Page 42 of From London, With Love

That evening, the girls and I are seated on our small balcony, each with a wine in hand. One of Harper’s signature charcuterie spreads sits half-eaten on the table. When I’d questioned the occasion, she’d referred to it as a “celebratory charcuterie for your first day in the big corporate world”.

“So, Lara, tell us everything!” The girls beam at me, nothing but pride and support radiating off them.

It’s times like these when I realise how lucky I am to have these two. In a place where I’m half a world away from my family, I’ve found a new, different kind of family in Harper and Mia.

Taking a larger-than-necessary sip of my wine, I decide it’s best to start at the beginning; my new boss’ identity.?

“It was pretty great as far as first days go, except for a small mix-up. Carter, my new boss, was under the impression I knew his sister, Emilia. Oh, and Carter is Mr Darcy.”

Two things happen simultaneously a single moment after the words leave my mouth: Harper does a real-life spit take,showering Mia and me in droplets of her Chianti, whilst Mia all but chokes on her mouthful.?

Mouth gaping, I glance between my friends with the vigour of a die-hard tennis fan during a ten-point tiebreak, trying to figure out what the fuck is happening.

My body seemingly stupefied, I can do nothing but sit here and watch the two of them. Harper wipes the back of her hand over her mouth, sweeping up the wine remnants. A sharp cough from Mia alerts Harper, and she’s beside her in an instant, delivering several sharp blows to Mia’s back. It doesn’t make a difference though; Mia continues to choke.

Why hasn’t she calmed down yet? This seems very odd.

My gaze turns to Harper. Her amber eyes meet mine for a moment before flicking between Mia and me.

“Come on you two, it’s not even that bad. What the fuck is going on?”

A pair of sea green eyes avert my gaze, while Harper merely sits in silence. I’m starting to think there’s something else at play here, and I have a feeling I’m about to find out what.

The girls look at each other, exchanging unspoken words, before returning their focus to me.

Arching a brow, I wait.

“Icannotbelieve I never told you this Lars, but Mia is a nickname.” Bottom lip between her teeth, she absentmindedly chews as she waits. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Harper glancing between us, concern flickering over her features.

A slow blink is all I can muster. Oh god.Oh. My. Fucking. God.

“He’s your brother, isn’t he?”

The look on Mia’s face tells me everything I need to know.

“He’s my brother.” The best way to describe the look Mia gives me is a kind grimace. “My birth name is Emilia, but myfamily usually refer to me as Emmy. I picked Mia in high school because kids gave me weird looks when they heard Emilia or Emmy.”

I close my eyes as my stomach bottoms out. Mia continues talking, but I don’t register a word she says. Herbrother.I can’t decide what’s worse; the fact one of my best friends knows, in detail, about the places on my body her brother’s mouth has been, or the fact that said brother is my boss.Deep breaths, Lara.

It seems almost ridiculous that I wouldn’t connect the dots between Mia and Carter sharing a last name, but at the same time, it’s not like I think about her last name often, if at all. Maybe subconsciously I assumed it was a common English surname so completely disregarded the coincidence? I guess I’ll never know.

Can this day get any weirder?

“Oh my fucking god,” I blurt out, scarcely aware of my own voice. Seems like those deep breaths did a fat lot of nothing.

“Oh my fucking god, indeed,” Harper echoes, the sound seeming to come from miles away.

Opening my eyes, I’m met with a version of Harper who appears to have seen a ghost. The amber of her irises has been almost completely taken over by her pupils, and her eyebrows are inches from her hairline. Always the calm and sane one of the three of us, I have no idea how to react to this version.

The look on Mia’s face couldn’t be further from the woman next to her. With a hand over her mouth, I’m almost certain she’s holding in a laugh. I think it’s hysteria.?

“Well, this is certainly not how I thought our evening would go.” Mia’s voice is at least an octave higher than normal, which is incredibly disconcerting.?

Harper and I exchange a glance, both quickly looking at Mia.?

“I don’t even know what to say, I?—”

“Lars, it’s so fine. You weren’t to know he’s my brother.” Her voice is still too high, which makes me wonder how true her words are.

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