Page 69 of Promise Me Ever After
I stared at the screen. It would only be a matter of seconds before it bounced to voicemail. Did I want to listen to a message, or did I want to hear whatever he had to say directly from him?
“Sara, can you give me a minute?” I stood up and hit the accept button.
“Sure, I’ll make a start with Stella’s hair.”
Not wanting the others to hear me, I went into the bathroom. “Hello?”
“Georgie? Where are you? There’s an awful echo on the line.”
I bit my lip. Surely, he would know where I was? “Getting ready for the wedding.”
“In a tin box?”
“I’m in the bathroom. I didn’t want the others to overhear.”
“Good, because I want to talk to you.”
Here it was, the bad news. I swallowed hard.
“Firstly, I want to say sorry for being a dick and ghosting you the past couple of days. After that dinner with your parents, I got scared. Your dad can be pretty intimidating, you know that?”
I knew that all too well.
“I’ve never done the whole meet the family thing before and I didn’t handle it well. I shouldn’t have run out on you like that.”
“You could have called me to tell me. Or come to the house. I wouldn’t have turned you away.” Actually, I couldn’t be sure that I wouldn’t, but as the situation hadn’t become reality, I didn’t have to second guess my actions.
“I know. I’m a coward.”
Hearing him admit that made my heart contract. “Are you still coming later?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Not least because I know exactly what’s under that bridesmaid’s dress.” Alex laughed. “Look, I’ll explain properly later. I know I’ve probably hurt you with my silence and that’s the last thing I intended to do. I needed to get everything sorted out in my own head first, because I think I’m falling in love with you, Georgie.”
“It’s a good job Sara hasn’t done my make-up yet.” I choked back the happy tears threatening to spill from my eyes. “Because I think I’m falling in love with you too.” Damn everything that had gone before, I didn’t care, it was true.
“Any chance of another selfie of you in that black bra and knickers set?” he teased.
“You have to lower the tone, don’t you?” I wiped my eyes and laughed. Pulling my bathrobe aside, I rearranged my cleavage and snapped a picture. “Incoming…” I ended the call, added the picture to our thread and pressed send. Seconds later, Alex sent the fire emoji and the heart faced emoji back. Now, I couldn’t wait to see him later.
Ems knocked on the bathroom door. “Everything okay in there?”
“More than okay.” I opened the door and faced her. “It’s all good. Alex is coming tonight. He freaked out about my dad’s inquisition, got scared and didn’t know how to handle it. And he’s just told me he’s falling in love with me.”
She lifted a hand to her heart. “Thank God for that. Stella and I have been discussing how to keep you away from the bar to drown your sorrows.”
“Let’s get another bottle of champagne!” I pushed her out of the way and headed into the bedroom.
Hours later,my feet ached, almost as much as my cheeks did from fake smiling so much. I wanted to kick my heels off and wander around barefoot, but Darcy and Mum would frown upon me. Not to mention the fact the urge for a cigarette was becoming almost too much to ignore, no matter what Alex said. Relatives I hadn’t seen in years kept coming up to me and saying how sorry they were I wasn’t getting married any more. Aunts patted me on the arm and said they hoped I found someone to settle down with soon. I should have fought Darcy harder for Alex to come to the whole wedding and not just the evening reception.
Taking a breather by the safety of the bar, my eyes darted to the entrance, hoping he would be the next through the door.
“He’ll be here.” Curtis pressed a glass of champagne into my hand. He’d been a godsend, keeping me entertained every time I needed an escape, as well as keeping me topped up with alcohol. “He wouldn’t give up the chance to spend time with you. It’s almost enough to make you sick.” He grinned. “Never seen the guy so happy.”
I took a swig of the fizz, bubbles tickling my nose. Curtis’s words warmed my heart. These past few weeks with Alex had been… everything.
“Thanks, Curtis.” I sighed. “I wish he’d been here all day though.”
There had been several times during the day when I’d wanted to share things with Alex. But Darcy’s rule about no phones had been firm. My mobile was locked in the bridesmaids’ room and Stella had the key. I glanced over to where she hovered on the edge of the dance floor with her boyfriend and wondered whether I could persuade her to part with it.
