Unexpected Invitation
Brianna rushed from the kitchen, sliding to stop in her little dress shoes. “You’re back!”
Kara turned to her, smiling. “Yep.”
James shut the door of his grandmother’s cottage. “I forgot my jacket at the house.”
“You have a lot of other options for jackets,” Kara told him.
He grumbled. “I had some papers in that one.”
“Which papers?”
“Things to say.”
“Things to say at the wedding?” She walked over and snuggled herself against him.
“I had a lot of time on the plane today.”
“Hello, we’re waiting for you so we can eat!”
Kara looked to Brianna and had to smile. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
The girl planted her hands on her hips. “You two are inseparable, honestly, it’s sort of gross.”
“Well, we sort of like each other.” James tightened his arms on Kara.
“Yes, but why do you have to do it in public?” Brianna complained, taking Kara’s wrist to give her a tug.
“I wasn’t aware this was the general public,” James argued.
Brianna rolled her eyes. “You are so difficult! Let her go!”
James held onto Kara. “Not ever.” He pressed his mouth into her neck and nipped her playfully, it had been the first sign of any real affection since the issue at the house they’d had. Kara took a moment to enjoy it and giggled.
Brianna’s hands were in the air as she ran to the dining room, shouting to everyone present at the table and that included Becky, Andrew, Sophie, Millie and Garrett so far.
“Should we join them?” James whispered to her.
“I suppose,” she said back as he kissed her.
“Someone needs to stop them. I don’t think they can be left alone! They really love each other,” the little girl exclaimed with a barf noise and giggled.
“Thank you, Brianna.” James grabbed the back of a nearby chair and helped Kara sit. She looked over her shoulder to him and smiled as he pulled back, putting a soft kiss on her cheek.
Millie tipped her wine glass and sipped from it. “Let’s not go over the details, shall we?”
James sat beside her by Garrett. “How is everyone then?”
Sophie looked to him, her drink also in hand. “I’ve pre-drunk, doesn’t mean I can deal with the snogging though.”
“We’ll spare you,” James assured his sister.
“Oh!” Becky grabbed Kara’s arm next to her. “Did you like it?”
Kara smiled. “You mean my surprise?”
“Yes!”
“I love it.” Kara glanced at James, knowing her words would make him happy, and they did. His mood had lifted and Kara felt confident he had moved past what had happened at the cottage.
Becky leaned forward. “Did you like the bedroom?”
“Yeah. It was great. Thank you. James said you helped.”
“Great?” Becky echoed. “Or really great?”
The subtlety of the comment failed to elude and Kara reached for her water as a distraction.
“Becky.” James’ tone dropped a few decibels to scold her.
The blonde gave him a look. “Oh, don’t you be a prude too, James.”
He raised an eyebrow and loosened off a button on his collar. “A prude?”
“Yes!” Becky pointed to Kara. “You should have seen her in the lingerie store—”
“Becky!” Kara shot, shaking her head with a death glare.
The blonde giggled, looking around to Kara to James. “I helped her out, don’t worry, Jim.”
“I’m not worried. Trust me.”
Becky’s giggle faded as she left the room to help bring food to the table.
Kara sank back into her chair, glancing down to the table and its neat china settings as a way to take a break from all prying eyes on her.
“We sorted out the officiant issue,” Millie cut in through the new silence, “However, it cost more than I wanted.”
“I’ll pay you back,” James offered.
Garrett cleared his throat. “No, it’s fine. We’ve taken care of it; it was just a tad ridiculous.”
James stood on that note. “Not something a little beer can’t fix.”
“Bring me a bottle.” Andrew caught his attention as James left the table.
Becky walked in, perky with a wide smile and a pot in her gloved hands. “This smells divine! Rose is the best cook.”
“Do you need help?” Kara asked, wanting to escape.
“No, no.” Becky sat the pot down in the middle of the table, while patting her shoulder.
Kara huffed, picking at the table cloth in her lap.
