Michael Taylor was sure- he was in love with Lydia Saunders, even if she was engaged to someone else. He had been for years and no one else came close. Not until that kiss happened.
Suddenly, Lyanna Saunders- the woman he vowed to hate forever- was...
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For years, I've always felt left out when it comes to hanging out with my friends. We were all at different stages of our lives despite being roughly the same age and it often created an unnecessary awkwardness. It got worse, somewhat, after Jenna and Elias married and then Dan and Sophie married. For a brief period of time, Isaac and I felt like outsiders and then it all changed- again- when Isaac and Charlotte got together. I don't begrudge any of them their happiness but it did make me insanely jealous whenever we got together and I was the odd one out.
Now, however, that's all changed. With Lyanna in my life, I have very much become one of those smug married couples that Bridget Jones complained about in her diary.
When Charlotte rang me and asked if I fancied joining her and Isaac for a dinner party, she was more excited about having Lyanna over than me. It amazed me how Charlotte and Sophie had taken Lyanna under their wings, inviting her to join them without any of us guys around. Jenna Marshall was also polite enough around Lyanna but she wasn't as close as the other two- with two young children to juggle as well as planning on going back to work, Jenna had her own priorities, something that Lyanna understood perfectly.
"I'm going to have to check if Lyanna's free," I explain over the phone, only to be met with a short laugh from Charlotte. Understanding quickly, I shake my head and sigh. "You've already asked her and she told you to ask me, didn't she?"
"I did," Charlotte said. I could imagine her grinning on the other end of the line in that typical way both she and her sister, Sophie, did. It winds me up when they do it but with Charlotte being my best friend's wife, I can't hate her for it. "Everyone else is arriving by seven thirty. So you and Lyanna can arrive by six thirty or seven. Isaac says he needs you here earlier for whatever reason. I don't even pretend to understand you men."
Laughing, I promise Charlotte that we'd be there by six thirty and promptly hang up so I could text Lyanna about the plans. Her response was typical- I know flashed up on my screen, followed by a smiling emoji and a couple of kisses.
