Page 88 of The Unwilling Bride
Heat pours off of him and envelops me. It makes me want to rub up against him like a contented cat, no matter that his sister is watching us with a stunned expression on her face.
I manage to compose myself and turn to my best friend. "Phe, what are you doing here?”
"I said I'd come check on you both." Her gaze moves between us. "Looks like I didn't need to worry."
I want to sink through the floor. James stays immovable.
Her eyes narrow as she studies us. “Connor’s not far behind. He stopped to talk with some of the staff.”
She seems calm. Though that might be because she’s an ER doctor and deals with crises almost every second of her working day.
Still, she’s taking this very calmly.
She hasn't even asked us what we were up to. For which I’m grateful.
But also taken aback.
She plants a hand on her hip and waves her other hand between us. "So, the two of you, huh?"
"I can explain." I try to rise to my feet and move toward her.
'Try' being the operative word, for Captain Unflappable here holds me back.
I dig my elbow into his side, but it’s like I’m poking the side of a building. He doesn’t feel it, or at least, doesn’t react to it.
Phe taps her chin. "So, the two of you are involved?"
"Umm, actually—" I begin, but James cuts me off.
"We’re getting married.”
Phe’s jaw drops. "Married?" She shakes her head. "The two of you are getting married?" She wheezes, then holds onto her sides.
Oh no. She’s upset with us. I knew it. I knew I shouldn’t have acted on my attraction to her brother. Now, I’ve risked our friendship, which is so important to me.
"I’m so sorry, Phe. We were going to tell you." I hunch my shoulders. "We should have told you earlier. It’s as much a shock to us as to you, honestly. I really hope you don’t hold it against us, and?—"
The wheezing dissolves into a chuckle, then breaks into a bright peal of laughter. She beams at us.
“I’m not angry at the two of you. Far from it.”
She skips over to stand before us.
“I am sooo happy. So very happy. I knew there was something between you from the moment I saw you two together at the bar all those years ago.”
“You did?” I trade a look with James.
Surprise flickers across his face, sharp and fleeting.
And here I thought, Phe would be horrified by the idea of me wanting her brother. Instead, she looks like she’s just witnessed the ending to her favorite love story.
“But you never mentioned each other. I thought I’d imagined it. And once you started working for James, you kept complaining about him.” She tilts her head, eyes dancing. “I was convinced you hated him.”
She eases back and studies us, her gaze moving slowly from me to him.
“Now, it makes sense.”
“What?” I frown.
