established a relationship—one that was anything but pleasant and friendly. She listened to his voice, bracing herself for the iciness and contempt that she was certain must still lurk somewhere deep inside him. One couldn’t change so completely and utterly in a span of barely more than a few minutes. She was disappointed yet again.
‘ So, you are the famous Emily, Sophie’s favorite sister.’ His voice was warm and soothing, matching the friendliness of his open gaze. For a second, she had felt ridiculous for expecting him to be something he obviously wasn’t, blaming her high-strung nerves for her overactive imagination. But the inexplicable sense of danger was still there, too potent to be dismissed, even in face of his visibly perfect behavior. It lingered alongside her nerve endings, making it impossible to relax properly, every muscle of her body wound tightly like a coil of a spring that was ready to explode at any given moment.
‘ I’m not so sure about the famous, but I will take the second part for sure.’ She smiled with effort, praying for Sophie not to notice her sudden awkwardness. She was in luck, since Sophie was too preoccupied with watching James with a smitten smile to even register that her sister wasn’t herself. ‘And you are the mysterious fiancé, isn’t it?’
The momentarily stiffening of his lips, however fleeting it was, did not escape her attention.
‘ I have to admit that I am extremely curious to find out more about the man who tamed my sister in such record time, James.’
So what if she sounded a bit cheeky, she thought as she watched his eyes narrow. There was something about him that didn’t sit right with her, and she was determined to find out more, even if it meant risking Sophie’s resentment. So far she was quite safe though, her sister’s happy smile firmly in place as she nodded and giggled like a little girl.
‘ I know, Em. I told you, James can be very persuasive when he wants to be.’ Leaning even closer to his tall frame, she looked up to him, batting her impossibly long, curly lashes. ‘Isn’t that right, darling?’
He smiled his dazzling, heart-breaking smile and kissed her golden hair in a swift caress. The way they were together seemed perfect in every possible way. Nothing in James’s behavior justified her suspicious attitude, Emily decided, determined to abandon her misgivings and accept Sophie’s fiancé without further ado. She had to let it go, even if it meant going against the instinct that screamed loudly that something wasn’t right. After all, it was Sophie’s choice, and unless Emily was suicidal or wanted to be left without any family at all, she’d better get her act together, and fast. Maybe she had just imagined the whole incident, her stress over Marlene’s homecoming and her reaction to the surprise party making her see things that weren’t really there. She would have to try harder, she decided, her smile friendlier as she looked at the couple again.
‘ Sophie, dear,’ Marlene interrupted, and suddenly Emily found herself alone with James McMaster, her sister’s breezy excuse as she left to attend to some matter with her mom hanging in the silence between them. She managed to look busy for a moment, her gaze following her sister weaving her way to the buffet, where Marlene was chatting animatedly with a group of friends, obviously in no rush to sit and eat.
Racking her brain to find some innocent topic, she avoided his eyes for as long as possible, without the risk of appearing intimidated or plain boring.
‘ Would you like to try some of those crepes?’ she managed finally, her usually smooth voice sounding husky even to her own ears. ‘I can assure you personally that they are the most praised item on our chef’s menu.’
‘ If it will make you stop looking at me as if I’m going to turn into something awful at any moment.’ He grinned at her, his white teeth flashing against the olive darkness of his skin.
‘ So, you are the famous Emily, Sophie’s favorite sister.’ His voice was warm and soothing, matching the friendliness of his open gaze. For a second, she had felt ridiculous for expecting him to be something he obviously wasn’t, blaming her high-strung nerves for her overactive imagination. But the inexplicable sense of danger was still there, too potent to be dismissed, even in face of his visibly perfect behavior. It lingered alongside her nerve endings, making it impossible to relax properly, every muscle of her body wound tightly like a coil of a spring that was ready to explode at any given moment.
‘ I’m not so sure about the famous, but I will take the second part for sure.’ She smiled with effort, praying for Sophie not to notice her sudden awkwardness. She was in luck, since Sophie was too preoccupied with watching James with a smitten smile to even register that her sister wasn’t herself. ‘And you are the mysterious fiancé, isn’t it?’
The momentarily stiffening of his lips, however fleeting it was, did not escape her attention.
‘ I have to admit that I am extremely curious to find out more about the man who tamed my sister in such record time, James.’
So what if she sounded a bit cheeky, she thought as she watched his eyes narrow. There was something about him that didn’t sit right with her, and she was determined to find out more, even if it meant risking Sophie’s resentment. So far she was quite safe though, her sister’s happy smile firmly in place as she nodded and giggled like a little girl.
‘ I know, Em. I told you, James can be very persuasive when he wants to be.’ Leaning even closer to his tall frame, she looked up to him, batting her impossibly long, curly lashes. ‘Isn’t that right, darling?’
He smiled his dazzling, heart-breaking smile and kissed her golden hair in a swift caress. The way they were together seemed perfect in every possible way. Nothing in James’s behavior justified her suspicious attitude, Emily decided, determined to abandon her misgivings and accept Sophie’s fiancé without further ado. She had to let it go, even if it meant going against the instinct that screamed loudly that something wasn’t right. After all, it was Sophie’s choice, and unless Emily was suicidal or wanted to be left without any family at all, she’d better get her act together, and fast. Maybe she had just imagined the whole incident, her stress over Marlene’s homecoming and her reaction to the surprise party making her see things that weren’t really there. She would have to try harder, she decided, her smile friendlier as she looked at the couple again.
‘ Sophie, dear,’ Marlene interrupted, and suddenly Emily found herself alone with James McMaster, her sister’s breezy excuse as she left to attend to some matter with her mom hanging in the silence between them. She managed to look busy for a moment, her gaze following her sister weaving her way to the buffet, where Marlene was chatting animatedly with a group of friends, obviously in no rush to sit and eat.
Racking her brain to find some innocent topic, she avoided his eyes for as long as possible, without the risk of appearing intimidated or plain boring.
‘ Would you like to try some of those crepes?’ she managed finally, her usually smooth voice sounding husky even to her own ears. ‘I can assure you personally that they are the most praised item on our chef’s menu.’
‘ If it will make you stop looking at me as if I’m going to turn into something awful at any moment.’ He grinned at her, his white teeth flashing against the olive darkness of his skin.
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