Page 30 of Away With You
“I think she gets a say in this, Rosie Posey.”
Her pale blonde brows arch. “Are you saying she doesn’t want to date you?”
I shift in my chair. “It’s not that cut and dry. I’ve not come out and asked her to go on a date. Not really, at least. I’ve been texting her all week and suggested we get dinner together last night, and she agreed. I thought perhaps it was a date, but then when she got there, she said something about a girl needing to eat.”
Silence rings between us before Rosie throws her head back and laughs. Not a little giggle, mind you, but a full-body, shoulders-shaking, knee-slapping chortle. My turncoat sister is loving this situation a little too much.
“Oh my gosh, I’m too hungover for this sort of comedy, Nate,” she says when she’s run out of puff, wiping the tears from her eyes with a breathless huff. “I can’t believe she said that. And I kinda love her for it.”
Quietly, I do, too. I love how the words seem to fall out of her mouth unfiltered. It’s like she’s physically incapable of saying something she doesn’t mean. And after dating someone who Iknow now is a confirmed liar, it’s both refreshing and deeply comforting.
“Great. Trust you to take her side.”
Unbothered, she shrugs. “Katie is awesome. I followed her on Insta and DM’d her as well. She messaged back and was so sweet about her memories of me at school. That she’s not falling all over you is just another plus in an already stacked pros column.”
Great. Turns out all Jackson family members adore Katie. Better keep her away from George. Speaking of…
“Anyway, this non-date of ours was leaked to this garbage tabloid magazine. Luckily, they don’t identify Katie. The photo is just of her from behind, but Mother seems to think this solves all our problems.”
“How so?”
I get up and pour another cup of tea. “In her twisted mind, if I’ve finally started dating someone new, that negates everything that George and Victoria did. It means I’m over the betrayal and will attend their wedding.”
Her cheeks redden with her telltale sign of anger. “She actually said that?”
“She said it’s time for me to move on, to step up for the family. How is it going to look if I skip my own brother’s wedding? The scandal! What will society think?”
Rosie frowns fiercely. “That’s so out of order. That anyone expects you to attend your brother’s wedding to your ex-girlfriend is mind-boggling. These people are bonkers.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, sis.”
She twirls her hair around her finger, her expression thoughtful. “However…”
My shoulders inch up around my ears. Surely my one ally isn’t jumping ship on me now?
“However, what?”
“Now, hear me out.” She puts up a hand to stop my reaction, and I tense for what’s coming. “Wouldn’t it be great if you could turn up to their wedding with someone else? To show you’ve moved on and what they did doesn’t matter to you anymore.”
“But it still does.”
Her face gentles, and she reaches over to squeeze my hand. “I know. What they did is pretty unforgivable. But aren’t you sick of being the man scorned? The way the press paints you, it’s like you’re the pathetic one who can’t move on from Victoria. When in reality, it’s got little to do with that and everything to do with how what they did hurt you.”
I nod. It’s true, Victoria broke my heart when she dumped me. But if it had just been that, if she’d gone on her merry way and married a random Joe-Blow, I wouldn’t have been as upset about it. It’s what she did next, with my brother, that cut me deep. They not only announced their relationship mere days after we broke up, but they were engaged a few months after. In any sane person’s mind, there had to be some crossover there. Some cheating on her behalf. Some ultimate betrayal on George’s.
“I don’t care what the media are saying,” I argue.
She hums, pulling her phone over and squinting at it while she scrolls. “You don’t care about this?”
I take it from her shaking hands and read the article she’s found.
AS YOU LIKE IT: THE BATTLE OF TWO BROTHERS
“As you like it?” I raise an eyebrow.
“It’s actually brilliant, referencing the Shakespeare play about two rival brothers, constantly battling it out.”
“Brilliant? Or lazy?”
