Drake nudged Love. “Do something.”
She stood there, her mouth hanging open.
“Give us a minute, Mom.” Drake pulled Love into her bedroom and slammed the door. “Love, say something to your mother before she tells the whole free world,” he demanded through clenched teeth. “She threatened to tell my father. And did you just hear that she’s going to tell your father? He’ll hop the next flight, then he’ll kick my ass before he fires me.”
Love tugged at his shirt. “We have to do something.”
Drake muttered a curse. “Ya think? We need a game plan. First, you need to get your mother.”
“Now she’s my mother. You need to handle this, since you’re her favorite.”
He threw his arms in the air. “Please, Love. The man came in here with the receipt for the ring, and told her that we’re married because our drunk asses actually did that last night. The sooner you get that through your head, the sooner we’ll be able to figure out what we’re going to do to fix this.”
She placed her palm over his mouth. “Shh, you’re getting too loud. She’ll hear you.”
He counted to ten and took a long, deep breath. “Do you understand why I’m a little concerned right now?” he asked, when she removed her hand.
“Of course I do. But we don’t know the circumstances,” Love argued. “We don’t even know if this certificate is legal. And if we really are married, we won’t be after today.”
Drake grabbed her shoulders. “That’s all fine and good, but before we figure that out, we need to get your mother under control. And that means coming up with an explanation for the concierge’s visit. She’s not going to buy one of your crazy, nonsensical lies.”
Gloria’s loud laugh carried through the door.
He pointed in that direction and frowned. “Is she on the phone?”
Love bolted out of the bedroom and snatched her mother’s cell out of her hand. Ending the call with a quick “Sorry, gotta go,” she handed the device to Drake. “Mom, who were you talking to?”
“Your aunt. I was just getting ready to tell her about your happy news. She’s going to be so excited.”
Drake wrapped an arm around Gloria and steered her over to the couch. “Mom, I understand it was a lot to take in at once. But you’ve got this all wrong.”
Her smile faded. “Care to explain?”
He glanced at Gloria. “Yes, you deserve an explanation.”
“Aren’t you happy that you married my daughter?” Gloria asked, concern evident in her brown eyes.
Drake was torn. The question was a double-edged sword, and any answer he’d give would be bad, in her opinion. He’d always been truthful with Gloria, but he couldn’t be now. If he told her the truth—which wasn’t an option—he’d be admitting that he’d married her daughter in a drunken state, in a cheesy Las Vegas wedding chapel, and he wasn’t happy about it. If he said yes, the response would send her on a rocket to heaven and it would take a miracle to bring her down. There had to be a middle ground. He glanced up at Love, who was staring at the floor. No help.
A knock sounded and drew their attention to the door. Drake hoped it wasn’t that damn concierge returning to make matters worse. He stood and followed Love across the room.
She glared at him before she pulled the door open. In front of them, on his knees, with a ring in hand was Love’s ex-boyfriend.
* * *
Oh, my God!
Love swallowed at the sight of the jerk who’d broken her heart, and the gorgeous ring in his hand.
“Love, you’re beautiful.” Derrick flashed a dimpled smile. “I couldn’t let another day go by without telling you how I feel. I love you. I want to marry you. I want us to have forever.”
Love was speechless. She’d dreamed of such a proposal from Derrick Harper when they were together—over a year ago. He was successful, cultured and handsome. He was everything she’d thought she wanted. The life he could offer her was appealing on some level. But the pain that he’d left in his wake still stung. The horrible breakup had devastated her, and she’d gone out of her way to avoid him. In fact, she hadn’t seen him since. And now he was proposing? She couldn’t believe this was happening.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Drake asked incredulously.
Derrick rose to his feet. The smile he’d been sporting a few seconds earlier turned into a sneer. “Drake. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re here.”
“Answer the question.” Drake’s voice was a low growl, and Love knew that this confrontation could turn physical. Drake had never cared for Derrick. The way Derrick broke up with her—with a text—had made Drake’s disdain grow by leaps and bounds.