
The woman grinned wide and came to her quickly, reaching her arms out as she did. “Hello! You must be Regina. I’m Camille, it’s so wonderful to have you here!” She wrapped Regina in a warm hug, and the moment that her arms closed around her, she could sense that Camille was exactly who she seemed to be, and that she was indeed glad to have Regina there.
She released Regina from her embrace and looked at her brightly. “Please, call me Cami, though. I’m so pleased that you could come tonight and that we could meet you. Ryder never brings anyone home for us to meet, so this is a special night.”
Regina nodded and felt a small touch of satisfaction to know that he didn’t ever take anyone else home. Even if it was all a ruse, even if he was paying her to be there and to pretend to be his bride, it still brought her some pleasure to know that she was a rare commodity of his in the Carrington home.
“Thank you! I’m so happy to meet you, as well. You’re Ryder’s twin sister, yes?” She asked, stunned that there was absolutely no resemblance between the two of them except for their eyes. Their eyes were exactly the same.
“Yes, that’s right.” Camille nodded with a sweet smile. “No one ever guesses that, though.” She eyed the glass in Regina’s hand. “Oh! Is that the Riesling? I love that one; it’s one of my favorites. I’d better join you and get a glass as well.”
“Oh, I’ll get that, sister.” Ryder said with a slightly nervous smile as he turned to the small bar in the corner and poured her a glass of the white wine.
“Has Ryder taken you around the grounds yet? Have you seen the gardens?” Camille asked eagerly. It was easy to see that she was doing her best to make Regina feel welcome, and Regina was grateful for it. She liked Camille already, and she was relieved to know that at least one person there that evening would be genuinely glad to have her around. She thought to herself for a fleeting moment that it would be fun to have Camille as a sister-in-law, though no one would know about that for a short while.
“No, I haven’t seen the grounds yet,” Regina admitted with a slight shake of her head. “I’m looking forward to it, though.”
Camille gave her a welcoming smile. “Well, I would love to show them to you after dinner, if we have time, or on your next visit, if that works out.”
“That would be really lovely, thank you.” Regina gave her a nod. Camille drew nearer to her and lowered her voice.
“I just love your dress, you look gorgeous. You could be a real live pinup model from the fifties. I hope my brother realizes just how lucky he is to have you with him.” She looked over at Ryder and Ryder smiled and gave Regina a wink.
“Oh, believe me, I know.” He laughed softly. He was pleased and relieved that Camille was doing so much to welcome Regina. He wasn’t surprised at all, it was just like her, but he was grateful for it. He wondered how it would go with the rest of them.
They found out soon enough. Lucas walked into the dining room in a button up shirt and dress pants, and a minute after he met Regina and took her hand warmly in his, welcoming her to their home graciously, Pierce and Carter came in, just finishing up a discussion on some business they had been attending to that afternoon.
Pierce was welcoming, shaking her hand and telling her how pleased he was that she could join them for dinner. Carter stood back and watched them for a moment, his eyes moving swiftly over her before moving to gaze at his son, Ryder. Ryder swallowed a little and introduced Regina to his father.
Carter shook her hand and thanked her for joining them. He asked them all to sit, and they did. Camille moved her place down one spot, sitting to Regina’s left as Ryder sat to her right, and Carter was at his right at the head of the ta
ble. Pierce and Lucas were in their usual seats across from Ryder and Regina.
Regina had watched Carter closely when he came in, wondering how she would measure up in his esteem upon meeting her. She had felt quickly at ease with Ryder’s siblings, and all of them had gone out of their way to make her feel welcome and comfortable, particularly Camille, but Carter seemed to be the real test. He had been welcoming, though cool with her, and she knew instinctively that she was under examination. He hadn’t seemed to approve of her dress, though he made no obvious outward show of it. It was a sense that she got about him, and it made her feel uneasy.
Looking down at the table, she felt more ill at ease when she saw that there were more pieces of silverware, glassware, and dishes than she had ever seen at one place setting. She was a little overwhelmed, and when she turned to look at Ryder, he spoke in a low voice to her, which was only subtly masked by the classical dinner music that began to play over unseen speakers in the room.
“It’s a five-course meal.” He explained quietly. She nodded, uncertain of exactly what that meant.
A waiter in black tie came out and served hot soup to them in shallow bowls. She looked around her subtly and followed Ryder’s lead as he picked up his spoon and began to push it toward the outward edge of his bowl.
They ate their soup in silence and she wondered if the whole meal would go without conversation. When their soup was finished, the bowls were taken away and a tall glass with ice and greens, rimmed with fresh shrimp was brought to them.
She looked around and frowned slightly and Ryder turned to her and spoke softly. “What is it?”
Biting at her lower lip a little, she replied as quietly as she could. “I’ve never eaten a meal that wasn’t all on the same plate at the same time. Well, except for dessert.”
He smiled and nodded, trying not to chuckle a little, and thinking to himself how charming it was of her, trying something new like she was. “It comes one serving at a time. First soup, then appetizer, then appetizer, then the main course, and then dessert.”
She nodded, feeling overwhelmed, but doing her best not to show it. She reached to the top of her plate and picked up the small fork that was lying there. She glanced over at Ryder and he shook his head. He picked up the little fork that was off to the side of his plate and she nodded and replaced the one she had taken in error, picking up the one he indicated.
