Always the Bride

25. No choice

With another long weekend upon me, I can update. :) I intend to update again over the weekend if all goes well. Before the dinner party commences, Russell has a little breakdown. What will happen?? Read and find out. :D Happy reading as always <3

****

As I drive to Russell’s place I can feel my teeth clenching as I stress about the night ahead. I’m Julia again and what’s stressing me most is Jamie hasn’t given me any indication of how we’re going to do this.

The moment I got home this afternoon I text him and he said he’d ‘deal with it’ but never elaborated on how. Since then I’ve been a ball of stress. What’s he going to do? I wish I knew. Damn him. He just doesn’t care, does he? He’ll do things at his pace, no one else’s. The rest of us just have to deal with it.

In the pit of my stomach I already feel like this entire night is going to be a total disaster. I hope for once I’m wrong.

I slow the car and turn right onto Russell’s street. A few seconds later I pull to a stop out the front. After turning off the ignition I sit in silence for a few seconds as I compose myself. It’s only four in the afternoon but I need to be here early so Beatrice and Bronco don’t get suspicious.

After taking a deep breath I open the car door and step out. This is it. As much as I wanted to mentally prepare myself for this, the events of the day have stopped that from happening. I am not prepared at all.

The moment my car door shuts the front door opens immediately and Russell steps out. It’s like he was waiting for me. This puts me on edge.

He takes two long strides and greets me with a warm embrace and a kiss on the cheek. I’m surprised by how much I’ve missed him. It’s only been a few days since I last saw him but in three weeks he’s become a big part of my life. Not a bad choice for a random husband.

When we pull away, I notice a look of concern on his face. “We have a problem,” he confesses.

My stomach drops. “Oh god. What’s wrong?”

His eyes dart around as though checking there’s no one around then in a low voice he says, “My parents are here already. They’ve been here most of the day and they’ve been questioning where you’ve been. I told them you were called into work but they refuse to believe me. I’ve stuck to the story but I think they want to hear an explanation from you.”

If it’s possible for my stomach to drop even further it just has. This is not good. We’ve always tried to avoid this situation. Those idiots purposely tried to catch us out! Well fine, two can play this game.

Pulling my shoulders back I give a single nod and take a deep breath. “That’s fine, leave it up to me.”

“What are you going to tell them?”

I smirk at him. “That I was working of course. If they don’t believe you they’re going to have to believe me.”

He cringes. “I hope it works.” He takes a deep breath then takes my hand and leads me to the house. “Let’s get this over with then.” We reach the door when Russell stops and looks at me. “Oh I forgot to tell you Jamie and his parents will be here too. He’s got himself a girlfriend now.”

“Yes I know.” The moment the words leave my mouth and Russell looks at me quizzically I have to stop myself from gasping in horror.

What the hell am I doing? Julia isn’t supposed to know this!

The speed my heart is beating makes me worry slightly. This is too much pressure for someone my age. I’m only 25!

“How did you know?” Russell asks, his eyebrows drawing together.