AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Breaking the news goes about as well as expected. Jaclyn looks positively crestfallen, her husband attempting to soothe her with a gentle rub of the back. Meanwhile, my mum just keeps shaking her head and muttering, “But it’s only two weeks away…” and my dad can’t seem to stop looking awkwardly around, sipping on his beer as though he’s not sure whether he’s still allowed in the house now that the wedding’s off.
The only person who seems mildly happy about the current situation is Wes. Of course, he does—the bastard.
“There’s some other news,” I announce, deciding to break the tension. I flick my gaze to Emma and offer an encouraging smile. “Why don’t you tell them?”
She draws in a deep breath, scanning her eyes around the gathered party. “Okay, well, this is kind of big. But good—”
Jaclyn lets out an excited gasp, a hand flying to her chest. “You eloped! Oh, I knew there had to be a proper reason for cancelling the wedding! Honestly, I’m not even mad about not being invited…okay, well, I’m a little mad. But mostly I’m just thrilled that you’re married! Are you pregnant—is that why you decided to rush things?”
Jaclyn finally stops to take a breath and Wes rounds on Emma, grey eyes flaring with mortification. “Em…please tell me Mum’s just finally gone off the deep end and you haven’tactuallyeloped!”
“No, we haven’t eloped!” Emma cries. “Devon and I are not married! We’re not getting married! We willneverget married!”
I wince at the vehemence in her voice. “Thanks, Em.”
She casts her eyes back at me, a sheepish expression crossing her face. “Sorry.”
“So, what’s the news then, love?” Steven asks.
“I’m moving to Paris,” Emma announces with a wide smile, going on to reveal the details of her new job.
“Well, I think this calls for champagne!” Wes pronounces brightly. “The good stuff. I think I saw a bottle of Dom in the fridge—I’ll go get it.”
He starts to rise but is halted by Jaclyn’s sharp voice. “Wesley,sit down.This situation most definitelydoes notcall for champagne.”
Wes adopts an expression of pure innocence. “But Mum—we need to celebrate Emma getting her dream job.” He leans over and drapes an arm around Emma’s shoulders. “She’s worked so hard for this. Doesn’t she deserve to be fussed over?”
“He has a point, Jackie,” Steven says with a nod to his children.
“But,Steven,”Jaclyn persists, her features formed into an uncharacteristic frown.
Steven just waves her away, turning to his son. “Go get the bubbly, Wes.”
As though he’s a five-year-old on Christmas morning, Wes jumps from his chair and bounds off to the kitchen.
“I’ll get the glasses,” I say, rising from my seat. “Seeing as we’re toasting Emma.”
I follow after Wes, finding him digging through the fridge in the kitchen. “Laying it on a bit thick, don’t you think?”
He stands and turns to face me, offering an unctuous smirk. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m just happy for my sister. She’s wanted to work at Chanel forever.”
“Right.” I reach up into one of the high cabinets and start retrieving the champagne flutes. “And that’s the only reason for your good mood?”
He finally locates the bottle of Dom Perignon and removes it from the fridge. “There are many reasons for my good mood, Devon. There’s a new season ofBake Offon, a client gifted me a whole box of chocolate cronuts, I got tickets to see The Strokes again next year—it’s a great time to be alive.” He pauses in the motion of tearing off the wrapping covering the cork to look me square in the eye. “Why? Was there something in particular you thought I should be happy about?”
“Careful with that.” I nod at the bottle in his hand. “I’d hate for it to shoot out and hit you right in the face.”
“Now, why do I get the impression you wouldn’tactuallyhate that?” he asks with a wry smirk, deftly unfastening the wire and pulling the cork out with a loudpop!“You’re a bit of a sadist at heart, aren’t you?”
It’s not until I get home that I see the email. I’ve done my best to put that less-than-noble behaviour from last night out of my mind today, but now I’m staring at a blatant—and rather rude, I have to say—reminder of my transgression. I should just ignore it; do what I should have done last night and take the high road. But it turns out I’m not quite that mature.
