I hate shrimp, but I was too worried about breaking another one of the Davis's ironclad social rules. God forbid I order the chicken and offend everyone at the table.
Fortunately for me, it appeared as though the women in this family were only supposed to pretend to eat. Alissa and Karina barely touched their meals, while the men scarfed down filet mignon.
The drinks, however, were not as scarce.
As the wine and champagne continued flowing, I couldn’t help but to notice how George Davis leaned closer and closer to Alissa’s chair. No doubt he was trying to stare down her dress. The redhead didn’t seem to mind. In fact, if anything, she allowed the elder Davis an ample view.
Disgusted, I kept my eyes on my own meal, picking out pieces of broccoli to munch. I was going to have to get a damn cheeseburger after all of this.
Once the dinner plates were cleared and the wine glasses refilled, Karina folded her hands over the table. It was then that I realized I was in trouble again. I took a deep breath, trying to steel myself for snide remarks.
"When will the wedding be?" She asked, thankfully ignoring me once again.
"The twentieth." Alissa replied, leaning around George to look at Karina.
I watched as Mr. Davis's hand slid down the side of the redhead's chair, landing on her exposed thigh. The others at the table ignored it, including George’s wife, who could not possibly be so oblivious.
The twentieth was only a week away. I was getting married in a week?
Sputtering in shock, I resisted the urge to spit out my wine. It made me dizzy to think of how close it was coming, and how fast. It was all too fast, too much. But this was what I signed up for wasn’t it?
"Good." Karina sighed, dabbing her napkin against red lips, "That will give Sebastian a good berth for the deadline in case it falls through.” For a second she allowed her piercing gaze to turn back to me.
"It won't fall through." I replied, before I'd even really realized my lips were moving, "I promise." I added, much more reticently.
Sebastian needed me, and as purely terrifying as it was to think about getting married, I wouldn't let him down.
"That’s what I'm afraid of." Karina countered with a roll of her eyes.
Next to her, her husband's hand slid higher up Alissa’s thigh, the woman's eyes closing briefly as she took another sip of the wine.
What exactly was going on here? This entire thing was beyond uncomfortable.
"Mother." Sebastian said sharply, and I briefly believed he was going to call out his gross dad and Alissa’s vile behavior, "Macy is doing us all a favor. She didn't have to help me out with this. Getting married is a big deal, and she’s willing to do it to keep the business in our family name. Isn’t that the most important thing here?"
So much for that. It was nice to hear his confidence in me, however.
"Hardly." Karina scoffed, "And we could have found someone much more suitable for you had you bothered to give us a chance. Instead, you pushed this entire mess back so far that you had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find a wife."
My jaw dropped, hands gong limp in my lap.
I wasn't expecting a soaring banner in my name or to be accepted into their brood right away, but I definitely wasn't anticipating being talked down to so rudely. Bottom of the barrel? Really? I may not be a huge catch but I was certainly not the worst.
Even with my lack of self-esteem I could say that proudly, I am not the worst possible option for marriage!
Maybe I did need to work on my self-esteem a bit more…
Sebastian jerked to his feet, chair scraping noisily as his eyes blazed in irritation. The three across the table from us instantly went quiet.
"I think we've all had enough to eat." He whispered severely, helping me to my feet as he pressed his hand to the small of my back.
"It...it was nice to meet you." I managed to say clumsily, struggling not to look as though tears were only seconds away.
I allowed my fiancé to lead me away from the table, his perfect lips compressed tight and harsh into a thin line.
Only once we were outside of the restaurant, burst of chilly fall air whipping my hair off my feet, did I finally manage to take a breath.
"Macy, I can't tell you how sorry I am about the way they acted." Sebastian sighed, pulling me towards where his gleaming white BMW waited for us at the valet, "They're not usually so vicious."
"What the hell is going on with your dad and Alissa?" I asked, suddenly distracted, "Why doesn't your mom do anything about that?"
"Mother pretends not to notice my father's...dalliances." He shrugged, "And it's none of my business."
I stared at him skeptically, shaking my head as he opened the door for me and I slid into the car.