AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nudge her back, wishing it was okay to touch her with a lot more than my elbow. “It’s adorable, though, right?”
She shakes her head on a wry smile. I could quite easily lap up Charlotte teasing me for my nerdiness for the rest of my life.
“Where’s the bar you built?” Charlotte asks as we stroll down the grassy slope.
“Inside the tent at the opposite end of the pond from the mathematically perfect seating.”
“You realize that’s a lake, not a pond, right?” she says. “It’s enormous.”
“Ha, well actually, I looked that up. And the difference between a pond and a lake is depth, not surface area.”
“Oh, I never let facts get in the way of some good teasing.”
“Now you’re starting to sound like your boss.”
Charlotte stops and looks at me in that way only she can. No one else has ever reached that deep inside me with their eyes. “Did Max give you a hard time when you were kids?”
“He’d try, but I just ignored it.” I shrug.
“Like when they teased you for not wanting to go out with them to meet girls? And you’d prefer to stay in with your time travel movies and TV shows instead.”
“Yeah, still do if I have free time. But there’s not been a lot of that for a while. When I was in college, I’d study. Since then I’ve pretty much been working on the business from the moment I wake up till the moment I go to sleep. Sometimes I call Tom in London and catch up with what he’s doing. He’s usually up at all hours because of bands and gigs and stuff.”
“I’ve never met him. Does he not come over much?”
“Not that often. We all keep in touch with him on video chat a lot, though. And we’re all still close. Guess that’s what happens when you’re raised more like five brothers, rather than two sets of cousins. Someone started calling us brousins, and it stuck.”
“Ha. Smart.” Charlotte says. “When did Tom move to London?”
“When he was sixteen. He got a bit rebellious in his teens, and my parents sent him off to stay with relatives in London. They hoped getting away from all the reminders of his parents might help. It was supposed to be just for the summer. But he loved it, got himself together, and never moved back.”
“So that’s why his music business is there, not here?”
“Yeah, he started a label in the garage, and now he has a billion-dollar empire. We’ve always gotten along, and the music scene interests me because it’s so different from what I do. So, I enjoy talking with him.”
“Is he here for the wedding?”
“Nope. Said he was tied up with work. But we all think his wife didn’t want to come and she made him stay home.”
“That doesn’t sound very nice.”
“She isn’t.”
As we get closer to the guests, Mom appears from between a woman with a green hat large enough to shield us all from the sun and a man wearing a banana-yellow suit.
“Charlotte!” She hurries across the lawn as fast as she can. “How lovely to see you again. I’m so glad you came.” She pulls Charlotte into a hug. “I hope my Most Studious Son is looking after you.”
“He always does, Mrs. Dashwood.” She shoots me a look out of the corner of her eye. “Always.”
“Oh, call me Maggie, for goodness’ sake.” Mom looks down at her feet. “Now, if you can tell me how to walk across a lawn in heels without looking like a complete fool, you’ll be my new favorite person.”
“I’m going to leave you guys to figure out that bit of physics,” I tell them. “I think I have to go take part in some official Not Quite the Best Man duties.”
“Yes,” Mom says. “Gwyneth was looking for you to give out the programs or something.”
I look at Charlotte. “Gwyneth is Owen’s sister. The best woman.” I put my hand on Mom’s arm. “See you both in a bit.”
A few steps away I look back over my shoulder to see Charlotte watching me leave. I’m not sure anything in my entire life has satisfied me more. Not getting into MIT on a scholarship. Not the business’s first million-dollar contract. Not even seeing the kids’ faces at First Byte on Monday.
