“Long,” Mum mumbles, and Dad shoots her a look. She straightens and smiles. “But we are glad to be here for Alex’s big day.”
When I glance at Dad, he nods. Right, he must have had a word to her about behaving appropriately. That will make things a little easier.
Dad extends a hand to Luke. “Hello, I’m Clark—Alex and Harriet’s father.” He gestures to Mum. “This is Audrey.”
Luke smiles broadly, shaking Dad’s hand. “So nice to meet you. I’m Luke—Michael’s brother, and the best man.”
My gaze pings back and forth between Luke and my parents, an uncomfortable sensation stirring inside me as my two worlds collide. I’m not sure I like this.
“This place is lovely,” Mum says, taking in the lodge. Christ, if she can keep this positive attitude up the whole time Alex will be ecstatic.
I turn to look at the lodge. Mum’s right, it is lovely. One main building that has a restaurant, a small hall where we’ll have the reception, and log cabins scattered around the grounds. It has beautiful views of the lake, and there’s a little courtyard where the ceremony will take place, which is going to look stunning with the glorious display of red and orange foliage surrounding us. Thankfully, the awful weather of last night seems to have cleared and should be gone for the rest of the weekend.
“It is, isn’t it?” Luke motions towards the entrance. “Let me help you inside.”
They glance at me and I wave a hand. “I’ll catch up with you soon. Go get settled in.”
Luke wheels their suitcases into reception. Mum’s face lights with a genuine smile at this gesture, and relief sweeps over me. She’s going to be the least of Alex’s problems.
Luke pops back out to join me a moment later. “They seem nice.”
I shrug. They’re perfectly nice, really. Alex has been butting heads with them since moving over here but I think they just worry about her. As parents go, they’re not bad. Maybe I should make more of an effort to see them. They only live ten minutes away from me, after all.
An odd sensation hollows out my chest. I donotwant to think about going home and hanging out with my parents. That’s the last thing I feel like doing.
I look over to find Luke’s gaze resting on me, his expression wistful. “Harri,” he says, in a quiet voice. “You know, I really wish…” He drags a hand through his hair, his eyes roaming my face. “Dena will be here soon. And I wish…”
I nod, wrestling my gaze from his, and swallow down the lump forming in my throat. “I know,” I murmur. “Me too.”
As if on cue, a white Mercedes SUV pulls into the parking lot and glides into a spot. Luke gives me a pained expression, forcing out a resigned breath.
My gut clenches into a tight ball, my breathing shallow and rapid. This is it. I’m going to meet Luke’s ex-wife.
The car doors open and two older people get out, ambling up the gravel towards us with their bags. When I glance at Luke in confusion, he seems puzzled too.
“Mom? Dad?”
“Hello, darling.” A blond woman in her late sixties smiles at Luke. She’s dressed in a tan pantsuit, her hair pulled back in a tidy chignon.
My eyes flit over to a tall man of a similar age with silver hair. His expression is clouded, a slight scowl on his handsome face. “I don’t know why they insisted on getting married all the way up here,” he mutters to no one in particular.
The woman pulls Luke down into a hug, and when she releases him he gives her a bemused smile. “Why are you guys—”
Another car door slams and footsteps crunch up the gravel. I know who it is, and I can’t bring myself to look. My stomach is turning over now, crashing in on itself like a raging sea, and I have the intense urge to cling onto something before I drown.
“Hi, honey.”
She’s right in front of me and I can’t avoid her anymore. My eyes take in her tall, slim figure, dressed in black pants and a tan trench coat. Her hair is black, cut into a chin-length, poker-straight bob, parted squarely down the middle. Invisible hands clutch at my throat as I watch her lean into Luke and plant a kiss on his cheek. For a brief second he looks uncomfortable, then he seems to remember his manners and turns to me.
“Harriet, this is my mom, Annette, my father, William, and”—he sucks in a breath—“my wife, Dena.”
Oh God. I can’t breathe.
“This is Alex’s sister, Harriet.”
Dena smiles in my direction and slips her hand into Luke’s. My chest is taut with agony but I ignore it, forcing a radiant smile. Because if I don’t, I’ll either scream or burst into tears.
“I didn’t know you two were coming up with Dena,” Luke mumbles to his parents.
