AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He smiles at me, reaching over Noelle to give my arm a squeeze.
“What are you doing out here?” I ask. “Shouldn’t you be inside?”
“Waiting for my two girls,” he says.
“You didn’t want to be in there alone, huh?” I ask, looping my arm through his while Noelle does the same on his other side.
“No one speaks English in there,” he grumbles. “I have no idea what they’re saying.”
I laugh. “Well, we’re here now, so you can talk to us.”
“Oh, by the way, I read that book you told me about last time.”
“Which one?” Noelle asks excitedly.
“Scum Villain something,” he says, struggling with the name.
“You mean Scum Villain Self-Saving System?”
“That’s the one,” he says.
“You have him reading your comics?” I ask, amused.
“It’s not a comic, Mom,” she corrects me. “It’s a light novel.”
“Oh, excuse me,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“Yes, Lake,” my dad says, sarcastically. “Don’t you know anything?” he teases.
We walk further into the restaurant and I ask, “How upset is she?”
“Somewhere between politely angry and postal,” he says, using his hand to demonstrate.
“Good to know.”
In the back of the restaurant is a private dining room hidden behind a pair of glass doors. We stop and my dad turns to me before opening the door.
“Brace yourselves,” he warns, ominously.
When he opens the door, it’s nothing but chaos as everyone at the table speaks at once, English and Romanian mixing together. Momentarily, the noise is silenced by curiosity as to who is entering as heads swivel in our direction. The table is full of drinks and half eaten appetizers. All of Laura’s family is there, and a few of Beth’s friends who are in the bridal party. Aside from that, us three are the only family members of Beth’s.
“Come on, kid, you can sit next to me so we can discuss Scum Villain,” my dad says as he veers Noelle towards the other end of the table, and I look after her wistfully because the only other seat open is across from my sister. It doesn’t give me a good vantage point to avoid being yelled at by her for being late. As soon as I sit down, everyone resumes their chatter and my sister turns her attention to me.
“Nice of you to join,” she says with a sarcastic tone.
“Sorry,” I reply guiltily, taking my seat and not bothering to bore her with an excuse. She knows me well enough to know that I’m terrible with time management at home.
The waiter enters and takes my drink order as I take a few scraps of leftover food from one of the plates lining the middle of the table. It’s a delicious rice croquet.
“Well, I bet he’s glad he finally has someone to talk to,” Beth says, motioning down to the end of the table where our dad and Noelle have their heads together.
“Where’s Ashley?” I ask, looking around.
“Eric is dropping her off later,” Beth sighs taking a sip of her wine, and I can tell the stress is more than just caused by the wedding.
I can’t help admiring how beautiful Beth looks with her dark hair pulled back, and a lovely strapless flowered sundress that shows off her slim figure and glowing tan.
Beside her, Laura turns her attention to us. “Lake, you look gorgeous in blue,” Laura compliments, admiring my royal blue wrap-around dress. “I tried talking Beth into blue for our wedding colors to match her eyes, but she insisted on pink,” Laura says innocently, resting her hand on Beth’s shoulder.
