Page 10 of Wish You Weren't Here
‘Yeah, sorry I’m beating you to it, sis,’ Seph says, not sounding the least bit sorry.
‘What? Don’t be daft,’ I say quickly, forcing a laugh that sounds more convincing in my head. ‘Sorry, the line isn’t great, but I think I heard you right. Wow, congratulations, guys!’
‘This is us letting you know we’ve set a date too,’ Seph continues. ‘And it’s going to be a destination wedding, so just keep February free, okay?’
‘This February?’ I ask, feeling like I’ve missed a step.
Beatrix scoffs.
‘You’re such a silly goose,’ Seph tells me, laughing, and it’s a sound that grates on my nerves. I hate it when she calls me a ‘silly goose’ – what is it with some people who think they can insult you so long as they call you ‘silly goose’ instead of a ‘dumb bitch’? Obviously I know what she means. ‘You clearly have no idea how long dream weddings take to plan,’ Seph points out.
I would have thought that would be obvious.
‘Right, okay, next year,’ I say, trying to keep up.
‘Lana, honestly,’ Seph replies, like I’m being an even sillier goose now. ‘February 2025. These things take time to plan – especially if we’re doing it out here.’
‘You’re getting married in Australia?’ I repeat.
‘Yep, Sydney. Keep up,’ Seph says.
‘My rentals live out here now, they’ve got a beaut place,’ Chester adds.
Rentals is posh for parents, in his world, apparently. I don’t think Chester has ever rented a thing in his life.
‘So, February, after my birthday?’ I check.
‘She’s making it about her,’ Beatrix whispers, like she doesn’t know how speakerphone works. Then again, this is Beatrix, so she probably does.
‘To be honest, we hadn’t thought about that,’ Seph says, and I can practically hear her rolling her eyes. ‘There might be some crossover with dates, but it’s not exactly an awful place to celebrate, is it?’
I can feel my blood beginning to boil. Not only is no one acknowledging that her wedding is probably going to overshadow my thirtieth birthday, but they’re all acting like this isn’t a big deal that one might get in the way of the other. Well, if something (or someone) has to give, you know it will be me.
‘I can’t… you’re… I… can yo—’ I say, then fake some static in my voice to make it seem like the line is bad.
‘She can’t hear us,’ my dad says.
‘Hopefully we stopped whatever poor decision she was about to make,’ Beatrix adds.
‘Oh, we know Lana, she’ll find someone to carry on through the night with,’ Seph adds.
Right, that’s enough of that. I hang up before I hear what else they have to say, because the urge to say something back is overwhelming.
I finally let out the breath I didn’t realise I was holding as Ethan joins me again.
He gives me a look, like he’s concerned, and somehow it only makes him hotter.
‘Seemed like a long call, so I held off on your taxi,’ he says. ‘How are things down under?’
He says this in a spot-on Aussie accent that makes me laugh despite everything.
‘Wow, you’re great at the accent,’ I tell him. ‘Are you actually Australian?’
That might be the only thing that could make him even sexier still.
‘My dad’s from New Zealand,’ he says. ‘And I know, that doesn’t explain it, but my mum was from here and they talked about living somewhere between the two places. Anyway my dad won and we lived in Australia – or over the ditch as he called it – for a few years when I was a kid. It made me cool, over there when I went, and over here when I came back.’
I smile as his easy conversation melts away some of the tension that has built up in my shoulders. Being around him is like being on something. Whatever he’s putting out, I’m breathing it in, and it’s giving me a high.