It took five minutes for them to get dinner underway but once it was, the room was full of mostly the men’s voices. Kara was noticing a pattern with family dinners.
Garrett, Andrew and James. Garrett, Andrew and James.
She glanced over to Becky next to her who was also quiet.
There’s no way they’re intimidating Becky! Kara wanted a change of pace from the football talk, fifteen minutes was long enough for her to want to die. “Sophie, where’s Robbie?” Why she’d picked up conversation with the devil, she wasn’t sure.
His sister’s sinister glare was anything but welcoming. “Excuse me?”
“Where’s Robbie?” Kara repeated.
James silenced in the middle of his sentence, appearing a bit disgruntled from the interruption of his conversation but he let it slide, eating some of his supper instead.
His sister straightened in her chair. “He’s working.”
“Hmm.” Kara nodded. “What’s he do again?” She could not remember.
Sophie swallowed, “He’s a lawyer.”
“Oh.” Kara thought for a minute, sensing that she was missing something.
“Yes.” Sophie hissed, “He’s in court today for The Coven.”
James cleared his throat and stopped her conversation with his sister. “Good food, Nan.”
Rose smiled. “Thank you, dear!”
Kara felt him nudge her leg under the table and she looked to him.
He gave her a quick shake of his head. “No more.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “What?”
He shoved some food in his mouth and didn’t say anything else to her.
Garrett was the next to single her out. “So, Kara, we’re anxious to get to know your father better.”
“What!” Her fork fell from her hand to the china plate.
James groaned. “Garrett…”
The man looked confused. “Is there a problem?”
Kara hadn’t breathed yet but she felt the panic coming on. She put a hand to her head. “My dad’s coming?” She managed to squeak it out but just barely.
James stood up and went to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Come with me.”
“No!” She snapped at him, “Did you know!”
James paused. “Well…”
“Don’t touch me!” Kara shook him off when he couldn’t give her a straight answer.
“We invited him, Kara,” Millie chimed in. “We had to contact him regarding the wedding, this isn’t a bloody secret. You’re marrying a Dray. In fact, you’re marrying our only family heir, which everyone expected great things from.”
“Thank you, Millie,” James shot at his aunt.
Kara stood. “No one asked me if it was okay to invite him!”
“It’s common courtesy,” Millie argued. “We’ve just paid a lot to have this wedding happen.”
Sophie rolled her eyes to inject her own comment, “Stop protecting her, James. She has zero manners.”
“Enough!” James shouted loud enough to stop everyone involved in the argument.
“Y’all should have asked me.” Kara trembled from the adrenaline. “It’s my fucking dad, not yours.”
Millie’s face hardened. “What a lovely little mouth you have. Does that impress you, James?”
He rolled his eyes.
“I’m just not good enough for him, am I?” Kara was almost in tears.
James put his mouth to her ear and tried to stop her. “That’s enough.”
“No!” She spun to him with a glare full of pissed right off. “Don’t tell me what to do… sir.” She left the room, unable to comprehend what he’d done to her by letting them invite her father. They had invited the one person on the planet, she could see no good in; he was worthless, even below her own mother.
“Kara.”
She rolled her eyes and kept walking for the front door.
“Bloody hell, Kara, stop.”
She spun to him. “You knew!”
“Well, I just—” He swallowed. “Look, I just found out when I got home this afternoon. I’ve already told them it was a poor idea.”
“They had no right to do that, it’s our wedding!”
James stepped toward her. “We’re lucky if dealing with your father being invited is the only thing that goes wrong, love.”
“You don’t understand though—”
“I do understand, Kara. It wasn’t right but now, try to be happy about the wedding. You need to let it go.”
She sniffed, smiling. “I wish.”
“Is everything alright, Jamie?” Rose appeared from the hallway, concern plastered across her face.
Kara buried her face in his chest so her tears wouldn’t be seen.
“It’s fine,” James assured his grandmother.
“Does Kara need anything?”
“She’s okay. I’ve got it.”
