The Game (Wagered Hearts Series, #3)(35)

"I think Emilia and I are still a bit jet lagged. We should head up to our room," I said. I stood up and held out my hand to Emilia, not giving her the opportunity to refuse. She smiled politely and nodded her head.

"Rob's right. I'm still nursing a hangover from a party I went to last night, so a little nap and quiet time is just the thing," she said. With another flourishing curtsey, she left the room. I stood there staring after her before a not so subtle cough brought me out of my stupor.

I started to follow Emilia out of the room, but was held up by my mother's hand on my arm. "You'll be staying in separate rooms this weekend, seeing as how you're not married yet," she said, a hint of steel in her voice. I lifted my eyebrow at her in challenge and surprise, but she wouldn't back down. "Your old bedroom has been prepared, and the yellow room should be suitable for Emilia," she said.

I nodded my head before continuing on my way out. My mother was conservative, but she wasn't a prude. Hell, she'd walked in on me in bed with a woman before, so her demand of separate bedrooms was out of the ordinary. I could have argued the point with her, but in truth I was grateful for her request. It'd save Emilia and me the awkwardness of having to share a room together.

I knew if I had to be in the same room with her for the whole weekend, I'd never be able to resist her. It was hard enough trying to forget the last time we were together, even though I tried.

Emilia was waiting for me at the foot of the stairs as I exited the sitting room. "I wondered where you'd gone off to," she said once she saw me round the corner.

"I was speaking to my mother," I said.

"Did she say anything nice about me?" Emilia asked.

I started walking up the stairs moving past her before turning back around. She remained standing at the foot of the stairs, staring at me in confusion.

"No, not exactly. What the hell is wrong with you by the way?" I asked. I was still upset with her for acting like a total buffoon in front of my parents.

I saw the surprise and hurt flit across her face before it was replaced by anger. She narrowed her eyes at me and frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Don't pretend like you don't know," I said. I began walking again and could hear her following behind me.

"Just stop being such a di**ck and spit it out already. What's your problem?" she asked, her voice rising in irritation.

We had reached the top of the stairs and I turned left to the west wing of the house where the bedrooms were located. Emilia caught up with me and grabbed my arm, spinning me around to face her. She looked at me expectantly with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Are you just going to act like a spoiled baby or are you going to tell me what bug has got up your butt today."

"Charming."

"Fuck you!" she said before storming off ahead of me. She paused midway down the long hallway and looked back at me. "Where the f**k is our room?" she bit out in frustration.

"Do you want to know what my problem is? My problem is you! What the hell was that in there?" I asked, pointing back in the direction of the sitting room.

"That was me doing what you wanted. You wanted a loud and vulgar fiancée, didn't you? You wanted someone so unsuitable, your mother would never bother you about marrying again. That's what I did. Don't get all pissed off at me because you're having second thoughts now!" she said.

I ran my hand through my hair roughly and slumped my shoulders. All the fight and anger had left me. She was absolutely right. I had asked her to do those things, months ago. I had wanted her to act exactly as she had. Why did it feel all wrong now?

Now that we were here, I actually wanted my mother's approval. I wanted her and Emilia to get along. There was no good reason for it. It would only break my mother's heart when we finally broke up. I didn't know when my feelings started to change about this engagement, but they clearly had.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'd just...forgotten," I said lamely.

Emilia looked at me curiously before she shrugged. "Listen Rob, I really am tired now so if you'll just tell me where our room is..."

"We'll be staying in separate rooms. Yours is over here," I said, leading her to the door just to the right of my own bedroom.

"Great. That's even better. No offense, but I don't think I could share a room with you right now anyway," she said, the relief evident on her face and in her voice.

"Well, I'll let you get some rest then," I said.

She nodded her head before walking into her room and clicking it shut behind her. I stood there for a while, contemplating what the hell just happened. Every moment spent with her wreaked havoc on my emotions. The end of this weekend couldn't come fast enough.








Chapter 16: Emilia



As soon as I shut the door, I leaned back against it and closed my eyes, slowly sliding to the floor. I'd only been in this house for less than an hour, and already I was at my wit's end. But there was no backing out now. I had promised Rob that I'd come to his parent's anniversary party, and that's what I'd do. He wanted a vulgar fiancée; I'd give that to him too.

When we first pulled up to the house, I was blown away. This was the type of estate you saw in movies like Pride and Prejudice. I couldn't actually believe that people still lived in houses like this. The grounds were enormous, and the house--it was something else all together. It looked like the size of ten football fields, at least. Everything had a light dusting of white snow, which gave a fairy tale quality to the surroundings.