27
It’s Thursday morning and I am supposed to be ready for Miles to pick me up in ten minutes but I am still in my pyjamas, of course.
When the buzzer goes I let him in, hoping that he’s learned by now that I need at least two more extra hours to get ready than most people.
I open the door to him and he grins, “How did I know you wouldn’t be ready?” he asks, stepping through the door and dropping his overnight bag on the floor.
I grin, “What time do we need to be there?” I ask in response.
“We have an hour before we need to leave,” he says, “Emme told me to tell you we needed to leave way earlier than we did,”
I snort, “Smart girl,” I say, thinking that Emme might know me too well .
He grins as I lead him into my bedroom. It looks like my wardrobe vomited on my floor, and while I’d really love to pretend that that’s just because I am packing, that would be a big fat lie.
“Find a seat, if you can,” I say and then watch as Miles delicately moves a pile of my clothes from my desk chair and onto my desk, before sitting on the now empty chair.
“So, I have two dresses for tonight,” I say, holding up a black and silver variation of the same dress which I couldn’t choose between so, like an adult, I bought both.
“Silver,” he answers immediately, “Also please wear it at all times if possible,” he adds, eyeing the dress like he can’t decide whether he should be wary of it.
I snort, “That is exactly the reaction a dress this expensive should get,” He raises an eyebrow and I laugh a little maniacally, “I may have spent the money I was supposed to be saving for winter heating bills on it,” I explain, “So now, I’ll either have to freeze or overthrow the government and renationalise the energy companies,”
“The second one, please,” he says, “I can help,”
I smile and start packing the silver dress, “So, what is this evening? The rehearsal?”
He shakes his head, “Oh no, that’s Friday night,” he says, “My family doesn’t do anything by halves. No, this evening is just my family. Julian’s mum and dad are hosting it. There will be all of my cousins and extended family, and probably some family friends and it’s going to be hell on earth,” he explains.
I laugh, “Please, you’ve met my family,” I say, thinking back to that horrendous meal we all had where I made him sit opposite my ex-boyfriend and get grilled like he was my new boyfriend.
He raises an eyebrow, “Oh, you are na?ve,” he says, “My family is going to make yours look like the picture of familial bliss,”
He winks at me in that oh-so-Miles way and I can’t help but grin back.
“You make me feel like I’m walking into an episode of Dynasty ,” I say, trying not to be slightly nervous.
I keep telling myself that it’s going to be like an episode of Gossip Girl . You know, rich people, designer dresses, etc., etc… But I also know that I don’t exactly fit in with that kind of person. I don’t know how to ski and I’m pretty certain that I’m never going to have to pay more than 20% income tax. What will I even talk about with these people?
“You’ve seen Dynasty ? Good, you should be somewhat prepared,” he says.
That didn’t help, Miles.
The anxious lady in my brain is fretting a little now, wringing her hands and pacing. She’s probably going to have a meltdown at some point in the next few hours. It is crucial I stop this in its tracks by consuming alcohol soon. I’m certain they will have champagne on arrival. Rich people do that, right?
I am about to tell Miles that I am slightly concerned now, but I am interrupted by Emme popping her head in my bedroom door and screeching.
“Oh my God,” she yells, pointing at Miles, “The man, the myth, the fake boyfriend,”
Miles, who obviously jumped when she screamed because he’s a jumpy little boy, turns and grins at her. He hits her with one of his dazzling, wolflike smiles and I can’t help chuckling as her eyes widen.
“Nice to meet you in the flesh, Emme,” he says, standing and pulling her into a hug. I am momentarily jealous of Emme for getting a big bear hug from Miles and then I mentally slap myself for being so needy.
Emme pulls back and smiles, “You too, I did wonder if you were a figment of Delaney’s imagination,”
I roll my eyes at her and stick up my middle finger, “You’re so sweet,”
She sticks her tongue out at me and then plonks herself on my bed. Unlike Miles, she doesn’t move the clothes out of the way and instead lounges across the discarded black option for tonight, “Glad to see you heeded my advice and arrived early enough to join the chaos of Delaney trying to pack a bag,”
Emme grins at me affectionately .
“Hey, I packed in front of him before leaving Tilda’s wedding,” I say indignantly.
Emme shakes her head, “Doesn’t count. You were coming back so I bet you just threw everything in. No decisions were made,”
Miles snorts, looking between us and then says, “Yeah, you did kind of just pick it all up, dump it in, and then sit on your suitcase to force it closed,”
I narrow my eyes and look between them, “I won’t be happy if the two of you start ganging up on me,” I say, eyebrow raised and doing my best stern teacher impression.
“Hey, it’s just nice to have a witness to some of your chaos,” Emme says with a grin.
*
Forty-five minutes later, I am packed and we’re about to head out.
“Have a great fake date!” Emme screams from the kitchen where she is staring in the oven at her pizza, “Really sell it, guys,” she adds, not actually looking at us but waving over her shoulder.
“Nice to meet you,” Miles calls, chuckling, as he grabs my suitcase from me and begins down the stairs.
I turn to look at Emme who has finally taken her eyes off her pizza. She raises her eyebrows at me, pulling a face that I know is pointed but I don’t really know what it’s pointing at yet. I frown and she shakes her head, “Have fun,” she says.
“I will,” I frown but turn to leave anyway. I reach the bottom of the stairs to find Miles loading our bags into an Uber. As I climb in the back my phone buzzes and I look down to see a text from Emme.
Emme : Let things happen, Delaney. That boy looks at you like you hung the fucking moon, and you deserve someone like that. I love you.