Page 58 of Away With You
His smile is warm as he looks down at me. “Yet another thing we have in common, then.”
These words swirl in my mind as we walk carefully along the sand to where a large white silk tent has been set up. It is strange how much we have in common, given we both come from and live in different worlds.
“There you are!” Rosie flits across to us and pulls roughly on our joint hands. “I’ve been dying in there without you two.”
This does little to settle my nerves.If Rosie is struggling, how am I going to survive this?
“Rosie, you’re scaring her.” Nathan tilts his head down to me. “I’ve only just calmed her down.”
She scowls at him. “Mother is in a mood. And Dad is hiding at the bar to get away from her. Victoria looks manic, and George, well, he looks drunk. As per usual. It’s a right circus in there.”
Yikes. That’s what we’re walking into?
Nathan stops again and turns to me. “We stay as long as you’re comfortable and not a second more. Do you understand?”
His eyes are a dark shade of blue as he stares down at me, and I swallow hard at the protective note in his voice. “Yes, I get it. Let’s just go in and see how bad it really is.”
The three of us enter the marquee together, and I take a beat to appreciate how beautifully the party has been decorated. In contrast to the stark white silk material draped around the tent are hundreds (thousands?) of fresh tropical flowers coating every surface. Blue, red, purple, yellow and orange flowers are bunched together in vases and placed around the room, creating vibrant pops of colour and an intoxicating fragrance in the air. Every available surface is littered with small tea candles, lending to the dreamlike quality of the space, and in the corner, a string quartet adds a soft, melodic soundtrack to the ambience.
It's incredible.
“Wow,” I murmur as I turn in a slow circle. “If this is what the welcome dinner looks like, I can’t imagine how beautiful the wedding will be.”
Nathan and Rosie glance around with less enthusiasm. “This is what a lot of money can buy. I guarantee Victoria had very little to do with putting any of this together,” Rosie whispers, her voice coated with disdain.
“Rosie,” Nathan warns. “Be nice.”
She frowns at him, her lips firming into a straight line. “I make no promises.”
My eyes bounce between them, while my stomach tightens at the tone in Nathan’s voice. It’s similar to the one he used before, but this time the protective note was directed towards…Victoria?
“Heads up.” Nathan tightens his hold on my hand, pulling me out of my inner turmoil. “Parents incoming.”
Rosie takes this as her cue and scuttles away. I watch her leave, my belly flipping, and I stand up straighter, elongating my torso and wishing for several extra inches of height. Nathan’s parents are the type of people who appear so formidable. They make you acutely aware of everything you’re lacking with one cutting glance.
At least that’s how it seems, looking at Nathan’s mum, looking at me.
“Nathan.” She says his name in such a clipped tone it sounds like a rebuke. “We are so pleased you could make it.”
Nathan’s mouth twists, and he leans over to give his mother two air kisses before nodding to his father. A strange way to greet your parents, but with this family dynamic, it seems right. “Hello, Mother. You look lovely.”
Mrs Jackson does look lovely; in the way wealthy older women do. Her hair is a perfect shade of ash blonde, up in an elegant chignon, not a strand out of place. Her dress is immaculately tailored and suitable for the mother-of-the-groom while still leaving no one in doubt that it’s designer and expensive. Her face is wrinkle-free, with the sort of complexion where she could be twenty or eighty. Many fillers and Botox mean it’s hard to know which generation she belongs to, a fact I’m sure she spent many thousands of pounds achieving.
“Thank you,” she murmurs, turning her glacial blue eyes on me. “And who is this?”
I feel more than hear Nathan’s sigh. “Mother, this is Katherine Winslow…my girlfriend.”
My flipping belly takes another turn, and I pull in a steadying breath before smiling at the woman before me. “It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs Jackson.”
She purses her lips at me as she surveys me from head to toe, and I’m thankful again for the hours Rosie, Jade and I spent prepping me for just this moment.
“Winslow? Are you related to Harry and Martha Winslow?”
Huh.Not what I was expecting. I glance at Nathan, baffled, and struggle to keep my smile in place. “No, I’m not.”
She sniffs, turning back to Nathan, effectively dismissing me.Well, great. That went well.
“Now, I hope you’re going to behave yourself this week. All of this is for your brother; please don’t make a fuss and make it all about you.”
