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“And this is your wedding! I’m sure she’s happy and excited for you.”
Rosie wasn’t sure of that at all. She was starting to feel a little sick. What was it about her family that made her revert to child mode? “What if they never made the flight?”
“Then your dad would have called.”
“Do you have to be so logical?”
He smiled. “Yes, it’s part of who I am, you know that.”
“I do know that.” She said it firmly, to remind herself that there were in fact plenty of things she knew about him. She knew he was passionate about health and fitness, having lost his dad to a heart attack when he was twenty. She knew he preferred reading nonfiction to fiction, that he absorbed facts like a sponge, and loved the outdoors. And she knew that being with him made her feel as if she could take on the world. He never questioned her competence or decisions. His belief in her had made her start to believe in herself.
“You’re overthinking this. That creative brain of yours is working overtime.” He cupped her face in his hands, his expression kind. “Are you sure this is about your parents? Nothing else? You’ve been getting more and more stressed the last couple of weeks.”
“You’re imagining things.”
“I know you, Rosie.”
Did he? Did he really?
“You can’t arrange a wedding in under a month and not expect a little stress, Dan. That would be unrealistic.”
“So it’s the wedding?” He stroked a strand of hair away from her face. “Not that I’m an expert on weddings, this being my first and only one, but I thought it was supposed to be fun and exciting.”
That was what she’d thought, too, but it turned out they were both wrong.
She didn’t feel giddy with excitement; she had a tension headache.
“Let’s talk about something other than weddings for five minutes.”
“Hey—” he pulled her back into his arms “—it’s going to be okay, I promise. Once your family arrives, you’ll be more relaxed. You’re probably stressed because your sister couldn’t make it out on the same flight. I know you miss her.”
Mmm. Right now she wanted to kill her sister.
Why were relationships so complicated?
“She emailed yesterday. She wants us to share for a few nights so that we can catch up. Is that okay with you? At Christmas we always end up sharing a room. It’s kind of a tradition.”
Dan grinned. “I’m assuming I’m not invited to this sisterly sleepover?”
“You’re not invited, but it’s going to feel weird being separated from you. I’m not sure how I feel about it to be honest.”
Katie had said in her email that she desperately missed girlie gossip and that she wanted a few nights together like they always had at Christmas, but now Rosie was wondering if there was more to the request than an urge for sisterly bonding.
She’d tried calling, but her sister hadn’t answered her phone.
Dan seemed relaxed about it. “It will be fun, and it’s understandable. She hasn’t seen you in ages. She wants to gossip with her little sister.”
Rosie hoped that was all it was.
She almost told him then. She almost told him what Katie had said, and how she’d put doubts in her mind.
But how could she? She didn’t even know if those doubts were real. She didn’t know what she wanted. There was so much she could talk to him about, but not this.
“I hope you like her.” I hope my sister doesn’t subject you to interrogation. What if she did? What if Dan decided it was all too much? Rosie leaned her head against his chest, feeling detached despite the warmth of his arms. It was as if a barrier had somehow appeared between them. One of the things she’d loved about him from the start was how easy he was to talk to, but right now she couldn’t find a way to say what needed to be said. She felt him stroke her hair.
“You’ve talked so much about her, I feel as if I know her already.”
There had been a few things she’d left out. Like the fact that her sister hadn’t sounded thrilled about the wedding. “It’s been an insane few weeks.”
