All's Fair in Love and Las Vegas

Chapter Five

        Grayson, the poor man, screamed and jumped so hard that he slammed into the nearby wall. The woman at the top of the staircase gasped and hastened over, asking, "Are you alright?"

        "F-fine, fine!" he stammered, staggering back to his feet.

        "You didn't hit your head or anything?" she asked, concern in her bright blue eyes.

        He slowly regained his balance and his dignity. "I'm fine. Sorry. I just wasn't expecting you. Aren't you supposed to be in Barbados?" he asked. I was not a fan of the way he seemed to tilt towards the ground for a moment.

        "Yes, but apparently they're having bad weather, so I decided to reschedule for next week," the woman sighed dramatically. I tried not to express my awe at such a statement. People could just reschedule trips to Barbados? Whenever the weather got bad? "But lucky for me I got to see you for a bit! How was your trip to Barcelona?"

       "Um, really good! Ate a lot of...Spanish food," Grayson said in a tone that made me suspect he'd never been to Barcelona in his life.

        "And who might this be?" the woman asked, her radiant smile now turned on me. Her teeth were so white that I almost winced.

        Grayson cleared his throat. "This is my friend Jackie. Jackie, this is my mother, Mrs. Answell."

        "Please, dear, call me Laura," she said kindly. "You're a friend of Grayson's?"

        "Yes, er, we met in Barcelona," I said, running with what little I knew about his lie.

        "Lovely," she said, giving Grayson a glance I did not like one bit. Neither did he, because he said, "I was just going to show Jackie to her room, then do a bit of work in my office. I had to hide my surprise; the thought of me having a room made it sound like I was staying the night. This was supposed to be in an in and out trip, not a spending the night ordeal.

        "Of course, what are you working on?" Laura asked brightly.

        Grayson came up empty. "Just...paperwork stuff. Nothing fancy." To my horror, I now saw that he had that cursed marriage license in his hand. 

        "Let me see, I know a thing or two from helping your father," Laura said, plucking the paper from his hand. The woman moved like a chicken: fast and unexpected.

        No! I wanted to shriek. But I stood in frozen silence, helpless. Grayson moved in slow motion, unable to snatch it back from his chicken-mother.

        Laura gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "Grayson, darling, is this true?"

        "Well, erm, yes, but it's not–"

        "Oh my goodness, congratulations! When was this?"

        "Well, last night, but you see–"

        "How long I have waited for this day!" Laura exclaimed. "Jackie, you must have dinner with us tonight, I can't wait to learn all about you and how you two met. And we'll have to plan the wedding."

        "Wedding?" I asked. What the heck had Grayson told her?

        "Yes, of course, even if you're already married, we'll need to have a ceremony and reception. Should take a bit to plan, maybe six months, but we could whip up something nice," Laura said thoughtfully. She was entirely lost in her own little world.

        "Oh, no, we couldn't–" I started.

        "Nonsense, every girl needs a gorgeous wedding," she said, misreading my concerns. "I've had ideas for years, for Grayson's wedding, so we could plan it together."