Annette touches her hair. “It seemed silly for her to drive up on her own, darling.”
“I’m still not sure why she didn’t come up with you in the first place,” William adds, giving Luke a peculiar look.
Luke and Dena exchange a quick glance, then a laugh slides from her throat. “I told you, Bill. I was away on business and only just got back, otherwiseof coursewe would have come together. But it seems he couldn’t wait for me to get home.” Her eyes trail curiously over me and I glance down, pretending to study the gravel, checking for signs that the earth might be opening up to swallow me.
With a harrumph, William pats Dena on the arm. “I don’t know why you put up with him.”
Her hand squeezes Luke’s. “Oh, I have my reasons.” She gives him a knowing grin and he half grimaces, half smiles, avoiding my gaze.
“Am I carrying these all by myself, then?” William mutters, grasping their bags.
“Sorry.” Luke reaches for them, shamefaced. Ever since this lot got here he’s been different, his usual bright and playful expression gone. It makes my heart ache.
They all head into the lodge and I hover. At this point, given no one else is arriving today, I’m not sure what else to do but follow them to the reception desk where we wait for someone to help us.
“Hello?” William barks, smacking a hand on the bell with unnecessary force. He turns to Annette with a deep groove of annoyance between his brows. “Where are the staff?” His eyes flick to Dena and back to Luke. “Why is Dena carrying her own bag?”
Luke reaches for her luggage, shrinking even more. He’s now carrying three bags and I almost reach out to help him. It takes all my self-control not to. He sends his father an expression ofhappy now?and William just shakes his head.
Jesus. This guy is a nightmare.
“Thank you, honey,” Dena purrs, leaning her head against his arm. My heart claws up my windpipe at the sight.
And then something happens that makes my blood turn to ice in my veins. Luke glances at his father, then his mother, then turns to Dena and kisses her on the top of the head and smiles. He doesn’t once look at me.
My vision blurs and I look away. Why am I even here right now?
I’m about to leave when my parents appear out of nowhere and Dad begins introductions with William, Annette, and Dena. Everyone is talking and laughing but I just feel nauseous. I can’t look at Luke. I can’t be around this anymore. I just want to slip away.
While everyone is busy I take the opportunity to creep towards the door. I’m just about to make my exit when I run smack into Alex and Michael.
“Oh, there you are!” Alex says, her arm linked through Michael’s. “We were just talking about doing dinner tonight. It will give everyone a chance to get to know each other.”
Alarm spikes through me. “I thought we weren’t doing a rehearsal dinner?” That’s one thing I haven’t organized.
“No,” Michael reassures me, “but an informal thing might be nice.”
I glance desperately between their hopeful faces and slap on a smile. “Absolutely.”
Extra time with Dena and Luke playing happy families? Why not?
33
Itry everything I can to get out of dinner, but ultimately, I know I need to be there. This is about Alex and Michael, not me. And who knows how long Mum’s cooperation is going to last.
So that’s how I end up wedged between Mum and Alex, opposite Dena, Luke and Michael, while Dad, Annette and William are further down the table. William takes care of everything, ordering champagne for the table before anyone else can order, insisting we all must drink it to celebrate. I try not to be irritated, but there’s something about this guy that rubs me the wrong way.
It doesn’t matter. I’m just waiting for the evening to hurry up and be over so I don’t have to keep seeing Luke with Dena. In his defense, he looks bloody miserable. And she’s hardly paying attention to him anyway; she’s engrossed in a conversation with William about insurance premiums, or something. Yawn.
“Everything ready for the wedding then, Alexis?” Mum asks. I stiffen, waiting for her to say something that might ruffle Alex’s feathers, but she just smiles over my head like I’m not even there.
“Yes, thanks to Harriet and Luke’s tireless work.” Alex gives me a nudge. “Thanks so much for everything, Harri. You’ve been a lifesaver these past couple of weeks. So selfless. You’re the best sister I could ask for.”
I give her a meek smile, swallowing down the guilt rising inside me like vomit.It’s fine, I keep telling myself. So I’m lying to her about Luke. It’s not going to interfere with the wedding, and that’s all that matters right now.
“I always wanted a sister.” Michael grins at me across the table. “I’m glad to have you as a sister-in-law, Harriet.”
I can’t help but smile back, because that’s really sweet. But hearing him refer to me as his sister makes me feel even more queasy, because it forces me to confront the fact that he’s now kind of my brother. And—gulp—does that makeLukekind of my brother?
