“Come here and sit with me. I’d like to ask you something very important.”
“Okay.” Lucy dropped into the chair next to her sister. “What’s up?”
“Don’t say no before you hear me out, okay?”
Oh no. Now what?
“I want you to be my wedding director.”
“Who, me?” Lucy couldn’t believe she’d gotten those two words out. A wedding director on Alpha-Prime was a cross between an Earther maid of honor and a wedding planner. Lucy had stumbled across the comparison in her study of Earth customs.
“Yes. Please help me plan the perfect wedding. I know Mother will want me to pick Ardelia so she won’t complain so much, but I want you. Will you do it? Please? For me?”
Lucy’s mouth fell open. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Please say yes, Lucy. You are the perfect person for this job.”
Wrong.
“Besides, you are my best friend in the world. And I don’t want anyone else.”
Lucy stared at Francine’s expectant expression. How could she say no? How could she ever tell Francine the truth? She inhaled and exhaled silently and said, “Okay. I’ll do it.”
Francine squealed. “Thank you so much!” She leaned forward and hugged Lucy around the neck, whispering, “You’ll see. This will be the best fun ever. No matter what, I know you are the very best choice for this endeavor.”
“Thanks, Francine.”My heart is breaking into a million pieces.“I promise, I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will. I’ll tell Mother in the morning that you’ve agreed to be my director. One more thing.”
“What?” Lucy didn’t think she could take one more thing.
“We’ll be having a wedding here on Earth first.”
“Oh?” She’d expected to head for Alpha-Prime with Axel in tow for an extravagant wedding there. “Not on Alpha-Prime?”
Francine shook her head. “Mother insisted. She wants us wed as soon as possible. Axel’s mother said they’d need at least a month to prepare, but that they wanted a ceremony on Earth, too.”
“Okay. I don’t know much about weddings on Earth.”
“Don’t worry. Mrs. Grey said her daughter Valvoline would help us with anything we need here on Earth.”
Lucy wished she felt anything but guilt and dread regarding the coming wedding for her ecstatic sister. Francine gave her one last hug and left her alone to ponder her hidden misery. What would she say to Axel when she got to the midnight rendezvous? Should she still go?
If Francine liked Axel, and found him an acceptable substitute for her secret former love H.R. that she apparently could never have, how could Lucy be so cruel as to explain her date with Francine’s Earther fiancé?
She would meet Axel tonight, but only to tell him Francine was a good person and her best friend. Lucy would be the wedding director and they’d have to suspend their feelings for one another forevermore. If it were absolutely anyone else, Lucy would fight for Axel to the end and ignore any consequences. But it was Francine. No matter how hard it would be to ignore her own heart’s desire—and it would be nearly impossible—Lucy would noteverhurt her sister.
Chapter Ten
Axel paced back and forth several times, then he walked in a circle for a few laps. He reversed direction for another few times and opted for a figure eight as he waited impatiently for Lucy to arrive for this likely foolish secret meeting. How ironic to be in love with someone for the first time in his life only to discover he couldn’t have her. Instead, he had to marry her very nice sister.
He wasn’t certain what he was going to do. Was it already out of his hands? Possibly. No. Surely he had a say in the identity of the woman he would marry and spend the rest of his life with, didn’t he?
There probably wasn’t anything his parents could do. The Duvalls were rather forthright in their plan to have their second born wed the Grey family’s second born, whether he liked it or not.
He wouldn’t even ask his little brother Jack to take his place. This was far too big of an ask.
