Chapter 1
Are you sure I look okay?" I asked as Marv pulled into his parents’ longdriveway.
At the sight of their elegant manor, my heart rate kicked into overdrive. I wondered if, when he stopped the car, I could slide into the driver’s seat before he could open my door...or before he realized that I was stealing his precious BMW in an effort to get out of meeting hismom.
"Sunshine, you look fine. Mom's going to love you, don't worry." He smirked as he pulled up and cut the engine, taking the keys out of the ignition and sliding them into his pocket. I narrowed my gaze at him. Had he known what I was thinking? "She's nice," he reassuredme.
"Of course she's nice toyou," I said. "You're her son. I don't know if it's escaped your notice, but I'm not exactly..." I gestured down to the pale blue sundress he had bought me earlier. Had I known it was so that I would look nice when I met his mom, I might have dropped it in the mud. "… presenting who I reallyam."
"You're a beautiful young woman that I'm working with," Marv replied. "You're not lying toher."
"I don't wear these dresses on a normal basis, Marvin," I snapped, using his full name, which I neverdid.
He rolled his eyes and got out, striding around the front of the car, while I sat back with my arms crossed over my chest. Marv stopped outside my door to straighten his tie and suit jacket, before opening my door. He perched his arm at the top of the door as it hungopen.
"Are you going to sulk in the car the entire time or are you going to come in and meet my mom?" heasked.
"Why do I even have to meet her?" I asked, panicked. "It doesn't make any sense. I can't tell her about Iris, not that you have really told me more than thebasics."
He sighed and folded both arms over the door, resting his weight against it. "She knows about Iris.” At my look of shock, he rolled his eyes. “She knows a little less than the basics – just that I work for an organization known as Iris that does a variety of work.” He huffed. “Can we go now?” When I glared at him, he sighed again. “Please comeinside?"
My glare dissolved into a frown which then turned into what was probably a pathetic looking pout. "Ma-arv," Iwhined.
"Har-low," he whined back. I squinted at him. "Come on," hesaid.
Reaching inside and snagging my wrist, he tugged me out onto the driveway pavement...err...cobblestones. Geez. Cobblestones? Was that here last time? I hadn't gotten out of the car when I had tagged along to pick Marv up the last time I had seen his parents’ elegant Charleston countryside manor. I should have remembered the cobblestones – or better yet, Marv should never have tricked me into coming here. I wasn't good around parents. Not even my best friend, Erika's, parents and they had known me practically my entirelife.
I wavered on my heels – the heels I chose to match this dress specifically – not knowing that I would have to walk across the most random cracks to ever grace a walkway surface. I clutched Marv’s coat sleeve as we walked towards the front stairs leading to the front door. How he could walk around in full dress when it was nearly ninety degrees outside, I couldn’t even begin toimagine.
My legs were bare from mid-thigh down to my strappy heels. The dress I had chosen was for the summer – I mean, itwasa sundress. Two strings over my shoulders kept the dress just high enough for decency, but I was showing way too much skin to be comfortable meeting Marv's elegant, debutante mother. Marv chuckled when I dug my nails into his skin through his shirt sleeve in retaliation. That was another thing.I didn't have any nails!Marv's mom probably got her nails done every week. I had never even been to a nail salon. I barely remembered to try and paint my nails on a regular basis. Would she notice the chipping red polish in mycuticles?
I didn't have time to think on it anymore because, once at the front door, Marv didn't knock or warn his family that he was coming in with a guest. Instead, he simply opened the door and pushed me through first as if offering me up for slaughter. My gaze went slack-jawed. What I stepped into wasn't a house; it was a freaking movieset.
A large, dark mahogany staircase was encased in lily-white carpeting down the middle. It sat several paces in front of the entryway. To the right was an open doorway leading to a formal looking dining room complete with a twelve-person table. The table was made of wood similar to the staircase, though it had a delicate looking white lace tablecloth covering all but the bottom half of thelegs.
"Mom!" Marv called into the largehouse.
I whipped around on my heels, hell bent on smacking the shit out of him for announcing our presence so callously. Just as I was about to knock some ever-loving sense into him, I heard the tell-tale sign of runningfeet.
"Marvie!" A flurry of striking blonde hair and pale, ice white skin came barreling down the staircase at breakneck speed. The young girl, obviously excited to see Marv, stopped several steps up and launched herself off of the staircase. My eyes went round in shock as Marv choked and dove for her, nearly missing her flyingbody.
"Geez, Quinn, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Marv set the girl down on her feet. She grinned up at him, bouncing around as though she had springs sewn into hershoes.
"I'm so glad you're here," she said quickly. "You can talk to Mom forme."
"Talk to her about what?" Marvasked.
Quinn drew in a deep breath before stepping away and folding her arms across her chest. My lips quirked. She looked so much like her brother when she did that. "She wants to send me to etiquettecamp."
"Oh," Marv said, standing up and straightening his tie, even though it hadn't even budged during the entire ordeal. I rolled my eyes. "Well, what would I have to say about that?" Marv asked. "Boys don't go to etiquetteclasses."
Quinn huffed and stomped her foot. "I'm going to all of her friend's tea parties! I shouldn't have to go away for half the summer for etiquettecamp!"
"Will it get you out of the junior debutante ball?" Marvasked.
Quinn puffed out her cheeks and blew a raspberry. "That's just the thing!" she exclaimed. "Mom says I need to go to the camp to prepare for that thing! I don't even want togo!"
"Marvin? Are you here?" A warm voice sounded from somewhere further in the house, just beyond the staircase on the first floor. Quinn's eyes widened and she grabbed ahold of her brother'ssleeve.