Page 6 of The One

Sadie swatted at me, giggling, before standing up. “Thank you for always being there for me, Mia. Look,” she pointed to the path leading to the Palace, “there they are.”

Peering through the raindrops as Sadie took the umbrella from me, I followed her finger to the path. “They?”

Before she could answer, Sadie was running down the path, leaving me to stand in the rain without her umbrella as I prayed from a distance that she wouldn’t fall. I could hear her squeals through the traffic and rain as she threw herself around Matthew. The small crunch of wet gravel beneath my feet was comforting as I slowly approached, trying not to gag at their production.

With one arm around Matthew’s waist, Sadie used the other to tug on my purse strap, pulling me against him as well. He smelled like arrogance and it was stifling. Sure, the soft wool of his coat was nice to be up against, but I wouldn’t let his taste in clothing woo me into submission.

The second I could, I stepped away from him and crossed my arms, eyeing him with disdain. “It’s nice to meet you, again. I’m Mia.”

“Matthew.” His voice was less obnoxious than at the airport. Maybe it’s the mimosas. “And this,” he squeezed the shoulder of his companion, “is my brother, Rhys.”

“Nice to meet you.” I barely smiled at Rhys. “I hate you a little less than your brother.”

“I guarantee I hate him the most.” The way Rhys’s grin parted with his hearty laugh made me wonder what magic spell these brothers cast on unsuspecting Americans. “Pleasure to meet you,” he took my hand, lightly kissing it, “Mia.”

Tugging my hand back, I reached for Sadie and took one step away from Rhys and Matthew. “It’d be more pleasurable if you recognized consent,” I grimaced, “and found a more appropriate way to introduce yourself.”

“Mia!” Sadie gasped, her eyes wide with embarrassment.

“Apologies,” Rhys offered. “Deedee,” he looked at Sadie, “your sister is absolutely correct. Although, I’m not sure if this is your sister… Or your mum.”

“No, no,” I pondered aloud, glaring at Rhys, “I’m now certain I despise you more than your sperm-donating brother.”

“Oh, lord,” was all Matthew could groan before Sadie shrieked between us. “This was meant to be much different. I promise you all.”

Letting Matthew explain the situation to Rhys while Sadie stood at his side gave me an opportunity to sneak back to the bench and enjoy the view. I didn’t want to be protected in the Palace, nor did I want to stay on that bench much longer in the strengthening deluge while those three came to terms with reality. Sadie’s back was to me, her chest pressed up against Matthew with his arms tightening around her, when Rhys strolled toward me.

“Interesting circumstances,” he muttered. “May I sit down, Mia? Or is this half of the bench reserved for other noble feminist causes?” Crossing my arms, I turned away from him, leaning my right arm over the back of the bench. “Sorry,” he continued, his words muffled by laughter. “I assure you I’m not always a dick. I suppose it’s the state of things. Would you look at that?”

I looked up, feeling uneasy with Rhys sitting behind me on the bench, watching Matthew lower to one knee. Hoping his pants would saturate with rain and muddy gravel, I wanted to scream. He took Sadie’s hands into his, making her cry with every gesture.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mumbled.

“Let it happen, darling,” Rhys mocked me, nudging my shoulder. “They’re meant to be.”

“You didn’t even know she was pregnant,” I rebuked, “and I doubt you know your brother slept with his ex the night Sadie dumped his sorry ass.”

“Well, he looks like one blissfully engaged sorry ass now. Doesn’t he? Which one of his exes was it? Tabitha, perhaps? She’s not given up on him one bit. Neither have Angela nor Sarah. Come to think of it, I don’t even know if he’s officially ended things with Nicole either.”

“I hate you both so much.”

Rhys chuckled as though this was entertaining before his palms folded around my shoulders. Weakened by the state of things, I let him turn me to face him. “Mia, I’m kidding. He hasn’t spoken to those women in years. I was there the morning after he slept with Eliza, and I saw the disaster he’d become in his grief. You’re right that I didn’t know Deedee was pregnant, but you’re not right about your impression of Matthew.”

“Deedee,” I grunted. “Her name is Sadie. She’s American, she won’t be on the list of the five women you claim your brother slept with, and I refuse to think either of you are actually gentlemen.”

Rhys bit his lip, squinting his dark eyes in thought. “Give me a chance to prove it?”

Winking at me, he took his cell phone from an inside pocket of his coat, snapping as many pictures of Sadie and Matthew as he could. Rhys moved from the bench, squatting to size up different angles, stepping around the couple, and clearing pedestrians from around them to capture some more images.

When he returned to the bench, he pushed his phone into my lap. “You can’t deny they’re happy.”

I couldn’t. The still image on Rhys’s phone completely captured who my sister was; a gorgeous and happy woman, with the perfect background of Buckingham Palace and her stupid fiancé grinning with his face pressed against hers. It was a beautiful photo that made me dislike Rhys just a little less.

“What do you say, Mia the feminist American? Let me take you for a drink while these two celebrate their engagement, and I promise to return you in one secure, untouched, unruffled piece.” Rhys grinned but, this time, it wasn’t a sleazy smirk, and I appreciated that.

“It’s barely past breakfast.” Trying to relax, I watched Rhys scratch his jaw while he nodded.

“Here, that’s true. But where you’re from, isn’t it only midnight?”

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