That actually sounded… nice. Yvonne had never been interested in weddings, but now, she was starting to understand the appeal. There was a certain magic about them.
“And I know it’s cliché, but I like the idea of becoming a princess for a day.” Ruby’s cheeks flushed, a dreamy look in her eyes. “I want to dress up in a beautiful dress. I want to walk down the aisle. I want my bride to lift up my veil and look at me like I’m her whole world. I want us to read our vows and exchange rings, and I want her to kiss me, and it would be this magical moment where the rest of the world would fade away and it would just be you and me-”
Ruby covered her mouth with her hand, her face turning crimson. It took even longer for Yvonne to register what Ruby had said. Not her.
You.
“I didn’t-” The blush on Ruby’s face deepened. “It was a slip of the tongue.”
Yvonne stared at her. “Ruby…”
Yvonne was cut off by a voice calling her name. Her blood turned to ice. It was a familiar voice, but one she hadn’t expected to hear at Madison’s wedding.
She turned to see a man standing nearby, tall with sandy blond hair. Like everyone else in Yvonne’s family, he looked nothing like her, save for the hazel color of his eyes.
“It is you,” Yvonne’s brother said.
“Nicholas.” Yvonne couldn’t hide her displeasure. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here with a date.” He cocked his head toward a woman standing nearby, texting on her phone. “Jane Porter. We just started seeing each other. She needed a plus one for the wedding, so I volunteered.”
The woman looked vaguely familiar. She must have been one of Madison’s friends. Did Madison know the woman had brought Yvonne’s brother as a date? Probably not, or Madison would have warned Yvonne.
“I had no idea this was your friend Madison’s wedding,” Nicholas said. “What a coincidence.”
“It’s a small world.” Yvonne didn’t know whether to believe him or not. Even if he had known Yvonne was coming to the wedding, he wouldn’t have told her that he was coming. He would have jumped on an opportunity to catch Yvonne off guard.
“Well?” Nicholas looked pointedly at Ruby. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your date?”
Yvonne had been dreading this moment. “Ruby, this is my brother, Nicholas. Nicholas, this is Ruby. She’s my wife.”
Ruby couldn’t hide her surprise that the man before her was Yvonne’s brother, but she pulled herself together quickly. “Nice to meet you.”
Nicholas looked Ruby up and down. “Likewise. I’d heard rumors of your marriage, Yvonne, but I couldn’t believe it.” He scoffed. “My sister? Married?”
Yvonne spoke through gritted teeth. “The rumors are true. Ruby and I are married, and happily so.”
“You misunderstand me. I was simply surprised that my sister got married and I didn’t get an invitation to the wedding.”
Sure, that was what he meant. “It was a spontaneous decision. There was no real wedding.” Yvonne didn’t elaborate. She hadn’t told Nicholas about her marriage for a good reason. He knew all about the conditions of Yvonne’s inheritance. She was certain that he already considered the money his, since Yvonne had shown no signs of getting married in the past.
Now that things had changed, Nicholas wouldn’t be happy.
“Well, congratulations to the both of you,” Nicholas said. “I trust you’re bringing Ruby to our family dinner?”
“I wasn’t planning to.” Yvonne had no intention of subjecting Ruby to her family’s general unpleasantness, let alone a full-on interrogation.
“You must bring her,” Nicholas said. “Mother will insist. Besides, she’s family now, remember?”
Yvonne held back a curse. Her annual family dinner was more than just a dinner. It had been her father’s wish for his wife and children to get together once a year, along with both his children’s future children and spouses. Just to drive the point home, he’d written it into his will. Yvonne’s inheritance was dependent on it. Yvonne had forgotten all about the ‘spouses and children’ clause.
Nicholas was right. Yvonne had no choice. “I’ll talk to Ruby about it.”
“She’s right here, isn’t she?” Nicholas addressed Ruby. “Dinner is next Friday. It’s at our family home in the mountains. Are you available? We’d love to have you join us.”
“Er,” Ruby glanced at Yvonne. “Sure. I can come.”
“Then it’s settled.” Nicholas looked over his shoulder toward his date. “I should get back to Jane. I’ll see you both at dinner. Mother will be so delighted to hear of your marriage.”
He flashed Yvonne a smile, his eyes gleaming wickedly. Yvonne’s stomach dropped. Nicholas knew. He’d made the connection between Yvonne’s marriage and the inheritance money. He was already scheming behind those eyes of his.
He was going to try to stop Yvonne from getting her inheritance.
Nicholas turned and walked away. As soon as he was out of earshot, Yvonne cursed.
“What’s the matter?” Ruby asked her.
“Nothing.” Yvonne didn’t want to stress Ruby out with the news that someone was threatening their marriage scheme right now. They were in a high enough pressure situation as it was. “I just wasn’t expecting to see him here.”
“Your brother? He didn’t seem so bad.”
“Trust me, he’s not the perfect gentleman he appears to be,” Yvonne said. “I’m sorry for putting you on the spot like that.”
“It’s fine. What’s this dinner, anyway?”
“Once a year, we have dinner at my family home. It’s just me, Nicholas, and my stepmother, Alice. It’s a bit of a trek, so we usually stay overnight. That’s all there is to it, really.”
Ruby frowned. “You only have dinner with your family once a year?”
“In case you couldn’t tell, we’re not particularly close. You’ll have to trust me when I say my family dynamics are… complicated. But now isn’t the time for all that. This is a wedding. We’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves.”
“I’m definitely
