Page 40 of Promise Me Ever After
I knew exactly what to write and it was perfect.
17
Georgie
“Why aren’tyou dressed and ready to go?” Darcy’s gaze took in my leggings and hoodie combo, then barged past me the moment I answered the door.
“‘Hey, Georgie, happy birthday, have you had a good day so far?’” I spoke the words to her back as she went into the living room. I slammed the door shut and followed her, dropping onto the sofa. “Not sure I fancy going out to be honest. Can we get some takeaway and a couple of bottles of wine instead?” I’d placed the takeaway menus in a prime spot on the coffee table.
Darcy swept her hands over her outfit, a simple little black dress that I knew dipped low in the back, making her look like a nun from the front and a hooker from behind. It was possibly a bit much for dinner at The Elephant. “I didn’t get dressed up to spend the night sitting on your sofa watching Netflix. Come on, Georgie, it’s your birthday.”
I let out a hard breath. “Yeah, thirty. With two broken engagements and no boyfriend, whereas my little sister gets married in a matter of weeks to the love of her life.”
Ugh, even saying the words out loud depressed me.
It had been two days since Alex and I had had the conversation about our pasts and I hadn’t heard from him since. In this case, it seemed honesty hadn’t been the best policy. He clearly saw me as a sad, lonely woman, desperate for a husband and babies, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. I hated how we’d left things between us. He hadn’t even sent me a birthday message.
“I won’t let you wallow. Now get your shit together and get dressed.” Darcy waved a gift bag at me. “Otherwise, you can’t have your present.”
Sometimes I hated her. Still, I supposed going out to dinner with Darcy at a fancy restaurant had to be better than staying at home. And she’d said she would pay.
“Can we at least have a drink before we go?” I stood up and hovered at the foot of the stairs. “There’s a bottle of Prosecco in the fridge.”
“You’ve got fifteen minutes before the taxi gets here, and that includes drinking your fizz.” She headed towards the kitchen. “I’ll bring it up to you, now get a wriggle on.”
Who was the older sister in this relationship? She’d never been this insistent to get me out before. Defeated, I headed up to my room. Earlier in the afternoon, I’d been trawling through my wardrobe wondering what to wear and the options were strewn across my bed. The room looked like a New Year’s Day sale in a department store. I groaned, wishing I’d been more decisive earlier.
My phone pinged, giving me a blessed distraction.
Ems: Happy Birthday Georgie!! Hope you’ve had a great day so far. Enjoy dinner with Darcy xx
She followed it up with a partying emoji, a bottle of champagne and a present.
I was about to reply, but hearing Darcy’s footsteps on the stairs, I tossed the phone onto the bed and started to pull out potential outfits.
“Are you still not dressed?” She used her elbow to open the door, glass of Prosecco in each hand. “Come on, Georgie, time’s ticking.”
“Then let me help with one of those.” I huffed and grabbed a glass, necking the whole thing in one go and placed the empty glass on my bedside table. “What?” I challenged Darcy’s horrified face. “It’s my birthday.”
She shook her head. “You don’t want to be pissed before you’ve even got to dinner. Now what were you going to wear?” Her hands skimmed over several outfits before she pulled out a forest green dress threaded with sequins. “How about this?” The sleeveless body con style had ruched sides and ties at the bottom, meaning I could make the dress as short or as long as I wanted to.
“Darcy, it’s dinner. I’m not planning on going to a nightclub.” I reached past her and grabbed a more sedate knee-length navy blue dress. “Surely this is more appropriate?”
“You had some black suede ankle boots which would go perfectly with this dress though.” She held up the green number again. “Come on, live a little. You’re thirty, not fifty.” Darcy took the navy dress from my hands and tossed it back onto the bed. “And who says we won’t go to a club afterwards?” She winked.
“Wow, did you get a late-night pass from Fraser?” I honestly couldn’t remember the last time my sister and I had been out to a club together. Possibly not since I was in college and she would have been underage.
Darcy tapped her wrist. “Stop stalling, Georgie. You’ve got five minutes.” She grabbed the empty glass from the table and headed out of the room, leaving me to get changed.
I giggled to myself as she went. Darcy didn’t seem to be herself this evening and I wondered what had gotten into her. Deciding I might as well enjoy myself, I pulled off my comfy clothes and slid into the green dress. It clung to my curves and I fiddled with the ties to make the hem land just above my knee. I didn’t want to flash anyone after all. Finding the boots she’d mentioned, I slid my feet into them. It had been a while since I’d worn heels so high, even one glass of Prosecco made me feel slightly unsteady on my feet. At least I’d be sitting down while I had dinner. It took me a couple of minutes to put on a slick of make-up, keeping everything muted and pared down. I tucked the nude lip gloss into my bag, along with my phone, a credit card and some cash, then grabbed my leather coat.
“Georgie! Taxi’s here!” Darcy called up the stairs.
Perfect timing. I took one last look at myself in the mirror.
Ha, thirty? I could easily pass for twenty-five.
“This isn’tthe way to The Elephant?” I questioned the taxi driver a few minutes later as the car wound its way around town down to the front.
