Page 41 of My Fiancé's Brother

“Navy SEAL.”

Her hands danced to her chest. “Oh, my God.”

I looked down at her wine and decided to take a big sip before passing it to her.

“Julie has a thing for guys in uniforms.” I paused, thoughtful. “And guns.”

“Emily doesn’t lie.” Julie batted her eyelashes like she had something in both eyes. I inwardly sighed. Julie’s behavior was reminiscent of our University days. But this time, I would not be at the party alone. This time I was engaged.

I stepped away and dialed Matt’s number.

A female voice purred. “Hello?”

I looked at the face of my phone. I confirmed that I had dialed Matt’s number. “Is Matt there?”

“Sure. One moment.”

The phone fumbled and then Matt’s voice was on the line. His voice sounded too whispery. “Hey.”

I swallowed an awful feeling down my throat and let it sink into my stomach. “Who was that?”

“That was Katherine. We’re all working overtime on this brief, and there must be ten cell phones on the boardroom table. I think she just thought my cell was hers.”

“There are other people there?”

A short laugh punched out of him. “Of course. Honestly, we’re up to our eyeballs here.”

I placed my hand on my forehead. “Do you know what day it is?”

“It’s either Saturday or Sunday. I'm hoping it’s Saturday because if it’s Sunday, we’re fucked.”

“Matt,” I whispered, looking up. Jackson watched me from across the room. Julie was talking at him, a mile a minute. “The party for Jackson? Remember?”

“Oh crap,” he said. “Emily.”

“We have over 50 people arriving here in less than half an hour. You have to come home.”

“I'll make it up to you.”

“Matt.” I heard the pleading tone in my voice.

“Emily. You know I’d be there if I could, but it’s just not going to happen. Not this weekend.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Well Jackson is there, isn’t he?”

I focused on the ceiling in despair. Why could Matt never make me his priority? He promised me repeatedly that he would come home, but lately, he was a ghost. He pushed me to spend time with Jackson. My emotions confused me. “He’s here. But he isn’t my fiancé whom I want to spend time with.”

“Have fun for me, okay?”

I remained silent on the phone, my hand pressed against my throat. I suppressed the anger that threatened to bubble out of me. Why could Matt never stick to his word? How would I survive this party on my own? I hated parties. For the hundredth time, I questioned my sanity in planning this event.

Matt sounded short. “Emily, you can’t be like this. I have to go.”

“Fine.”

“Love you.”

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