AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s rude.”
“It’s guys acting like guys…”
“See?” Chase grinned. “He gets it – which is why I have a problem with you and Karen cycling at the same time. I’m surrounded by stuff that I’m completely ignorant about. Y’all are scary!”
“Ignorantbeing the key word?” Emily said sweetly, in a syrupy voice.
John burst out laughing at almost the same time Chase did – only to have her parents and Karen enter the living room where they stood.
Karen immediately walked over, hugging Emily and then John, who looked surprised as she whispered ‘relax’to him.
“John! It’s so good to see you again. Welcome to the family.”
“Hi Karen,” John replied nervously, glancing at Emily, who smiled at her sister. They, both Chase and Karen, were trying so hard to make John feel welcome, and she couldn’t love them more for this.
Her parents were standing back, waiting, and John walked over to them, extending his hand politely.
“Mr. and Mrs. Marks? I’m John, and I believe we met at Karen’s wedding?”
Her mother smiled at Emily hesitantly… and she felt her heart falter, realizing that her dad might actually give John a hard time.
She wasn’t disappointed.
“Perhaps? We sure didn’t meet at your own wedding, did we?” her father said evenly, looking John dead in the eye. To his credit, John didn’t flinch, nor did he back away. Instead, he shook her father’s hand – and apologized.
“No sir, we didn’t. It all happened so quickly…”
“Too quickly.”
“… That I was completely enamored of my Emily, and we raced to one of the chapels in Las Vegas. I’m sure you felt the same when you married the lovely Mrs. Marks.”
“So, you’ve got a glib tongue and flirt with all the women?”
“Just the important ones in my life.”
“Oh, he’s good…” Chase said under his breath, elbowing Emily.
“Right?” Karen chimed in softly, grinning wolfishly.
“I suppose you’ll be telling me after the fact when she’s pregnant,” her father snapped – and the trio of siblings all gasped at the same time in shock.
“Ding, ding, ding… we have a winner,” Chase muttered under his breath – causing both Karen and Emily to glare at him. “What?”
“I certainly won’t be calling you while I’m making the baby, that’s for sure, Mr. Marks. I don’t think you’d care for me very much if I did something as distasteful as that.”
“I don’t care for how you married my daughter without any of her family being there.”
“Uhhh… Daddy?” Karen began quietly.
“What, Pumpkin?” her father said, without looking away from John’s calm face.
“I married Jace with no one there, remember? We went to a justice of the peace in Massachusetts…”
“Pumpkin, that was different – and I walked my little girl down the aisle.”
“Hold the phone…” Emily said suddenly, raising her hands in frustration. “So, it’s okay for Karen to get married without the big hoopla – but it’s not okay for me to do it?”
“Whoaaaaboy,” Chase muttered.
