My Darling Bride(40)

Graham blinks. “Believe it or not, truth is stranger than fiction. Someone stole my Lamborghini—”

“Which was fine, because you didn’t need that car,” I say, interrupting him. “It’s a gas guzzler and entirely too expensive. Do you know what other things you could do with that kind of money?”

Graham’s hand slides under my hair to the nape of my neck as he brushes his fingers over my skin. “Oh, but I didn’t care. I just love beautiful things.” He presses his nose to my hair. “Like you,” he whispers.

I swallow.

“So you were there when Kian tracked her phone to the motel?” Andrew asks Graham.

Graham turns to my brother. “Yes. I drove her to the airport.”

“But your car was stolen . . . ,” Andrew says.

I roll my eyes. “What he meant was he called an Uber and rode with me. I mean, it was the plan all along for me to fly home.”

Andrew seems to accept our story as he grasps Graham’s hand and pumps it, then proceeds to tell him how he was thrilled when Graham got traded to New York.

Jane feeds Londyn a bite of mac and cheese. Londyn, who’s been darting her eyes from one person to the next and is probably understanding all of it because she’s a little genius, grabs the spoon to do it herself, smearing pasta all over her face.

I laugh at her, and she grins and slaps the high chair.

But Jane isn’t distracted. “So basically, you reconnected in Vegas, then went to a random motel in the desert, had an argument with some man named Clint, and now you’re engaged? Sorry. It’s nice to meet you, Graham, but Emmy, this is not normal for you.”

Andrews makes a humming noise. “Emmy can be odd.”

“What? Give me an example,” I say. “And remember, I’ve seen you bite your own toenails as a toddler.”

“Gross,” Babs says as she makes a gagging noise. “I can find you a self-help book for that.”

“I don’t do it now!” He points at me. “Emmy only eats broccoli when it’s flat. You smash it with your fork until it’s like a pancake, then stick it in your mouth. Same for cauliflower and potatoes. It takes you an hour to eat.”

“They tickle the top of my mouth,” I say as I nudge my head at Jane. “Jane puts pepper on her ice cream.” I direct my eyes at Andrew. “I have a list of weird stuff you did as a kid, so shut it.”

“Like what?” he asks.

Jane smirks. “Oh, you’ve done it now, Tiny. Ma never forgets.”

“For one, you ate toilet paper like it was chocolate.”

“It was clean, at least,” he mutters.

“Two, you also ate Bubbles the goldfish. You put your little hand in the fishbowl and gulped him down before I could stop you.”

Jane gasps. “You told me Bubbles was different because he lost weight!”

I sigh. “No, I just bought a new fish for you, Jane.”

She shakes her head. “And you never told me?”

“Sorry. I replaced Bubbles every three months like clockwork because Andrew was addicted to eating raw fish. Shall I continue? There’s the time you stripped down and ran around naked in the children’s section of the store—”

He holds his hand up. “All right. I’ve heard enough. You are completely normal. Cross my heart.”

“Well, the broccoli doesn’t make her odd, but a sudden marriage does,” Jane retorts. “What event was it where you met Graham, the one where you were with Kian?”

Graham squeezes my fingers. “It was, um, a charity ball.”

Finally, he comes through with an original idea.

Jane snorts. “Kian at a charity ball. No way. The only person he cared about was himself.”

Graham deflects like a pro. “I understand you’re worried about your sister, especially after Kian, but I’d never hurt her . . .” He turns to me and tucks a piece of hair behind my hear. “She is too precious. Just when you least expect to find the woman of your dreams, there she is, right in front of you . . .”

Cheesy. I roll my eyes so only he can see them.

Jane’s lips tighten, her gaze darting to Graham and then me. “It would be nice if you’d let us in on these things, Emmy.”

“It was sudden, yes, I know,” I say, deciding to stick close to the truth. “I didn’t expect Graham to propose. Actually”—I sigh dramatically—“he asked me a few days ago at the bar. I told him I had to think about it. And I have. This is the best thing . . .” That could come out of this particular situation.

I hesitate to mention that he’s bought the store until we can figure out the details. I don’t want any more questions to arise.

Graham smiles as his eyes sweep the room with the look of someone who is a little on edge and preparing to exit. “It’s been great to meet you guys, but I have to go. I’m sure I’ll see you all soon.”

“Running off already?” Jane says. “Not surprised. Her guys never last long.”

“Don’t be so weird,” Andrew mutters at her.

“He’s a stranger,” Jane hisses under her breath, but we all hear her.

Graham and I keep walking as he escorts me to the door.

“Is there a date for this wedding?” Jane calls out behind us, her tone prickly.