Kara heard the woman walk away as he whispered to her, “be happy, my love.” He brushed a kiss on her forehead. “Stop crying about this. I’ll be with you through the whole wedding, you won’t have to face him alone. I promise.”
That assurance seemed to help her get herself together. He held her close, hushing her until she calmed with the minutes.
“Let’s go back now.”
Kara nodded.
His voice lowered with his next sentence, “And that was very naughty calling me Sir in front of my family.”
She snorted, holding her smile. “Was it?”
He kissed her forehead. “You’re my bride, I’ll let it slide this time. Now, come eat.” His low voice beckoned her forward and she followed with less reluctance.
Dinner cleared and the nice evening had them all outside visiting in Rose’s garden of pruned and perfected bushes and flowers. Everything had settled since the news of her father but his family was good at moving on from awkward situations she had noticed.
Her eyes focused on James as he passed a soccer ball back and forth with Brianna, her giggles filled the air around them as James missed the pass on purpose and let her score on him.
“I win!” Brianna shouted in glee.
“Are you sure you’re a professional footballer?” Andrew laughed at him.
“Want to play then?” James glanced over, as he kept the ball bouncing between his feet.
“Fuck no.” Andrew slumped back in his chair and sipped the beer in his hand. “Last time he kicked me in the bloody shin.”
Becky laughed. “Oh, that was so funny! Kara, you should have seen how Andrew hobbled around for almost a week!”
Andrew’s eyes narrowed on his girlfriend. “Try getting kicked by him and you’ll see how funny it is.”
Kara adjusted herself along the wooden slats of the garden chair, listening to them remincist and drinking her cup of herbal tea Rose had brought her.
“Brianna!” Millie stepped out of the back door to the garden. “We’re leaving. Say goodbye.”
The little girl huffed and caught the ball under her toe like James had just shown her how. “Must I?”
“Now.” Millie walked over to her older son. “When will you be home? No parties tonight?”
Becky shook her head. “We won’t be far behind you.”
Andrew finished his beer. “One more bottle.”
Becky sighed as he got up to go get himself another beer.
Millie’s eyes landed on Kara. “See you Saturday.”
“Yeah. Have a nice evening,” Kara breathed as James walked over with Brianna.
He gave his aunt a hug when she held out her arms to do so and Kara watched him be much more cordial than the woman deserved. When Millie turned to leave, his phone buzzed on the table next to her and she saw the text roll up on the screen.
Boy. Eight pounds, twenty-inches. Isn’t he cute?
A photo of Lila came with it, holding a newborn baby but still looking perfect like she always did.
James’s hand interrupted her stare at the photograph and her eyes went to his. “Who is it?” He smiled.
“I didn’t see.” She lied and looked away as he picked up the phone to look it over.
He swiped his thumb across the screen. “Mm.”
She watched him study the photograph longer than she thought he should. It made her wonder how he felt about it but she knew he wouldn’t share his feelings regarding any of it.
He clicked his phone off after replying to the text and sat next to her. She wanted to know what he’d said back.
Andrew walked up from behind and hit James’ shoulder. “So we’re good for tomorrow night?”
“What’s tomorrow night?” Kara looked to his cousin.
James gave him an annoyed glare. “I said no,Drew.”
“No, no…” Andrew pressed. “Last night of freedom on the piss.”
Kara was confused. “On the what?”
James twitched. “It means going out to get drunk off your ass.”
“Also known as,” Becky said, giggling, “a Bachelor party.”
Kara sighed. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to get wasted the night before the wedding.”
Andrew grinned. “Well, how else is he going to commit this suicide?”
“Suicide?” Kara echoed.
James grunted. “I’m alright with dying sober.”
She noted how off mannered he was all of a sudden and it annoyed her in turn. “Oh, just go, James. Maybe it will help you relax.”
“Relax?”
“Precisely.” Andrew nodded. “While we look at naked women.”
“Fine. Have fun.”
Andrew looked pleased. “Oh, we will, darling.”
James rubbed his face, grumbling. “Great… just great.”