"Hello?" Pt. 2

Family Affair

"I think I preferred you when you were gasping for air," Charlotte told him as she threw up her hands in a gesture that we all knew indicated that she was giving up the fight. Lucas beamed. "Oh, take that smirk off your face."

"No, I'm good, thanks," Lucas said, folding his arms over his puffed out chest. Oh, yeah, this boy has most definitely found his confidence. My brother shook his head and moved to make his way to the table, stopping in his tracks when he saw Daniel and I. Suddenly, his confidence disappeared and his eyes sunk. "Sophie, Charlotte was being mean to me."

I shake my head at him. "Your 'pity me' eyes no longer work on me, Luc," I tell him pointedly. "I'm sure you did something to her to make her mad at you."

"But-"

"He totally did," Charlotte spoke, cutting off Lucas' denial. Coming over to Daniel and I, Charlotte greeted us both with a smile and a hug, taking the bottle of wine from Daniel's hand which she dutifully opened immediately. She took a long gulp from her glass and smiled. "I needed that. Now, everyone, sit."

Mum and Dad laughed at how us kids took charge and it was a free for all on who sat where. Dad, as always, ended up at one end of the table, while Mum took the opposite end. Charlotte and I sat on one side, with Charlotte closer to Mum. Opposite myself sat Lucas, which meant that Daniel was now sat to my mother's right. He smiled politely as he took his seat, making sure that he sat only after all the women had. 

The soup was to start, followed by a small plate of escargots. When Mum announced this, I couldn't help but laugh absurdly loud as I remembered last night, when I tried to get Daniel to try the delicacy for the first time. It hadn't gone well, and considering how my fiancé had just gone a little green in the face, I knew that tonight's attempt would meet the same fate, with Daniel running off to the bathroom to throw up. 

"Is he ok?" Dad asked as well all watched Daniel hot foot it out the kitchen as Lucas shouted directions to the closest bathroom. "Not a fan of snails, huh? I can sympathise."

"We all can," Lucas muttered, although from the sharp bark of French that came from the opposite end of the table, Mum must have heard him. Putting on his best innocent face, Lucas smiled. "Have I ever mentioned to you, Mum, that this is the best dish in the whole entire world? Because it totally is."

"Ta gueule," Mum told Lucas with a roll of her eyes. Turning to me, she tilted her head sideways and said, "We must start planning your wedding, Sophie."

"I thought you might say that," I noted, putting my fork down. As soon as we all looked like we were done with the started, Dad cleared the plates. Anything to avoid more wedding talk, I surmised as he cleaned the table and brought out the main course. "Well, we have a date set."

"You do?" Charlotte asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"New Year's Eve," Daniel confirmed as he rejoined us, looking a little better than when he rushed out of the kitchen barely five minutes ago. "We want to start the New Year as man and wife, so it makes sense. Why put it off, huh?"

"And you have a wedding gown," Mum spoke, careful not to give away too much information about the dress I was to wear on the big day. "What about location?"

"The church in my family's Estate," Daniel answered. "It's quaint and there won't be a lot of guests at the ceremony. For the reception, we can have it at the orangery that's adjacent to the main house. If need be, we can have a marquee put up."

I blink at Daniel, wondering when he's had time to start planning these things. Ever since I got back to London, all our energy has been going into getting the new house ready, meeting with various interior designers and arguing about colour schemes. We've barely touched on the topic of the wedding, but apparently Daniel has had more than enough time to plan some of the bigger details.

"With a marquee we'll have enough room for a live band," he says, his attention more on Mum than it was on me. "We have a license already that says we can host a wedding at the Estate and part of that includes a permit to have a firework display, as long as we give the local council thirty days warning. We won't have flowrs due to Sophie's allergy. For the dinner menu, Sophie is going to talk to her uncle, and we were hoping that you might agree to make the cake for us, Charlotte," Daniel mentions, looking at my sister hopefully. "Lucas, if you agree, I'd like for you to be one of my ushers, unless Sophie is going to need you on the day. We won't be inviting my mother, so there won't be a mother-son dance, but I'd like to share one with my grandmother, if that's ok. And I'd also like Evelyn and her two sons to have a prominent place in the wedding because for a lot of people, that would be the first time that they find out she's my sister. Oh, and I've booked the honeymoon."

The table falls silent as we all turn to look at Daniel, myself more awed than anyone by the amount of attention he's lavished on the wedding planning. I haven't thought about receptions, fireworks, dinner menus, cakes... and what does he mean, he's booked the honeymoon? To where?

"Well," Mum smiles as she reaches out for her glass of wine. "I'm impressed. I thought you two wouldn't have thought any of this through. I was wrong."

"Mhm," Dad agreed. Shifting in his chair, he eyed Daniel and I as he rapped his fingers against the table. "And how much, exactly, is this going to cost me? If it's anywhere near the three million Emma's wedding cost, break the news to me gently, otherwise, Lucas will have to walk you down the aisle because I'll have died of a heart attack."

"Oh, please tell him it's going to cost that much!" My brother excitedly begged me. We all stared at him. "What? I want to walk you down the aisle!"

Dad glared at him mockingly. "Charlotte was right. We all preferred you when you were gasping for air."

I feel like this is a rather disjointed chapter that's a bit all over the place.

But, I have to say, I love Lucas!

BTW, Good Morning Beautiful/i like turtles update tomorrow, anyone?