Page 101 of Until I Have You

“How are you, Sonia?”I try to clear the air.

She smiles in a small way.“Edwin is out back.”

I frown.“Okay?”

Sonia says nothing more, pulling Bonnie over toward the coffee table where a puzzle already lies half made.

Something isn’t right.

I head through the remarkable beach house, the one owned by the groom’s family, all the way out to the terrace.

Edwin stands with his back facing me, looking out at the ocean.

The tent has been taken away, and in its place are banquet tables.Decorators hurry around to get things in order, lots of tropical flowers and sparkling decorations.

“How you feeling, mate?”I approach my friend.

Edwin glances at me and holds up his cup of coffee with a soft smile.“If this is any indication…”

I chuckle and lean on the railing beside him.“Can’t hold our own like we used to, can we?”

“No, we can’t,” he says, then looks down into his coffee.

I know my friend well.And I can tell when he’s tense.

Something is wrong.I hope I don’t know what.“You all right?”

Edwin bites on his lower lip.“I’m going to ask you this just once, Theo.”

Bloody hell.

Edwin’s dark onyx eyes find mine.He’s petrifying when he’s angry.Even more so when he hasn’t chosen quite yet how angry he’s going to be.“Are Abigail and you more than friends?”

“What?No.Of course not.”It spills out of me, a reflex I acquired from years of having to protect my company from my brother’s inane activities.

Edwin’s mouth falls.“I told you, I’m only asking once.”

“I know.”

“So, you better tell me the truth.”

“I am.”

“Have you kissed my daughter?”

I glance back at the door to the house.Fucking Sonia.“Edwin, I don’t know where you’re getting your information, but–”

“Don’t fucking lie to me, man,” he says, ire sparking in his voice.His knuckles grow white around the mug of coffee.

There are two ways to go about this.The truth would be the easier way.Thecorrectway.Yet, I can’t find the strength to choose it.“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Edwin’s mouth curls into a sneer.“What if I told you Sonia saw you kissing her?What do you say to that?”

I cling to the lie, a foolish choice, but the one I make nevertheless.“I don’t–”

“Are you calling my wife a liar?”

“No, but I think you’re being–”

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