Regina felt totally lost, and as if she could never fit into his strange world, but she kept on trying, nonetheless. Following his lead again, she ate her shrimp and sipped at the white wine that had been poured for them. The music played on, and just as they were finishing their shrimp, the silence was broken and Carter spoke to her.
“We don’t know much about you. My son has only told us your name. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind indulging us a little as we would like to get to know you. What is it that you do?” Carter asked, picking up his wine glass to take a drink.
Regina had run every question that they might ask through her mind, and in her thoughts, all of her answers sounded good, but being there in front of the whole family at the dining room table in such a strange atmosphere, she wasn’t so certain that her confidence would come through and that any of her answers would sound as good as she meant them to.
“I am a student at college. I’m taking business courses, and I work as a cocktail waitress.” She wasn’t still working as a cocktail waitress, having just quit her job, but she knew that it was important to Ryder for some reason that she appear to his family as what she was when he found her and hired her; a cocktail waitress, so that was what she told them.
Carter choked on his wine and his eyes shot straight over to Ryder. Ryder simply focused on his meal without looking up at his father to meet his searing gaze.
Regina’s heart began to pound in her chest, but Camille stepped in right away and saved her. “Oh, that’s fascinating! How much longer will you be in school?”
Regina felt a massive wave of relief and thankfulness wash over her as she turned to face the blonde bombshell who spoke so kindly to her. “I have another two years, but I may be able to get it done in a year and a half, if I push a little harder.”
“Do you like it? Do you think it will be a benefit to your future?” Camille asked pleasantly.
Regina nodded and thought about the questions seriously. “You know, I do like it, and I’m glad that I’ll be able to spend some extra time doing it. My schedule has changed recently and I’ll be able to focus on my studies more. That’s really important to me, and I’m so glad for it. Graduation is my biggest goal right now. I do think it will benefit my future. Education always benefits us, though not always in the way that we think it will on the surface.”
“I agree.” Lucas chimed in, giving her a smile. “Everything we learn, no matter how we learn it whether through life experience or school or by some other means, always brings some value to our lives, in one way or another.”
Regina’s heart lifted to hear Lucas talking with them and agreeing with her. She felt as if the unease and uncertainty in her heart was being washed away, wave by wave, and smoothed over with the efforts of Ryder’s siblings. She thought about how lucky he was to have them, and what a relief it would be to her to have them around when she became their sister-in-law. She could see just from sitting with them at the dinner they were sharing that the three of them would be allies of hers, and that they would be supportive in her being there. She could not have been more grateful
for that.
“If I might return the question, what is it that all of you do?” she asked, looking back at Carter. If he could ask, so could she, and hopefully there would be no repercussion for it. She saw that there wasn’t. He lifted his chin and looked her straight in the eye as he responded.
“Our family owns several businesses, and most of the family members that are here tonight run them.” He gave Ryder a sharp look and Ryder turned his gaze toward his glass of bourbon, lifting it to his mouth and emptying the contents of it.
She could see that there was tension between the two of them, and it made her feel sad. She wished that it was easier for them both. Biting at her lip, she looked away from them and took a sip of her wine.
“Is your family here in New York as well?” Pierce asked her interestedly. He seemed thoughtful and kind, and she felt no threat from him at all, only sincerity, and it was soothing to her.
With a shake of her head, she answered him with a sad note in her voice. “No, sadly. My parents lived here when they were alive, but they passed away so it’s just me now, on my own. I don’t have anyone else around or any family anywhere else.”
Pierce, Lucas, and Camille all sympathized together, offering her words of condolence and kindness. She gave them grateful smiles. Ryder turned and stared at her in surprise. He hadn’t known it about her, and it had caught him off guard a bit. The knowledge that she was alone with no family, working her way through college and struggling to make money as a cocktail waitress touched his heart.
“You are working so hard to make your dreams of graduation come true, and doing it all alone. I must say, there’s something quite noble in that. I admire it immensely,” he told her earnestly. He meant it, and when she looked up at him, she could easily see that he did. She smiled back at him then and reached over to touch his hand with hers briefly.
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” She said quietly, giving him a smile.
“How did the two of you meet?” Lucas asked, looking from one to the other of them.
She felt her stomach clench. She hadn’t thought of an answer to that question, and she wasn’t sure quite what to say, but Ryder stepped in and fielded the question for her.
“We actually met at a friend’s dinner party. We were both guests there, and we hit it off. It was kismet.” He winked at her and she felt butterflies go crazy inside of her, knowing that they were lying to his family and wishing with everything in her that they weren’t.
“We didn’t hit it of
f right away,” she said, correcting him slightly, “I wasn’t too sure about him at first, but he seemed so determined that I decided to give him a chance. He made me an offer that I just couldn’t refuse. He’s not really one to take no for an answer very well.”
Camille laughed. “That’s definitely true!” She reached her hand over and patted Regina’s shoulder. “Well, I’m so glad that you relented and gave him a chance, and that you’re here. It’s wonderful.”
Lucas lifted his glass of wine in a toast to Regina. “It is indeed,” he agreed.
“Hear, hear.” Pierce added, lifting his glass. Carter did not lift a glass, but instead watched them all and ate his meal in silence.
The meal ended and Ryder told them that she would be back to visit again, which pleased all of his siblings, though his father remained quiet, and they bid everyone goodnight.
The Billionaire's Secretly Fake Bride (MANHATTAN BACHELORS Book 3) Page 12