AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mia, stop! I’m just a little run down is all. Of course, I’ll be there. The wedding photos will be beautiful. But thanks for asking if I’m alright. Means the world to me, babe.”
“I’m sorry,” she says. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” Clipped responses are all I can manage. I sit up straighter on the mattress, stretching out my tired legs. “I’ve just been working heaps, and I wasn’t eating properly –”
“You haven’t lost weight, have you?” she shrieks.
“Really, Mia?” I shake my head and pray to the god of weddings, or whoever it is up there that takes care of this rubbish, that I don’t turn into such an obnoxious bride when my time comes. “Stop stressing,” I assure her, but part of me is a little hurt that I’m not her first priority. Or maybe I’m just being overly sensitive and emotional. My phone lights up with an incoming call, so I tell her, “Mia, honey, look I have to go. There’s someone else on the other line. I’ll call you tomorrow and you can run through the seating arrangements with me,again. ”
“Okay. Call me tomorrow. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I pressend calland then swipe my finger across the screen. “Hey, Mom.”
“Oh sweetie, I’m so glad I caught you. These seating arrangements are driving me crazy. I don’t know if you’ve spoken to your sister or not, but –”
“I was just on the phone with her,” I say, my voice still a little scratchy.
There’s a slight pause, and I can practically hear the cogs turning inside my mother’s head. “Are you not well?” she asks, suspicion thick in her voice. “Tell me the truth, Brinley. Are you sick?”
“I’m just a little run down.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I didn’t listen to my body.”
“Oh, sweetie,” she sighs. “Do you want me to fly up there to take care of you? Because you know I will. I could be on the next flight in less than an hour.”
“No, Mom. Honestly, I’m fine. I’ll see you in a few weeks. Besides, I think you have your hands full with bridezilla at the moment.”
“Promise me you’ll elope to a tropical island somewhere and just send me a photo once it’s done?”
“I promise.”
“Good girl,” she says with a teasing lilt. “It will be so nice to see you, sweetheart. I can’t wait to wrap my arms around you and give you a big hug.”
I sink back against the wall behind me, literally sink. “I can’t wait to see you guys either. I miss you all like crazy, and –” I suddenly hear the sound of keys turning in the dead bolt, and then the front door of my apartment opens and closes.
Heavy footsteps head down the hallway toward the bedroom, and then my bedroom door flies open.
“Hey, so guess what?” Reed’s deep voice echoes around the room.
I put my finger to my mouth to shut him up. But it’s too late.
“Who was that?” asks Mom, suspiciously.
“It’s… no one,” I say, which is a lie because Reed Devlin is far from being a no one. And he’s becoming less and less of a no-one every time I see him.
I try not to laugh when Reed fakes being stabbed in the heart, staggering backward a couple of steps until his backside hits the edge of my dresser. He’s so cute when he’s being all playful like that.
“That was a man’s voice. I’m not stupid. Who is it?”
“Mom, it’s not what you –”
“Are you bringing him to the wedding?”
“Mom. Stop, no, of course not –”
