Page 62 of The Love Ambush
“Levi and I are not getting married,” I say. “I don’t know why you want us to get married, and I don’t care. It’s not happening.”
I take a seat next to Levi and grab a bagel, cream cheese, and fruit from the center of the table.
“You have to get married,” Brodie says like I’m being dense. “Levi has sullied your honor and traumatized me. I’m the man of the family, and I say the only way for him to fix this is to marry you.”
“He sullied my honor?” I ask. “What is this? The eighteen-nineties?”
“Besides,” Brodie continues, fully ignoring me. “If you two break up, you’ll never want to see each other, and it’s much more economical and time saving for me to hang out with you both together. How would I have gotten you here if you refused to share a car with Levi?”
“Visit us at different times of the year,” I say with a shrug.
“How much vacation time do you think I get?” Brodie asks.
“You’ve been all about bro time since we got here,” I say. “You don’t really want to hang out with us together.”
“Of course not.” Brodie’s voice rises with frustration. “But if you’re here, you and Daphne can hang out, and I won’t be abandoning her for bro time.”
“Dude,” Levi says. “Don’t ever call it bro time again. It’s weird.”
“You’re weird, asshole,” Brodie says. “You broke bro code and slept with my sister before putting a ring on it. The penalty is marriage. You can marry her this weekend. We’ll make it a double wedding, and you won’t have to pay for a thing.”
Levi looks at me, his eyes sparkling. “A free wedding, babe. It is tempting.”
The warm glow in my chest at him calling me babe almost overshadows my annoyance. “I’m eating my breakfast and taking Emily to visit the reindeer. There will be no more talk of me and Levi getting married.”
“That’s okay,” Emily says. “Liza’s bringing Eden and Ivy over to see the reindeer, too. You don’t have to come with us. You and Levi should go see the town together.”
“It’s really romantic,” Sophie says. “There’s all these really cute shops and a park where you can have a picnic.”
I stare at my sisters, utterly confused. “You twowantme and Levi to spend more time together. Why?”
“We just want you to be happy, Gentry,” Emily says, her smile cheesy and over-the-top.
I look back and forth between them, then at Levi. “Do you know what they’re up to?”
Levi mouths sorry to the girls before looking back at me. “They figure if you’re dating me, you’ll be less inclined to meddle, their word, in their affairs.”
“Levi! You traitor,” Emily yells.
“No more yelling this morning,” Josephine says as she steps into the dining room. “What do you all want for breakfast? I’ve got eggs, bacon, and hash browns.”
I stare at my sisters and Levi, everything that happened after we got off the plane making so much more sense.
“That all sounds delicious,” Levi says. “If it’s not too much trouble.”
“No time,” Brodie says. “You two need to try on your stuff for the wedding, and we’re meeting with the priest for lunch to discuss the ceremony.”
“Don’t we do that at the rehearsal?” I ask. I’m happy for my brother, but I’d much rather spend the morning with my sisters and the reindeer, or, if I’m being honest, with Levi, than trying on a dress and having lunch with strangers.
“We’re going over last-minute details. There are a few things we still need to decide.”
“Sorry, Josephine,” I say. “It’s just the kids for breakfast.”
“When will Liza and her girls be here?” I ask Sophie.
“In about an hour,” Sophie says. “We’ll behave while you’re gone.”
“They’ll be fine here,” Josephine says. “I’ll put them to work helping me with the reindeer.”
