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Milly, digs her elbow into my side and my eyes fly open.
“Wake up. Bad enough you were late," she whispers, without taking her eyes off Harry.
I didn’t bother to respond. Better she believed that, than know the truth.
I let me eyes sweep the room. It was a huge, wood paneled room that looked more like a place where a Masonic Lodge would meet than where you'd hold a rehearsal dinner. They'd draped tulle and crinoline from every av
ailable rafter, covered the chairs in satin, laden the tables with flowers and candles in an effort to hide the room's utilitarian and drab feel. I thought they'd only barely succeeded.
My eyes came to rest on Cara and Louis. They’re a gorgeous couple. He is huge, dark blond, all tattoos and bulging muscles, even though his suit jacket hides them well tonight. She’s as she'd always been, tiny and delicate with hair that was so blonde it would glow in the dark if the lights were turned off. They both have their eyes trained on Harry as he speaks to them.
“I’m not clever enough to make a speech without looking at my notes,” he says.
He makes a big show of pulling a piece of pager from his breast pocket.
It draws scattered laugher from the crowd. Then he looks at his brother and starts reading.
"I've not had the pleasure of being married. But as your big brother, I'm going to continue our life long tradition of me knowing best and telling you what to do."
He clears his throat and looks down at the sheet of paper. "First, set the ground rules and establish who’s the boss: Then do everything she says."
The audience bursts into laughter. Louis rolls his eyes good naturedly and wraps one of his beefy arms around Cara's neck.
"Number two, you have to remember that married life can be compared to football. So be fully ready to spend the week training to make sure you’ll score every weekend. Mum has assured me that playing away from home can result in a serious groin injury and is definitely the quickest way to get on the transfer list. So, don't do it."
The audience groaned at his horrible analogy and I felt an ease of tension in my shoulders as I watch him relax and smile. He shrugs at them, shoots his brother a rakish smile, and winks at Cara. I love seeing him enjoying himself. I can’t look away.
"Number three, don’t let life stop you from connecting with each other. Mind, body and soul. Set time aside to pay attention to all three. Especially the body.”
His mother swats his backside and he yelps, then he looks down at her and winks, completely unrepentant. She reached up to swat him again, but he moves out of reach and the crowd laughs.
"And last but not least, little brother," his voice had turned serious and Louis looked away from a grinning Cara as he regarded his brother, "Don't forget to tell her you love her, and always, without exception, tell her the truth. It's the only way she'll know she can always rely on you."
Even though he isn’t looking at me, I know that the message was also meant for me. Suddenly the room felt uncomfortably small. It gives me the same sensation I get when my shoes are too tight. I look away from Harry, and my eyes land on Freya who was watching me with a furious anger that feels like a slap.
My eyes fall to my lap and there they stay until, I hear The Earl say, “Thank you for joining us, we’ll see you all tomorrow afternoon. Goodnight.”
"You're sweating, Lil," Aiden teases. He swipes a finger across my forehead.
I swat his hand away and snap at him, “Shut up. You were late." We're making our way out of the crowded hall. The blazing lights, the heat of hundreds of bodies, and the still blaring music are rivaled only by the din of voices all talking at once.
"I missed almost the entire event, including dinner and now I'm starving," I grumble as I shove the doors open. As soon as we step outside, the cold and rich air, bright with the smell of evergreens and heavy with the promise of snow rushes deliciously into my tight chest.
"You're lucky I'm here. Joanna is not happy. Not at all. I'll probably have to ask her to marry me when I get back to make up for going away this weekend.” He gripes. “And, it's not my fault my Uber had no clue how to find the house. It's not even on the fucking map. We're lucky he was willing to wait and bring us here. How the fuck are we going to get back?" His entire tirade comes out in one breath. Aiden blows on his hands to keep them warm as he glances around us disdainfully.
"We'll get a ride with my family." I ignore the rest of his statement entirely. I look back over my shoulder and see my mother and sisters in a huddle with Cara. I feel a twinge of guilt and think about heading back to talk to her. But I can't. He's there and my skin can still feel the sting of the daggers he glared at me all night.
* * *
"I'm freezing Lilly, let's go back inside and wait, " Aiden's whines.
"You go ahead. I'm fine. It's too hot in there." I couldn't go back in there if my life depended on it.
"The only thing hot in there was Mr. Tall Dark and Pissed Off and the way he was looking at you."
"Oh please. You always think someone's looking at me." I dismiss him with a wave of my hand, but a ball of discomfort forms in my chest.
"Lillian, I know you’re completely oblivious to your womanly charms. I don’t know why you go out of your way to hide them. But, it doesn’t change the fact that everywhere you go, people look at you. I'm a man. I know how other men look at women they want. Now whether it's to fuck you or kill you, that I couldn't say. But he wants you."
