Four
Alex returned to the ballroom and scanned the crowd for Lucien. She needed to get this business settled as quickly as possible. But she hadn’t managed more than a few steps before Phoebe glided over with a too-wide smile and took her arm.
“Come take some air with me and Will.”
“I can’t right now. Have you seen Freddie? I need to speak to her.”
“Well,Ineed to speak toyou.”
Alex raised an eyebrow at her sister’s schoolteacher tone. But before she could tease her for it, she noticed that people kept looking over at them and whispering. There seemed to be a hum in the air. Something had happened.
“Just act normally,” Phoebe murmured before she could ask.
Well, that never worked for Alex as people seemed to find her version of normal incredibly off-putting. Instead, she tried to follow Phoebe’s lead and forced a smile, nodding at various guests, who only stared back in wonder.
When they finally reached the back terrace that led out to the garden, Phoebe tugged her over to a secluded corner where Will was waiting for them. As usual, the garden had been decorated to match the ballroom.
“Tell me what is going on,” Phoebe demanded without preamble. “Is it true about Lucien? How on earth did that happen? Andwhen?” Her sister grew more agitated with each question.
Alex’s pulse raced. Her careless remark had already begun to spread. She needed to put her plan in action before it reached Lucien’s ears.
“The way it usually does,” she said flatly. “We saw each other this afternoon and that was that.”
Will let out a kind of choking sound, while Phoebe looked incredulous. “Thatwasthat?Come now, Alex. There has to be a fair bit more to it.”
She let out an impatient huff. “Why? Isn’t that how it was with the two of you? You saw each other and justknew.”
Phoebe and Will exchanged a sheepish look.
“In a way, perhaps,” she admitted. “But it certainly took longer than a fewhoursfor us to be together.”
“Only because we were both being hopelessly stubborn,” Will said, giving Phoebe a fond smile. She grinned back at him and Alex rolled her eyes.
She had no desire to stand here while they mooned over each other. “Well, I’m simply more efficient. My time is valuable and I can’t spend months denying my very obvious feelings for no good reason.”
Phoebe pointedly ignored the dig. “But you barelyknoweach other,” she protested. “Freddie was at least playmates with him once. But you—”
“I know enough,” Alex insisted. This was met with skeptical looks and Alex’s chest began to tighten. If she couldn’t convince Phoebe and Will, there was no hope of convincing the Ericsons.“And we… I… we’ve been corresponding,” she spat out. “Though we hadn’t settled things until today.” There. That sounded like a somewhat more reasonable explanation. Even still, her mouth twitched. She was a terrible liar but managed to hold Phoebe’s incisive gaze.
“Oh.” Her sister’s eyes softened with understanding. “So earlier, when you were so cross with Freddie for taking an interest in him, it was because you were…”
Alex squeezed her eyes shut. She knew what Phoebe was implying.
Jealous.
A base, childish emotion she had rarely indulged in even when shewasa child, as it served no real purpose and indicated an appalling lack of self-control. And yet, in this scenario it aligned perfectly with her current needs. So Alex swallowed her pride and opened her eyes.
“Yes,” she finished. “I was… jealous.” The word felt sour on her tongue and her lip curled in distaste, but this only added an air of authenticity to her performance. “We weren’t yet ready to discuss our relationship, as it is still very new, but Freddie’s behavior has forced our hand.”
Phoebe and Will exchanged another look. She was certain they had bought it.
“Now then,” Alex said primly. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to find Lucien.”
“Of course.” Phoebe nodded, now full of sympathy and understanding. “But perhaps you should talk to Freddie first before she hears it from someone else.”
If she hasn’t already.
Alex could picture her younger sister’s riotous laughter over the news, which could ruin everything.
