“Actually, I’m dating Lucy,” I say.
“You are?” she asks, sounding shocked. “Did you know that?” Genny asks her sister. “He’s dating Lucy.”
I’m not quite sure why she’s saying it the way she is.
“Isn’t Lucy still a virgin?” her sister says. “No one dates Lucy.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention, and I clench my jaw. Lucy was right, they are the bitchy cousins.
I offer them my fakest of fake smiles. After I finish pouring champagne for everyone, I excuse myself to go check on Lucy.
I steam into the bedroom, but it’s dark. Lucy is sitting on the bed, cloaked in shadow. She’s changed and has a white dress on. She’s looking out of the window.
“Hey, are you okay?” I ask as I slide into the room and shut the room.
“I think I’m coming down with something.”
I’m not sure she’s sick. More like sick of her own family being so awful to her. “You’re right. Your cousins are bitchy.”
“Yup,” she says.
I want to add that her mother isn’t much better, but she doesn’t need to hear that.
“I told them we were dating,” I say.
Lucy snaps her head around. “You told who?”
“Your cousins. One of them asked me if I wanted to go for a drink, and I told her.”
She groans. “Don’t tell me what they said.”
She knows even without me telling her that her cousins were awful when they heard our “news.” It makes my heart ache a little.
“You look really pretty. And you didn’t need to change.”
She stands, but I can tell it takes effort, like she’s weighed down by ... people’s perceptions of her? Her expectations of herself? I don’t know what it is, but from here I can feel how it doesn’t fit her.
“Thanks. It’s easier to put on a white dress than it is to keep the yellow one on and listen to my mother’s sniping all evening.”
When I first met Lucy, if someone had told me she did anything for an easy life, I wouldn’t have believed them. I assumed she did everything in her power to make life more difficult for herself and everyone around her.
Now, I see that’s not who she is. I think she’s just someone desperately trying to dodge criticism from the people she loves.
“Do you want me to tell people you’re not feeling well? Maybe you need an evening in bed?” I don’t know why, but I can feel the back of my neck glow hot when I mention her in bed. Maybe it’s because we’re sharing a room.
“There’s no way I’d let Katherine down like that,” she says.
Grabbing her purse, she walks over to me by the door. “Thank you.” Her hand slides onto my arm and our eyes catch. She lets her hand fall, and I take it in mine.
“Let’s go. Make sure you sit next to Katherine or one of her friends. Keep away from ...” I don’t finish the sentence. What do I say?Keep away from your own mother. That’s what I mean. Who knew I’d feel this protective over a woman I’m not even dating for real?
I can’t deny it, my first impressions of Lucy have shifted. I’m not saying we’re on the same page, but I understand her better now. And the more I get to know her, the more I see: Her loyalty to her sister. The way she puts up with criticisms from her mother and other family members. The way she puts other people ahead of herself.
It all adds up to someone ... extraordinary.
Chapter Twelve
Lucy
