Page 129 of Electric Kiss

“I love you,” he whispered and pressed his lips to hers.

“And I love you. Let’s join them, get this over and we can celebrate our marriage.”

Luke let go of her hand, looped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. They walked close together to the morning room and then entered as a couple.

Luke saw Aunt Cynthia at the end of the room where her conservatory started. At some stage, someone moved his grandfather’s writing desk in from the study. Luke kept walking with Freya at his side until they lined up with the others. Nine of them in a row facing Cynthia Turner.

She had a healthy tan. She wore loose linen beige trousers that were belted and hung crease-free. She wore a white blouse open at the neck. Luke noted she was relaxed. Her only tell was her fiddling with the sapphire on her engagement finger. If he had to guess her age she didn’t look a day over seventy, an entire decade younger. He’d never seen her look this… dare he think it… happy. He was furious that she had a moment of happiness let alone however many months she’d been away.

He watched as Cynthia’s shrewd gaze looked down the row until her eyes settled on Freya. Then her eyes went down to Freya’s cleavage and her eyes narrowed.

“That’s not an appropriate dress to marry a Turner,” Cynthia clipped. “But then you’re not an appropriate person to marry a Turner.”

Luke looked at Freya to see her smiling. She raised a single shoulder and dropped it like she couldn’t give two fucks what Cynthia thought.

“I look fabulous, Cynthia. I don’t need your approval to wear what I want or marry who I want to marry. If you had a back bone, you could’ve had the same luxury,” Freya said.

As a row all their chests rose as they took a long breath in and held it. Luke waited for Cynthia’s rebuttal but the family solicitor, Mr Porterfield spoke first.

“Let’s get this started and we can all go about our day,” Mr Porterfield said from the side of the writing desk.

His gnarled, elderly fingers tapped a set of papers as he spoke. A set of fountain pens lined up to the side. Luke scrutinised the papers in search of clues as to why Mr Porterfield had prepared them. He was about to ask when Cynthia spoke.

His eyes went to his aunt.

“Why are you here?” Cynthia said looking at Imelda.

“I think you know why I’m here, but I’ll spell it out. Because I can,” Imelda replied.

Cynthia didn’t reply and looked to Archer, Jason and Daisy, eyeing them up.

“I’m very disappointed in you all. None of you chose wisely for spouses. An actress, a nurse, a teacher and a mechanic. It’s like my father never taught you anything. Freddie certainly didn’t after your mother abandoned you.”

The spiteful remarks came spitting out of her mouth. Luke saw no issues with those professions. The jealousy was clear in how she looked at them all, how she sounded.

As if they had telepathy, Erica, Heidi, Freya and Nate moved to stand in front of their partners. They then backed up until their backs hit warm bodies.

“Hey, I can’t see,” Daisy said trying to look around Nate. “She’s not Medusa, she won’t turn me to stone.”

“I’m not taking any chances,” Nate muttered.

Luke grinned at his remark and then smiled wider when Nate relented and stood behind Daisy, wrapping a protective arm around her waist. Luke did the same with Freya, Archer with Erica and Jason with Heidi.

“I’m utterly proud of all my children and their loves. Get on with it, Cynthia,” Imelda said. “then you can go back to Como where you’ve been hiding all these years.”

“What do you mean?” Nate asked. “She’s been up here, hasn’t she? The town hate her for hiding away.”

Cynthia did the most unladylike snort, then let out a laugh.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I was never here on the island. I left as soon as Freddie was buried,” she replied.

“The town have been up in arms that you never came down and let the businesses suffer.”

“Oh dear,” she said and sighed. “What an assumption to make.”

Cynthia’s tone made her sound weary of the conversation. Then with cat-like eyes she turned her attention to Mr Porterfield. With pinched lips she gave him a nod.

“I hope I never see you again. All of you,” Cynthia announced, giving them all one last withering glance.

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