the show, but he won’t hear it.” I turn to face her once more. “He says he won’t have me slighted by the production company.”
“My brother, the hero.”
I collect my purse from the chest of drawers and hook the strap over my shoulder. “The problem is, he runs the risk of being a homeless hero if he doesn’t do the show.”
“There’s one thing I know about my big brother, Emma. When he sets his mind to something, that’s it. Decision made.”
“But if I’m okay with it, he should be too.” I shake my head in frustration. “Anyway, am I dressed right for this thing?” I do a little twirl. In my red sleeveless dress, I feel pretty and demure.
“What do you usually wear to exhibition openings back in the US?”
“Like I go to them all the time,” I reply with a laugh.
“No, but when you do?”
I shift my weight before I admit, “Ah, this is my first exhibition opening, actually.”
She grins at me. “All the more reason to wear whatever you like, then.”
Sebastian walks into the room, looking adorably cute in a pair of navy shorts and a white T-shirt. “It’s an exhibition opening, Brady. You could wear a potato sack and people would think you’re just being creative.”
“But I want to look like the future Lady Martinston,” I protest.
He takes me in his arms. “You are the future Lady Martinston. That’s all that matters to me.”
I gaze up at him as my heart dances. “I like hearing you say that.”
“It doesn’t freak you out anymore?” he asks, and I shake my head. He brushes a kiss against my lips. “Brady, you look beautiful.”
“Ugh!” Zara exclaims. “How many times do I have to tell you two? Sister here. Enough with the mush.”
“When you find the love of your life, you’ll be just as mushy, little sis.”
“If I am, I’ll make sure you never have to see it. I’m in serious need of therapy because of all your PDAs, you know.”
I giggle. “Maybe we should consider covering your sister’s costs? After all, we’re the ones responsible for her need for therapy.”
“The only therapy Zara has involves falling out of nightclubs at three in the morning. Isn’t that right, my wild, tearaway sister?”
“I’m hardly a tearaway,” she replies with a roll of her eyes. “Come on, future Lady Martinston. We should go. Granny and Mum have already gone.”
“Have they?” I ask in alarm. I give Sebastian a quick kiss. “Bye, fiancé. Ooh, I do like saying that. My fiancé.” I grin at him, and he shakes his head in good humor. “I wish you could come tonight.”
“I need to finish some paperwork. I’m due back in the office first thing tomorrow, which means the early train for me.”
“Another wild and crazy night in, eh, Seb?” Zara teases. “If I’m a tearaway, I guess that makes you a middle-aged man with his pipe and slippers.”
“One of us needs to be sensible.” Although he says it in a lighthearted way, I pick up on a definite edge to his words. He’s feeling the pressure of not only holding down his job at a bank in London but trying to save his family’s home and deal with his granny not accepting me, too. It’s a huge amount for one person to handle, and the fact he’s forced to handle it plays on my mind.
* * *
In the car on the way to the gallery, we giggle ourselves silly over Zara’s impersonations of her stiff older relatives. She’s helped lighten my mood, and I’m so grateful to be out and having some fun, even if it is without Sebastian.
“Granny told me you had a giggling fit at the opera. Did you really have to leave the auditorium to get a hold of yourself?”
“It was horrible. I was so embarrassed.” I shake my head at the memory. “What did she say about me?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just that you’re clearly not an opera aficionado. I think it was meant to make me think badly of you, but it totally backfired because I told her you’re clearly my kind of girl. I cannot stand the opera. So screechy and boring.”
“And weird. This opera was off the charts.”
“You know, Granny doesn’t like new people all that much, so don’t take it too personally. If she had her way, we’d all get married off to our cousins and no one would have to deal with anyone new.”
I make a face. “That’s kinda weird, isn’t it?”
“She comes from an era when that