dinner together last night and went over the details.”
Ava had an immediate and almost irrational flash of jealousy. Neither Michael nor Amanda had mentioned anything about a specific wedding date to her. And when Marcus mentioned the two families, he meant the Yees and he and his first wife. Ava hadn’t paid much attention to the wedding plans, and now that she did, her only thought was whether she would be invited. The instant it came, she just as quickly dismissed it. There was no way, no way at all, she could envision Michael’s mother, her father’s first wife, agreeing to have Jennie Lee’s daughter at the wedding. It was one thing to have a husband with second and third families who were out of sight; it was another to have one of the offspring from those unions at what would be a large, public, and high-profile event. It wouldn’t matter what Michael and Amanda wanted. Neither of them would go against his mother.
Jack Yee, Amanda’s father, whom Ava knew well and had helped, would be happy enough to invite her if she asked. As soon as that idea came to her she trashed it, and her jealousy began to turn into anger. Her mother understood, accepted, and respected the position that Wife Number One had in the family, and she had passed on that respect and understanding to her two daughters. But that respect has to cut both ways, Ava thought. So if she was going to be at the wedding, the invitation would have to come from the Lee side of the family. To accept anything else would be disrespectful to her own mother and downgrade the relationship that Jennie, Ava, and Marian had with Marcus Lee.
“When is it scheduled for?” Ava asked as calmly as she could.
“January. I know it’s a bit odd, but it fits their work schedules.”
“And where?”
“The Grand Hyatt.”
“Nice.”
“Jack can afford it, and Amanda is his only child.”
“I know.”
“So do you think you can get over here for it?”
Ava was sure she had misheard. “What?”
“I wish you had checked your emails; it would have been better that way. But since you haven’t, I guess it’s up to me to tell you. Amanda wants you to be her maid of honour.”
“Daddy, that is crazy,” she said without thinking.
“Amanda doesn’t think so, and neither does Michael.”
“But Michael’s mother —”
“Is fine with it.”
“How is that possible?”
“Our lives, especially mine, are evolving in unexpected ways. This is just one more twist.”
“Don’t talk in riddles.”
“Elizabeth loves our children to death, and none more than her oldest. They have always been close — almost abnormally so — and they confide in each other. Michael told her about meeting you for the first time at the Mandarin. Michael told her about the problems he was having. Michael told her that he had asked you to help. And when it was all finished, Michael told her you had saved him and his business.”
“I see,” Ava said, feeling a touch of guilt about her ambivalence towards her half-brother.
“And then Amanda weighed in.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Elizabeth told me that you and Amanda had a conversation during the direst part of Michael’s crisis.”
“We had more than one.”
“This one was very specific. Amanda told Elizabeth that you weren’t helping Michael because of what his problems might mean for him. She said you were doing it to protect the family, that Michael had put it at risk, and that you couldn’t let him bring down his father, your mother, two aunties you have never met, and two small children in Australia whom you also haven’t met.”
“I do remember saying that,” Ava said softly.
“Elizabeth asked Amanda if she believed that, and Amanda said she believed it with all her heart.”
“That was kind.”
“No, that was the truth.”
“Still.”
“So when Michael went to see his mother two weeks ago to tell her about the wedding plans, he asked her point-blank if she could accept having you there as part of the bridal party. And Elizabeth said, ‘I can’t only not deny her, I should be welcoming her with open arms.’”
Ava experienced an uncommon sensation: she was at a loss for words. “Good grief,” she said finally.
“There you are.”
“So now what?”
“Tell them you’ll be there.”
Yes, Ava thought, and then thoughts of her mother loomed. How would Jennie Lee take it? Would she regard it as an act of disloyalty? “Daddy, someone has to talk to Mummy about this. You do understand she could be hurt if I accept.”
“Yes, I do, and I’ll be