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Roxie gives me a small thank you in return, and I send one back, really meaning it. There might be unfinished business between my brother and me, but even if our parents snubbed him, everyone else came to support him, and for that I’m happy.
The conversation is understandably stilted, but not as bad as I expected it to be, and Dan and I even find time to argue overwhether toasts are appropriate at engagement parties, or if they need to be saved for the wedding itself. Everyone has had a good number of drinks at this point, and Dan is at the point where he wants more than anything to prove me wrong.
He stands, loudly clinking his fork against his glass until the gathering quiets.
“Good evening, everyone!” He has to all but yell to be heard over the whole yard. “I wanted to make a toast to the happy couple, and wish them all the best as we get closer and closer to the big day. Congratulations, Andries and Roxanne!”
Andries, drunk and not one to be left out of a chance to make a speech, follows suit. “And from me, a toast to the O’Brian’s, who not only let us use their beautiful estate as a venue, but put everything together as well.” He waves toward Dan’s parents, Jake and Caroline, who come over to embrace the future groom warmly.
“How about you, Elise?” Roxanne says tartly. “Any speeches from you? I know you’re so good at them.”
Tipsy and feeling braver than I usually do, I only pause to think about it for a second before I stand. Dan and Andries, still on their feet, both turn and look at me in alarm. Dan, because he knows that I’m only here because he pulled a miracle at the eleventh hour, and Andries because I know he still doesn’t truly trust me.
I clear my throat delicately, trying to think on the fly, and already regretting my decision. But everyone is looking at me, Roxanne included, and it’s a little late for me to back down now.
How do I continue to put myself in these situations?
“Um… hi, everyone! I’m Elise, Andries’s sister, and I wanted to also give a toast to the happy couple.” I swallow, my mind racing. “Andries and Roxanne have the type of love that only comes around once in a while, almost like an eclipse, but when it does, it’s an incredible thing to witness. Despite the obstaclesthey faced, and the way the world sometimes worked against them, their love prevailed over it all every single time.”
I look into my brother’s eyes, and from the depths of my heart, pull up a few words I really mean. I just hope they come out the right way. “I’ve looked up to you for never being afraid to take what you wanted, even when it shattered the expectations put on you. Seeing how far you and Roxanne have come, and the things you’ve done to stay by her side… I think that kind of struggle, and the conquering of it has to be the epitome of love.” I look back at the crowd, which is eerily silent. “Don’t you think, everyone?”
Raucous applause breaks out. I smile so wide that it hurts my cheeks, sitting back down, and I swear that Andries dabs his eyes with his napkin discreetly when he thinks I’m not looking. Even if he is drunk, I’ll give him a pass, if my little speech was able to make him that emotional.
“Andries,” I begin, much quieter this time, so we have some privacy. “I really am sorry for Mom and Dad not coming. I will do everything in my power to make sure the entire family is back together for the wedding.”
Even inebriated, he doesn’t completely forgive me, but he’s closer than he has been in weeks. “I don’t believe you, but I’m happy you went out of your way to put the past behind you and be kind to my fiancée so you could attend.”
I turn my gaze to Dan, knowing that he’s the one that has truly built this bridge between Andries and me, giving us a chance to reconnect and heal. I smile at him softly, thankful for his friendship even more than usual. Dan, though, looks at me as if he’s never seen me before. He watches me like that through dessert, and when the course is over, reaches a hand across the table to touch my wrist.
“Can I have a moment with you in private?” he asks, the tone of his voice telling me that there will be no other answer he accepts but “yes.”
My brother is distracted, so I give Dan a quick nod. “Lead the way. It’s your house, after all.”
He takes my hand, and we move through the party crowd. My pulse picks up, anticipation coiling through me thinking about why he wants me alone. There are so many options that it makes my head spin.
I think about my hands on his bare chest and shiver even in the warm evening air.
Dan takes me inside the home, leading me up a set of stairs and to a study, where he shuts the door behind him. “This is a spare room, so we won’t be disturbed,” he explains.
“I still don’t know why you wanted me alone,” I point out.
He inhales deeply. “I’m just not understanding how you, the same sister who was willing to throw her brother under the bus, is now telling the entire world how much she loves him and is happy for him. Are you being sincere or just faking it for the sake of the evening?”
This is not what I expected for our private moment, and my anticipation fades away rapidly. “I just don't want my brother to be hurt anymore. It’s bad enough that our mom and dad didn’t come.”
“I don’t believe you for one second,” he says, raising his eyebrows and crossing his arms. “You are, at the center of your being, a selfish girl, who does selfish girl things. Tell me the truth, Elise.”
“You’re a lot soberer than I thought,” I grumble, refusing to look him in the eye.
“Elise, I swear to God if you use that info of the cabaret as a way to blackmail your brother after I went to all that effort—”
“That’s not it!” I insist. “If you must know, the only revenge plot I had in mind was to not invite him to my eighteenth birthday at our home estate. After making me jump through hoops like a dog to get invited to his party, he’s definitely not getting an invitation to mine.”
Dan looks shocked but quickly recovers. “That’s a stupid plan because he won’t go if your parents are there. Not when they’re still convinced their future daughter-in-law is a whore.”
“Who knows? My brother is a bit crazy sometimes.” I shrug. “It doesn't matter, because he’s not coming, but…” I look at him through my lashes, and with my lips curving into a smile, I say, “You are.”
He makes an animalistic noise in his throat, walking toward me until the back of my knees hit the oak desk in the middle of the room. When he reaches me, he grabs me by the waist, lifting me until I’m sitting on the desk with him standing between my legs. “Don’t play games with me.” His voice is harsh and nearly threatening, definitely not what I was expecting.
