can be charming when she wants to be. And she’s so little it’s easy to underestimate her as a potential threat.”
“She’s still a tiny thing?”
Elizabeth nods. “Just a smidge over five feet. She blames me for it. Insists I tried to eat her in the womb.”
I snort. “You do seem pretty vicious,” I tease. “I’m not surprised she’s pegged you as the troublemaker.”
Her eyes narrow, but she’s still smiling as she says, “Speaking of troublemakers, you’re a lot different than when we were kids.”
“In a good way, I hope.”
“In a lovely way,” she confirms, making me wonder just how repulsive I’ll have to be to turn her off. “I didn’t care for you much back then.”
“Is that your nice way of saying you wanted to kick me in the nuts and stuff the snakes I put in your bed down my boxer shorts?”
She grins. “Something like that.”
“And I would have deserved it,” I say. “I’m sorry about the way I behaved. I was nine years old, and the thought of holding hands with a girl was repulsive, let alone being engaged to marry one. Especially a five-year-old baby almost the same age as my littlest brother. It all felt so weird and…insulting.”
She cocks her head thoughtfully. “I can understand that. For me, it was just confusing. I had no idea what being married really meant. My parents are old friends who tolerate each other’s eccentricities and live mostly separate lives. I thought marriage was something like that. Like…making a friend who will be your roommate for a long time.” She wrinkles her nose. “It was only scary because you were a stranger. And not a very nice one.”
My chest tightens, and I find myself reaching out to take her hand. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. Truly. If I could go back in time and knock some sense into nine-year-old me, I would.”
“It’s okay,” she says generously.
“No, it isn’t. I should have been reined in. I’m surprised my grandfather didn’t notice what I was up to. Here at home, he always had eyes and ears on me. I couldn’t step out of line without getting called into his office for a tongue-lashing. The day after my father left, I caused a scene in the dining room during lunch. Grandfather made me stand at attention by the window in the library, saluting the flag, for three hours as punishment.” Elizabeth makes a sympathetic noise that I brush off with a squeeze of her hand. “It’s fine. Really. No need to pity me. I wasn’t scarred by it, and I’m glad my grandfather was hard on me. It built character.”
“I’m sorry you weren’t allowed to grieve the loss of your father, though,” she says generously. “That had to have been hard.”
I shake my head. “Not really. I was angry for my mother, for the embarrassment his leaving caused her, but I was glad he was gone. He was a cheater and a liar, and my family is better off without him.”
“So, what does your mother think about all this?” Elizabeth asks, gazing up at me through her long lashes, making me very aware that her fingers are still warm in mine.
And that they feel nice.
Far too nice…
I release her with an awkward spasm that I cover by batting away a non-existent bug and running a hand over my hair. “The month-long engagement party? She thinks it’s a waste of time and money. But it’s tradition, and Mother’s as much a slave to it as the rest of us.”
“Really?” Elizabeth asks, her brow furrowing. “Even though she married for love? I would have thought she’d want you to choose your own partner and celebrate however you wish.”
I blow out a breath through pursed lips. “Well, my mother definitely has her own mind, but she loved my grandfather more than anything in the world. She knew how much he wanted this marriage to happen. That’s why she went along with the betrothal. But she always told me that I was free to back out of the agreement. Always. Even after her relationship with my father fell apart and her views on arranged marriage began to change.”
Elizabeth’s eyes go wide. “Really? So she’s pro arranged marriage now?”
I shrug. “I can’t say for sure—she doesn’t try to sway other people with her opinions—but I think so.”
“Really? Why’s that?”
I lean back against the smooth trunk behind me. “An arranged marriage has a lot of people invested in its success. People eager to offer advice and support. She never had that.