ChapterFour
"Icannot even believe them."
I was pacing around my bedroom and the attached sitting area, stomping my feet into the plush carpet as Nicky lounged on the bed, watching me in silence.
"I mean, can you ever?" I stopped, resting my hands on my hips as I glared at my husband. "They eloped? And they didn't tell anyone? Did they even stop to think this through?"
"I'd have to say yes." Nicky's smile was faintly apologetic. "Sweetheart, Bria and Rhys gave us a perfectly reasonable explanation for why they went away and got married in secret. I can't say I disagree with any of their rationale."
Privately—and somewhat grudgingly—I had to admit that Nicky wasn't wrong. After Bria had dropped the bomb of their elopement news on us, Rhys had intervened to give us details.
"My parents are a mess," he'd reminded us bluntly. "Having a big wedding—or any kind of family wedding at all—would require us to involve them in some way, even if we didn't want to do that. And if there's one thing I know for certain, neither my mother nor my father would think twice about ruining our special day if it meant that they were inflicting damage on each other. I won't do that to Bria. I refuse to put her through that."
"And we're not going to have the same kind of life as you and Nicky," Bria had added. "We're not going to live in the UK. We're buying a house in Maine, and that'll be our base of operation. We're private people, Ky. We can choose if we want to be part of this—" She'd pointed to Nicky and then to me. "And we choose not to live this way."
After a solid thirty minutes of back and forth dialogue that had accomplished nothing—after all, it was not unlike scolding the horse after it had run through open barn doors—Nicky had gently suggested that we all retire for the evening. I'd bade both of our guests a stiff good-night and stalked into our bedroom, where I'd begun to pace.
"But don't you see?" I repeated the words I'd been saying to Nicky for the past fifteen minutes. "What if someday Bria regrets this decision? What if she realizes that she really wants a wedding?"
"Then I assume she'll either do something to remedy it, like a vow renewal or something, or she will adjust to that realization and learn to live with it, as most adults do." Nicky reached over and caught my hand, twining our fingers together. "Ky, what is it that's really bothering you about this? It can't be just the idea that your sister eloped. Are you still worried about the relationship between Bria and Rhys? I thought they both seemed very happy and in love."
"No, I'm not worried about that," I admitted. "I could tell from the minute they walked in that everything is going well with them. I just . . ." I shrugged. "I don't know, Nicky. I guess it's possible that my feelings are more about me than them?"
To my husband's credit, he didn't so much as crack a smile. "Do you think so?"
"Stop." I pushed at his shoulder and then sank onto the bed next to him. "When I moved over here with you, I knew that I was going to miss a lot of important moments with my family. I mean, my family of origin. But that's marriage, right? You get married, you start your own family, and sometimes, you have to sacrifice, say, the traditional Duncan Christmas Eve brunch."
"That's definitely something you miss when we stay in the UK for the holidays, if the number of times you mention it is any indication."
I wrinkled my nose. "Look, you, I'm being open and vulnerable here. I'm having a moment. Lay off the snark."
Nicky pasted a solemn expression on his face. "Snark feature disabled. Proceed."
Heaving a sigh through my nose and rolling my eyes, I continued. "My point is that I understood going into our marriage that moving across the ocean meant I was going to miss more than most. I can't be there for Honey's birthday each year, no matter how hard I try. I couldn't get to Liesel's college graduation because it fell the same week as the Trooping the Colour."
"I remember." Nicky skimmed his hand down my side. "You didn't complain at all about that, which I appreciated."
"Thank you," I said with dignity. "But when Bria told me that she and Rhys were engaged, I was so excited. I thought that if they got married over here, I'd really get to help with all the planning. I could give her the benefit of my experience."
"You could be the big sister again." Nicky nodded. "I understand. And now you've been robbed of that joy."
"Yes. Exactly. And I know that it's not about me. This was their choice. Rhys is right—if what I've heard about his parents is any indication, they'd make a family wedding a nightmare."
"Without a doubt. They're two of the most selfish people I've ever known."
"Right." I sagged against my husband. "So by throwing a hissy fit about the wedding, I'm being selfish, too, aren't I? Instead of telling my sister and her—her new husband that I understand their decision and support them, I'm being just like his mother and father."
"Maybe notjustlike them, darling." Nicky nuzzled my neck. "This was just a temporary aberration of your normally understand nature. You were taken by surprise. It's understandable."
"Hmm." I curled my legs around Nicky's and allowed him to haul me closer so that his warm body spooned mine. "Do you think if I apologize at breakfast in the morning, that's soon enough? Or should I go knock on their door now and say that I'm sorry?"
"Considering that Bria and Rhys are newlyweds and that my cousin is likely comforting his bride right now, I think waiting until morning is the best choice." Nicky's lips fastened on a particularly sensitive spot below my ear.
"All right," I agreed breathlessly. "I'll probably have to grovel a little. Maybe I'll make waffles. Bria loves waffles."
"Groveling might be a nice touch." Nicky nudged me until I lay on my back. "Speaking of nice touches . . . does my bride also require comforting?"
"You know, she just might." I arched my back. "A little comforting tonight will definitely make groveling easier in the morning. If you were up to the task, that is."
