AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“You look a little flushed,” she continued. “Do you have a temperature?”
“Nope. All good.” Tom cleared his throat. “How long are you here for, Rosie?”
Ah, touché, Tom.Ball is in my court now.
Finding words was hard. I shouldn’t be this brain dead after learning that Tom sends dick pics to women, and obviously, does so often as Ainslee, looking gleeful about her collection of Tom’s genitals on her phone.
Ugh.I inhaled sharply.
“A few days. Tops.”
Sitting across from Tom and talking about boudoir photo shoots and dick pics was not on my bingo card for this weekend. But here we were.
A strange silence had descended on the table. Amanda was giving her brother the stink eye.
Tom was staring intensely, and I couldn’t control the heat creeping up my neck. Was he judging me right now about my boudoir photos?
Why shouldn’t I have my photos taken in underwear and feel sexy? Because I had. I’d felt amazing with Sam’s guidance for poses and discovering a side of my sensuality I’d never known was a part of me.
I needed to get my thoughts out of the boudoir and firmly into the here and now, where everything was family friendly.
“Did I hear at Tom’s party that you’re getting married, too?” Ainslee brightened, sitting up straighter.
Mrs Turner shifted, and there was a thump under the table.
“Ow! Christ on a—” Tom reached down to rub his leg, glaring at his mum.
“Tom, can you pass the salt, please?” Mrs Turner asked too loudly.
“It’s up the other end of the table,” he protested, reaching under the table to rub his leg.
Bless this family and the hangers-on.I put down my knife and fork on the tablecloth.
“It’s okay, Mrs Turner.” I inhaled slowly, gathering the right words to say. “It wasn’t a very well-kept secret that I was engaged. But, the truth was, I wasn’t really engaged, but I sort of was. I had an understanding with Richard that we would be married, but there was no proposal or official announcement. And you should all know that now we’re not engaged or even going out. It’s over, and that’s a good thing.”
“Very sorry to hear, Rosie,” Ryan said.
“Girl time is definitely in order,” Amanda added softly, giving me a quick side hug.
“I really am sorry, Rosie.” His tone was genuine and his expression remorseful.
“Wow, that’s … Yeah, bummer about that,” Ainslee said.
Tom gritted his teeth, gripping his utensils as Ainslee sighed. “I can’t even imagine what I’d do if that happened to me.”
I cleared my throat. “I really should say again; it’s a very good thing it’s over. So, please. Do not be sad for me. I’m very happy now.”
I stared at my plate, recalling how Tom had asked me at Granny Lynn’s funeral if I was happy.
No.But now? I will be. Even if it hurt, I was already happier now that Richard was not in my life.
“Alright, everyone. Let’s leave Rosie to her meal, hey?” Ryan grunted and then fixed his eyes on Tom. “Speaking of planning, how’s the planning for the muster going?”
* * *
Tom
