Page 75 of Moonstruck Kiss

“Does she look bothered to you?” Theo asks with a smirk, tightening his arm around me.

Brax sends Theo a furious glare, which turns into a questioning frown as he scrutinises the man before him. “Theo?”

“Shh,” Theo and I say together.

“Oh, sorry,” Brax whispers. “You’re in disguise. Why?”

Theo chuckles. “Hey, this is your farewell party. The attention should be on you and Ollie.”

“Wow, thanks. Ollie and I wouldn’t have minded sharing it with you, though.”

“Nah. I already get too much of it. Anyway, you looked mad enough to kill me when I put my arms around Joey.”

My gaze flicks to Brax so swiftly so as not to miss his reaction.

“I thought you were accosting her.”

“Nope. Just comforting her.”

Brax locks eyes with me. “Why?”

I feel compelled to answer. “Because I’ll miss Ollie.”

“Just Ollie?” he asks softly.

Suddenly, I’m angry. “What’s the point of asking me that question? In case you’ve forgotten, you’re getting on a plane in less than twenty-four hours.”

Brax opens his mouth to speak when telltale noises of loudspeakers being turned on blast our ears.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Evan says from the front of the room. He waits for the din to recede before speaking through the microphone again. “Thank you very much for being here today to help us celebrate two very important people in our lives. Unfortunately, my beloved son and grandson will be leaving our fair town in just a day, and I’m already warning you that my wife Elsa and I, along with all our other children, will be walking around with big holes in our hearts for a very long time.”

I blink uncontrollably. That will be me, too.

I look down as I try to push away the heavy emotions pounding my chest.

“Joey,” Brax says in the softest of tones.

I refuse to look at him. I can’t—because I’m afraid I’ll lose it if I do. I’ve already made a fool of myself earlier with my fake ailment. I’m not gonna add to my embarrassment by wearing my heart out on my sleeve in front of so many people.

“Brax, please join me here,” Evan asks through the mic.

“We’ll talk soon,” Brax says before reluctantly walking towards the front.

I head for the exit. I don’t want to hear anything else that might trigger my tears.

But it’s not a matter of walking in a straight line to the doors. Apart from tables and chairs blocking my way, people have moved closer to the front so they can watch Evan while he speaks.

“Excuse me,” I say as I try to make my way out.

“Do you need to go to the toilet, Joey?” I hear Voovoo ask. “Told you you should have taken my concoction.”

Mortified, I shake my head, keeping my gaze trained on the ground. I don’t want to make eye contact with anybody.

“Hey, make room for Joey,” Voovoo says loudly.

Damn it!

“People, please let my daughter pass,” my dad says from somewhere.

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