“I hope it’s soon,” Noel uttered and forced his lips to spread into a smile.
The sounds of a chair scraping against the wooden floors had Rob tilting his head to see one of his other best friends, Alex Lawrence, taking the seat in front of them and muttered, “This is fucking bullshit!”
“You ‘right there?” Rob asked.
Alex shook his head and then quickly cringed. Since his car accident several months back, Alex had been getting headaches and a stiff neck. “What do you think?” Then he pointed at Noel. “And what the hell are you doing? If you’re trying to win my sister back, then you’re doing a shithouse job. If you missed the notice, this is her rehearsal dinner, Noel.”
“You don’t think I’ve tried, Alex?” Noel growled.
Rob sat back in his chair, prepared to play peacekeeper between his two best friends. “Let’s not make a scene, boys. The girl you both love will not be happy.” From the corner of his eye, he noticed Max Sheridan about to pass their table. Quickly, Rob grasped Max by the arm to stop him. “You, sit. Might need your help with these two.”
Max glanced at Noel and Alex. “Only if you promise the next round of drinks at PJ’s is your shout.”
“Fine.”
“Boys,” Max announced and took the seat to Rob’s left. “Let’s not get one of us arrested tonight. I don’t feel like calling in any favours.”
“No one’s getting arrested,” Alex assured. “We just gotta work out this mess.”
“No kidding,” Max said.
When Rob felt the tension had somewhat lightened within their group of friends, he exhaled heavily and folded his arms over his chest. The discussion of how to stop Clara’s wedding continued around him. His friends would hush when people walked past them only to pick up their conversation seconds later.
“I don’t want to be like him,” Rob heard someone say to his right.
“Allison, we are not discussing this right now,” a man with an Irish accent said strongly.
“He got to move here. Why can’t I?” the girl from before asked.
“Because the company needs you to continue to do this.”
The unknown girl let out a huff. “What? Whore myself around? I can’t do this anymore.”
Rob’s interest in the conversation piqued, tuning out his friends and focusing on the soft voice of the girl.
“You are not whoring yourself around, Allison. Don’t be ridiculous!”
“It feels like it. I feel like one. Let me go to school. Let me do something that doesn’t involve the company. Please, Dad,” she begged.
“Allison, I’m not going to discuss this with you. Not here and definitely not now. Your brother doesn’t need this from you. Now, you sit with him and don’t mention any of this to him. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, loud and clear.” The girl conceded defeat, and Rob was disappointed for her and in her. In her voice, he heard her fight. The fire. But it wasn’t quite there.
Curious, Rob craned his neck to see a young woman hugging herself. Her long, ash-blonde hair was curled and past her shoulders, resting on her pale, blue dress. She was tall but still shorter than he was. Her skin was on the creamier side of tan. He could only see the side of her face, her hair like a veil. Rob squinted, hoping to see more of her. Then she turned her face, scanning the room. The moment her hazel eyes discovered his, Rob clenched his fists. His heart didn’t burst or became frantic like in the movies. It slowed. Like it told him to be aware of this woman, of her stare, and of this moment. His breathing was just the same. Shallow and uneven. She held his gaze. The softness in the colour of her eyes was beautiful. Her lips were plump and her cheekbones defined. She was beautiful. Not in the way he had expected. She was beautiful in the way that it seemed as if she didn’t know that she was.
Allison.
That was what her father had called her. Allison was stunning. Allison was reserved. Allison had a fire in her that needed to burn. And Rob found himself intrigued by the way she looked at him. Her lips tugged slightly upwards before she tore away their shared gazes and passed him.
“That’s Ally,” Max whispered next to him. “That’s the enemy’s little sister. I met her at Clara’s dinner last week. She’s hot, right?”
Enemy… fuck.
Rob shifted his focus to Max and glared at him. “She’s like twelve.”