Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 126850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
“That’s it. You’re not marrying my granddaughter for that comment,” Granny remarked, getting up. “I revoke my permission!”
I did a double take as she stalked off into the crowd. “Wow. If I knew it was that easy to get rid of her, I’d have said that ages ago.”
William chuckled, and Vincent tapped me on the shoulder. “Are you getting married?”
“Yes,” William answered.
“No,” I said at the same time, then smacked his arm and turned around to my brother. “No. Ignore him.”
“So why are you dating if you aren’t getting married?” Vincent asked, leaning forwards on the back of my chair. “Isn’t that the point? Why date someone if you’re not going to marry them?”
I opened my mouth to answer his question, then stopped.
Ah.
Hadn’t I asked that question before?
“Yes,” William said after a second, dragging the word out as he looked at me. “Why are we dating if we aren’t eventually getting married, Grace?”
I slowly ran my tongue over my lips, turning to look at him, where I gave him the flattest yet most deadly stare I could muster.
I was going to kill him.
“You’re my trial run,” I said, looking him dead in the eye. “The what-not-to-do, if you will.”
His lips cracked to one side, tugging into a tiny smile. “I think I can convince you otherwise.”
“And that’s enough of your flirting,” Vincent muttered, pushing off my chair. “Gross.”
I jerked as he disappeared just as quickly as Granny had, then looked at William. “I am learning all the ways to get rid of my family members quickly today. Who knew flirting was so gross to a teenage boy?”
“I did,” he replied. “Not gross when I did it, but gross when my sister did. I feel him.”
“Good to know for future reference. I’ll have to bring a fake boyfriend with me on the regular.”
He chuckled. “Shall we dance?”
“You can dance?”
“He most certainly cannot,” a familiar voice said from behind me. “He stomped on my foot at my twenty-first birthday, and I’ve yet to forgive him for it.”
I spun around with a grin. Why was everyone coming up behind me today? “I can imagine that,” I said to Gabriella. “You should have seen how he tied the bows for chairs during the ceremony—it was like he was tying football boots.”
She slowly shook her head, and her dark curls swayed with the movement. “Some things never change, I see.”
“You tripped over a wheelbarrow three days ago,” the guy next to her said. “Not sure you have a leg to stand on here, babe.”
Gabriella grimaced. “All right. It’s not my fault the wheelbarrow was in the way. Actually, it was yours.” She prodded him in the chest then looked at me. “Grace. Why have you been hiding from me?”
I smiled.
“Up!” She nudged me until I got to my feet, then moved the chair I was sitting on and wrapped me in a hug. With a sigh, I returned the gesture, and William took my glass so it didn’t get spilt. “I miss you. Stop ignoring our calls.”
“I’m not ignoring your calls. I just forget to call you back,” I answered truthfully. “I’m kind of busy.”
“Not too busy to bugger off to Scotland for a week,” she retorted, pulling back with a warm smile. “Oh, you haven’t met Miles. Miles, this is Lady Grace Montgomery-Brown, a very old and dear friend of mine. Grace, this is my boyfriend, Miles.”
“Just call me Grace,” I said, shaking his hand. “Please.”
He grinned, and the brightness of it also came out in his eyes. “With pleasure. I couldn’t remember everyone’s titles if I tried.”
“Take Grace with you. She’s a walking aristocratic encyclopaedia,” William interjected. “She could pick everyone out of a line-up.”
Gabriella rolled her eyes and looked at me. “Adelaide and Eva are here and told me to drag you over so we can catch up. Miles, look after William and make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble.”
“I don’t get into trouble,” William grumbled.
“Fine, then keep each other out of it. I’m stealing your girlfriend,” she said with a grin, grabbing my arm. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER THIRTY – GRACE
Old Friends, New Feelings
“In hindsight, the puppy was a terrible idea,” Adelaide said, twirling her hair around her finger. “But Olympia loves her, so I suppose I have to live with my shoes getting eaten every now and then.”
“Oh, not the puppy again,” Eva said, re-joining the table and taking the seat next to her twin sister. “I told you to get a trainer. You’ve really only got yourself to blame. Oh, that’s better,” she added, adjusting the neckline of her dress. “I thought my boobs were going to burst.”
“Where are you even keeping the milk?” I asked, my lips twitching. “Do you have a fridge in that monster bag of yours?”
“Possibly, I just haven’t found it yet.” She grinned. “No, it’s in the fridge in the kitchen. When I explained to Freya that I needed to pump to keep my supply up, she sorted a quiet space out for me. Not that I care, but I suppose it’s bad manners to milk yourself like a cow at a wedding reception.”