#Chapter 89: Too Much Effort

Kayla The next morning, I found Nicholas in the kitchen bright and early, stirring cream into a cup of coffee. He turned when I entered, and his face was as calm and collected as ever, utterly ignorant of the butterflies in my stomach. He’d said that there was going to be a party this weekend, conveniently the day before my birthday. Did that mean…? I held my phone up, displaying the text he’d just sent me. “We’re meeting the wedding planner at nine? I just saw her yesterday.” He shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. “The engagement party is this weekend,” he replied matter-of-factly. My face paled a little. I thought the party was for my birthday, but I had thought wrong. It was an engagement party. A fake one. “Right,” I said slowly, pocketing my phone. “I saw the comment last night. I wasn’t sure what you were referring to.” There was a brief silence, and then he said, “I hope you don’t mind.” Truthfully, I did mind, but I didn’t admi