Nora Ainsworth met his smiling gaze and snorted, "And what if I was? It doesn't matter either way. Your mother was the one who called me here last night. She said we were going to discuss the wedding and that you'd be here. I never expected her to try and get me drunk. I have no idea what kind of shady business she was planning, but I didn't stay in the room she booked. I got my own."
Leon Lynch's smile faltered. "You're not just making that up, are you? My mom certainly didn't tell me to come here last night."
Nora Ainsworth didn't want to argue. "Then forget I said anything."
She turned to leave, but he blocked her path. "I'm your fiancé, after all. Can't you be a little more polite?"
Nora Ainsworth looked him straight in the eye. "With all those women flocking around you, do I really need to be polite?"
"Are you jealous?"
Nora Ainsworth scoffed, "Jealous, my ass. I have to get to work."
"There's a banquet at nine tonight. You'll be my date."
"No, I'm busy." Her whole body ached. That man had pushed her from above into the pool, and she had slammed against the wall. Her leg still throbbed with a dull pain, and she could barely stand.
"I don't care. I'll have the dress sent to your house, and I'll pick you up later." With that, he left. Nora Ainsworth quickly got into her car, letting his words go in one ear and out the other.
She then drove home.
As she reached the living room doorway, she stopped dead in her tracks. A tall man was standing inside. 'He looks so familiar!'
"Nora, you're back! Silly child, what are you doing standing in the doorway? Hurry up and meet your brother-in-law."
She walked inside and watched him turn around. Her body went rigid. It was him. 'My brother-in-law...'
She forced a laugh and looked at her mother. "Mom, hurry and get some tea."
Mrs. Ainsworth nodded repeatedly and said politely to Quentin Grant, "Please, have a seat."
Watching her mother walk away, Nora Ainsworth sat down at the dining table without saying a word.
"Miss, you look very familiar. Have we met somewhere before?" he asked with a smile, sitting down across from her.
Nora Ainsworth stiffened. 'How did this guy get back even earlier than I did?'
'When I left the hotel, he definitely hadn't come out yet!'
Startled, she quickly shook her head. "You don't look familiar. Not at all. May I ask your name, sir?"
He let out a soft laugh. "You'll find out soon enough."
He stretched out his foot and hooked it around her leg.
Frightened, Nora Ainsworth scrambled upstairs. Only when she was back in her own room could she finally catch her breath.
'If he's my brother-in-law, then that embarrassing incident at the hotel...'
'How utterly mortifying!'
'Will he tell my sister?'
'Will he tell my fiancé?'
'Even though I don't think much of Leon Lynch, he's still the prospective son-in-law my parents approve of. If he found out that I got drunk, mistakenly barged into my future brother-in-law's room, and made a scene...'
'What would he think of me?'
Nora Ainsworth didn't come down from upstairs until after Quentin Grant had left.
"Nora, what do you think of your brother-in-law?" Mrs. Ainsworth asked, smiling at her.
Nora Ainsworth subconsciously glanced at her sister, Sharon Ainsworth, and saw that her face was flushed beet-red.
"As long as my sister is happy, he seems... perfectly fine," she answered through gritted teeth.
Mrs. Ainsworth gushed with praise, "Not only does Quentin have his own company, but it's also doing very well. Plus, the Grant Family is prominent and well-respected. This engagement was decided a long time ago. We're just waiting for your sister to turn twenty-three to get married."
Nora Ainsworth's heart sank. 'My sister is already twenty-two. That means there's only one year left.'