I sighed. “It’s Will’s house, Eugenie. Not Jesse’s. I’m not redecorating anything here.”
“Oh.” She looked around again, something in her gaze sharpening. “I suppose that makes more sense. Will always has been rather dull himself. It’s only fitting that his home would reflect that.”
“What are you doing here?” I repeated, a little more impatiently this time.
Her lips pressed into a delicate pout, her lashes batting as if that might make me feel bad about asking. “Is that any way to greet your sister?”
“When she arrives unannounced in another country, it feels appropriate,” I said. “Honestly, Genie. You could’ve texted me.”
She laughed, apparently unbothered by her less than warm welcome now that she’d given up the act. “I’ve missed that about you, how you think everything in life has to be planned.”
“I doubt that.”
She hummed, stepping further into the house and letting her fingers brush over the console table as she passed, silently judging even the furniture. “It’s not every day that my little sister marries my ex-boyfriend.”
Ice trickled through me.So that’s why she’s here. Iknewthe radio silence wouldn’t last forever.
She said it casually, but there was poison lacing her tone and it set me right back on that edge I’d been on when I’d first seen her standing at our door. “I didn’t realize you cared. I’ve barely heard from you since the engagement.”
“Oh, I care, but that’s not why I’m here.” She turned to face me, her expression bright again. “Mother sent me.”
Well, that explains everything and nothing all at once. My eyes narrowed of their own accord, confusion and suspicion awakening in me. “Why?”
“She thought that you might need a little help. Weddings take a lot of planning after all.” Eugenie strolled further into the house like she was giving herself a tour, her perfectly straightened blonde hair shining under the downlights. “You’re so famously bad at prioritizing details when it comes to your appearance.”
Gosh, I’ve forgotten how much it stings, just speaking to her. “I’ve managed so far.”
She glanced back at me, one eyebrow lifting like she seriously doubted that could be true. “The clock is ticking, Eliza. Have you eventhoughtabout your dress yet?”
I pressed my lips together. “Well, I’ve thought about it.”
“And that, sister dear, is exactly why Mom sent me,” she said. “We’ve got an appointment at a bridal boutique in an hour.”
“That was quick.”Besides, why would anyone ask me what I wanted when decisions can simply be made for me?
“Time is a luxury you don’t have,” she replied like she was doing me a favor. “Every designer hates a rushed bride and they’re already going to be under pressure, getting it done so soon.”
I let out a slow breath, already feeling the beginnings of a headache forming. I should’ve known they would pull something like this. My mother and Eugenie were cut from the same cloth, closer to one another than I’d ever been to either of them.
Even as children, when Genie and I had been so much closer than we were now, she’d been our mother’s clear number one. She had never done anything wrong in Mom’s eyes.
“Why isn’t she here herself if she’s so worried about what I’ll wear?” I asked, wondering if I should be hurt that apparently even my wedding could be outsourced to somebody else to help with. “Surely, she could’ve come with you.”
Eugenie waved me off. “Don’t be so selfish. Mother is busy. As am I, but I made the time.”
I let out a slow, quiet breath but nodded. Sadly, I wasn’t the least bit surprised that Mom was too busy to be here with me in the run-up to my wedding day. “I’ll go get ready.”
Arguing with Eugenie was like trying to reason with a particularly elegant brick wall. There was no way I was getting out of this. My best option was getting through it as fast as I could.
“Try not to take too long, but do make yourself presentable.” She drifted into the kitchen, still looking over every inch of the place like she was mentally redesigning.
I was halfway to my bedroom when my phone rang. Reaching into my pocket, I felt tears spring to my eyes when I saw it was Jesse. I smiled, seriously not sure how he’d known that I needed him right now, but he seemed to have a real knack for it.
“Hi, Jesse,” I said, trying to keep my voice level, but it wobbled a bit anyway.
“Hey you. What’s going on?”
I glanced down the staircase, where Eugenie was now inspecting something on a bookshelf. “It seems I have a guest.”
