Page 68 of Fallen Legacy

He holds up his hand sin defence and gives her that lazy smile of his. “Nothing, gorgeous. You run along now and do your job.”

She cocks a brow at him, and I can see in my head the tray of drinks ending up all over him in about two seconds. I shove Seb out of the way. “Just ignore him. We all do.” I grab Seb by his jacket and pull him away. “Come on you, before you cause any more trouble.” As I drag him away, he looks over his shoulder. Milly glares at him and gives him the finger, making Seb chuckle.

“Behave yourself, Seb. And don’t be mean to her, she’s lovely,” I warn him, as we step back into the party.

“She is lovely, for a Silver,” he agrees, grinning as he pivots on his heels and disappears back the way we just came. I move to go after him, but Archer steers me by the elbow back into the room.

“Leave him be, Scar. She won’t give him the time of day anyway,” Archer says, and I realise he’s right. I like Milly and I don’t want someone like Seb corrupting her with his charm and his smiles and those sexy eyes of his.

The sounds of Edward’s voice coming over the music pulls my attention and I realise it’s time as I spot Edward and Wilbur on the stage.

“You ready for this?” Archer asks into my ear, as he places an arm around my waist.

“As I’ll ever be.” I reach into my bag and slip the ring on my finger.

“We have rather a special announcement to make to you all tonight. Tonight, is not just a social gathering for us all to come together. Tonight, we are here to celebrate the wonderful news that my grandson, Archer has asked Eliza to marry him, and she has accepted.” Edward gestures with his hand to where we are standing at the back of the room, and everyone turns to look at us. “Will the happy couple come and join us up here?”

Smiling as everyone applauds us, we make our way through the parted crowd and take up our place in-between our grandfathers.

“We are delighted that they will be joining our two families together. We would like you all to join us in a toast to the happy couple. To Archer and Eliza,” Wilbur says, raising his glass. Everyone raises their glasses and they all toast to us. Archer and I join the toast and he leans down and catches my lips in a kiss and everyone applauds again. It’s a fairy tale engagement announcement and the press from the local paper demand we stand and pose for photos. Archer takes my hand with the ring and holds it out so that they can get a good picture. Jackie stands by the reporters and talks animatedly to them, ushering them into a side room where they can speak with us and get the inside story. Wilbur and Edward both kiss my cheeks and shake Archer’s hand and then we’re escorted off the stage into the room with the waiting press.

“How did he propose?”

“Was it love at first sight?”

“Did you choose the ring together?”

Archer holds up his hand to silence them as he guides me over to the sofa and takes a seat beside me. He takes my hand and holds it in his, resting our joined hands on his lap.

“Kay, you go first,” he tells the blonde reporter. He breezes through this like it’s an everyday occurrence.

“Talk us through your relationship. When did the two of you start dating?”

Archer takes the lead, and he tells of how we met on my first day of school. He shares how he was bowled over by my beauty and intellect and how he pursued me from there on in. What he doesn’t share is that on my first night he made me jump off a cliff, that I nearly drowned and then hypothermia nearly claimed me. Or that he had the entire school bully me, that he drugged me. Kidnapped me. Nor did he share that our families had already arranged our engagement long before I ever stepped foot in the bay. No, the press gets the fairy-tale and they gush as he speaks of how much he can’t wait for our future together. I sit in silence listening to him and a part of me wishes deeply that this was the real story of us.

“Eliza, when did you realise you were in love with Archer?” The excited reporter asks me, holding out her phone that is recording everything.

“Ah, that’s an easy one. It was the weekend he whisked me away to a secluded cabin in Scotland and cooked me a romantic meal.” I smile at him. “The entire weekend was a complete surprise for me.”

Archer clears his throat, knowing full well what I mean by a complete surprise.

“That’s so romantic,” the reporter gushes. “You’re both still very young. Why the rush to get married?”

Archer shrugs his shoulders. “We are young, Kay, you’re right, but when you know, you know, and I know Eliza is it for me.” He leans in and kisses my forehead and all the women in the room sigh at his romantic words.

We pose for photos and then Jackie ushers the reporters out of the room, telling them we need to get back to our party and mingle with our guests. Archer asks her to give us a minute, and she closes the door behind her, leaving us alone.

“Are you okay?” he asks me, approaching me like I’m a wild deer that might bolt.

“I’m fine,” I say, smoothing out my dress. “I’m just not used to all of that. Not like you.”

He nods his head in understanding, brushing a lock of my hair from my face. “You get used to it; I promise.”

We re-join the party and spend the rest of the night receiving words of congratulations from all the guests. People ask us when the wedding will be, and Archer just tells them we haven’t decided on a date yet. If Wilbur has his way, he’ll probably have a church booked for next weekend.

The guests finally leave around midnight, and I’m exhausted by the time we get to our room from smiling and making polite conversation all evening. I yawn as I’m unbuckling my heels and Archer kneels and helps me out of them.

“Well, we survived the night, Scar.”

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