Her brother didn’t look at her.His eyes were fixed on the party.No, Ellie realized—they were on Constance, where she stood amid a gathering of cousins and aunts, her laughter echoing up into the night.
“She looks happy,” Ellie noted as she stopped beside him.
Neil jumped.“I… What… How…?”
Ellie reached up to fix his crooked spectacles.
Neil paled—and then firmed with resolution.“We’re getting married.”
Ellie stilled.“You and Constance?”
“Yes?”Neil answered awkwardly.
“And you’ve both… talked about this?”
Neil’s tone was dry.“That is usually how marriage proposals come about, Peanut.”
“I know that,” Ellie returned irritably.“Only back upstairs when you were…” She trailed off, choking on the notion of elaborating further.“I have to say it didn’t look exactly…”
Neil’s ears turned pink.“It only just happened.Now.After that… other bit.”
Ellie raised her eyebrows.“You mean that you just now asked her to marry you.”
“It was the other way around, actually.She asked me.Or perhaps we were asking each other?I’m… not precisely clear on it.”
“You’re not precisely clear on how you came to be engaged to Constance?”
Neil ran a tired hand over his face.“Can you honestly say that surprises you?”
“Well… no,” Ellie admitted.“But how do you feel about it?”
“Feel?”Neil echoed blankly.
“Are you happy?”Ellie elaborated gently.
His gaze dropped back to Constance.“She’s the most magnificent woman I’ve ever known.And she told me she’s falling in love with me.Or maybe that she already had?”
He turned back to Ellie, his face drawn with hope and fear and joy.“Peanut, I am having a hard time understanding how I could possibly have become so lucky.”
The words were rich with feeling, and suddenly Neil’s quiet bewilderment made a perfect sort of sense.
“Oh, Neil,” Ellie breathed out.“I am so ridiculously happy for you.”
She threw her arms around him.Neil froze with surprise for a moment—and then hugged her tightly in return.
“Thank God!”He pushed her back to look at her, his hands warm on her shoulders.“I’ve been terrified that you were going to hate the idea and that it might have muddled things up between us, or muddled things up between you and Connie, and then I would have ruined everything, just because I’d gone and…”
“You don’t have to complete that sentence,” Ellie quickly offered.
“I wasn’t talking aboutthat!There hasn’t been any…” Neil caught himself, distinctly uncomfortable.“I mean, I suppose there’s been some, er… but not the sort of thing you’re… Unless you’re thinking of…”
He clamped his mouth shut and drew in a breath.
“…fallen in love with her,” he finished carefully.
“Are you in love with her?”
The word spilled out of Neil like a confession.“Wretchedly.”
