Page 4 of From Best Friend to Bride
I nodded. “Really. Whatever you want. As long as it’s not skydiving or bungee jumping. You know how I feel about heights. I almost passed out when you made me walk on that glass platform thing at the top of Blackpool Tower a few years ago.”
“That was fun.” Nana beamed and set down her taco. “Well, there is one thing I’d love to see before I die.”
“What is it?”
“I’d love to see my girls all married and taken care of.”
I spat out my drink.
Married?
I was thinking that we’d go on a trip somewhere, not swear my life to a man.
Mum coughed, reaching for her water. “Mother, I refuse to get married again.”
“Oh, you’re all right, Bonnie, dear. Jeff is a good man, and I know he’ll look after you. It’s this one I’m worried about.” Nana pointed a tomato chunk at me. “She’s twenty-nine and perpetually single. How am I supposed to die knowing she’s all alone? She still lives with us, for goodness’ sake.”
That was hardly my fault.
Had she seen the cost of living these days? Why would I waste more than half my income on a rental property when I could livewith them to save for a deposit? She was the one who’d proposed the idea in the first place!
Then again, this was a woman who could twist anything in her favour, so it was no surprise she was now using her own idea as a stick to beat me with.
“I… I…” I grabbed my margarita and took a big gulp. A sharp pain shot through my head as I got brain freeze from the giant mouthful of ice I’d just consumed in one go, and I winced.
That was a mistake.
“Mother,” Mum said. “Marriage doesn’t equal happiness. Deli has a lot of friends, a great job, and I’m sure she’ll eventually stop dipping into her savings and be able to buy a house.”
Ouch.
The truth really did hurt.
“I didn’t know that one friend equalled a lot these days,” Nana replied brightly.
“I have more than one friend!” I huffed, blowing my cheeks out like a child.
“You only ever speak to the earl,” she retorted. “At least that’s who I hear about. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have a crush on him. There are worse men out there than Frederick Wellington, you know. I can’t say I wouldn’t fancy my granddaughter as a countess.”
My cheeks flamed. She’d been trying to get me to go out with him for years, and she’d only given up lately because he was still getting to grips with taking over the estate and businesses since his father died.
“Now that’s a man who could look after you,” she went on. “He’s handsome and rich, and his mother and sister aren’t bitches, either. Neither is his grandmother. Not to mention that he’s well-bred.”
“Mother, you’re describing him the way you would a horse.” Mum glanced at me. “And Deli looks as though she’s about to explode.”
Nana eyed me. “She’s blushing, that’s all.”
That’s all?That’s all?
Dear God.
“Well, they are only friends. Deli has never seen Fred in that way,” Mum said, unbothered. “And I doubt she ever will, so perhaps you should—”
“I have to go,” I said, wiping my mouth and throwing down my napkin. “I need to go home and shower before I go to the bar.”
Mum turned to me. “I thought it was your night off.”
“I have some paperwork to take Si for the new girl,” I lied.
