Read Online The Accidental Family by Rowan Coleman - Free Book Online
Authors: Rowan Coleman
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Look, we’re here now. Stop shouting and show me how pretty and ladylike and bridesmaidsey you can be. Because only quiet, respectable, ladylike girls can be bridesmaids.”
“With wings,” Izzy muttered under her breath.
“At all,” Louis said.
“Except,” Bella had told him, looking at him from beneath her bangs, “that we are your daughters and so we are definitely going to be bridesmaids at all cost .”
Sophie followed the Gregorys through the shopping crowds from a slight distance. She knew Louis had guessed she was a bit overwhelmed by the maelstrom of feelings, opinions, and questions the girls had thrown at her, and she loved the fact that he knew her well enough to give her this small distance from them while she adjusted to everything that was happening. The very fact that he had discovered that about her gave her joy in itself. It was evidence of how their relationship had deepened since they’d first met. And she had discovered that she wanted to make him happy, and that she’d do more or less anything to do that. That had to be love.
What she needed to do, Sophie decided, was to take baby steps. First step: she was in love with Louis Gregory. The wild leaping of her heart whenever she stood next to him proved that conclusively—she had already taken that step and she thought she’d adjusted to the news rather well, what with all the sex and happiness it entailed. Second step: she had very recently agreed to marry him,which would take a bit of getting used to, but she was confident that she would get used to it because, after all, she had got very used to step one alarmingly quickly. Third step: she’d have to think about some sort of wedding eventually, although she’d read in an old edition of the Tatler she’d found in the doctor’s surgery when Izzy had a chest infection that long engagements were the latest trend, so perhaps it didn’t have to be that soon. Fourth step: that would be the actual being-married-to-Louis step, the part where she moved out of the Avalon and in with him and the girls. Then there was the fifth and final step: the whole rest of her life with Louis and the girls, the rest of her natural life being fully married.
As her heart was gripped by a sudden vision of eternity, Sophie decided then and there not to dwell on any of the steps past one and two. One and two really were the only pertinent steps right now. After all, she hadn’t even told her mother yet that she was engaged, and everybody knows that nothing is really ever true or real until you’ve told your mother.
As long as she had a little more time simply to enjoy being in love with him and getting her head around being engaged to him, then Sophie was certain she’d be able to deal with the other issues eventually. After all, now that she’d said yes, there was no going back.
The ring would be ready and perfectly sized within a couple of hours, so Louis suggested lunch. Bella suggested bridesmaid shopping and Sophie suggested the pub. In the end they compromised by going to the Bell, which was located next to a bridal shop and served food all day. As Sophie sipped her gin and tonic, she watched Louis and the girls talking, planning, laughing. They, the Gregorys, were a family now. A proper unit, something they had not been until very recently. And Sophie was proud that in some small way, she had helped make that happen. Or in a rather large way, actually, she admitted to herself, quietly blowing her own trumpet.After all, it was Sophie who had taken Bella and Izzy in when all she had to offer them was microwavable frozen dinners and a one-bedroom flat with a neurotic cat. And it was Sophie who had employed a private detective to track down the girls’ father after Carrie died. Sophie had stood guard over Bella and Izzy while she tried to work out if the wildly handsome stranger who happened to be their father was friend or foe, and it was she who had done her best to reconcile the three of them even
“With wings,” Izzy muttered under her breath.
“At all,” Louis said.
“Except,” Bella had told him, looking at him from beneath her bangs, “that we are your daughters and so we are definitely going to be bridesmaids at all cost .”
Sophie followed the Gregorys through the shopping crowds from a slight distance. She knew Louis had guessed she was a bit overwhelmed by the maelstrom of feelings, opinions, and questions the girls had thrown at her, and she loved the fact that he knew her well enough to give her this small distance from them while she adjusted to everything that was happening. The very fact that he had discovered that about her gave her joy in itself. It was evidence of how their relationship had deepened since they’d first met. And she had discovered that she wanted to make him happy, and that she’d do more or less anything to do that. That had to be love.
What she needed to do, Sophie decided, was to take baby steps. First step: she was in love with Louis Gregory. The wild leaping of her heart whenever she stood next to him proved that conclusively—she had already taken that step and she thought she’d adjusted to the news rather well, what with all the sex and happiness it entailed. Second step: she had very recently agreed to marry him,which would take a bit of getting used to, but she was confident that she would get used to it because, after all, she had got very used to step one alarmingly quickly. Third step: she’d have to think about some sort of wedding eventually, although she’d read in an old edition of the Tatler she’d found in the doctor’s surgery when Izzy had a chest infection that long engagements were the latest trend, so perhaps it didn’t have to be that soon. Fourth step: that would be the actual being-married-to-Louis step, the part where she moved out of the Avalon and in with him and the girls. Then there was the fifth and final step: the whole rest of her life with Louis and the girls, the rest of her natural life being fully married.
As her heart was gripped by a sudden vision of eternity, Sophie decided then and there not to dwell on any of the steps past one and two. One and two really were the only pertinent steps right now. After all, she hadn’t even told her mother yet that she was engaged, and everybody knows that nothing is really ever true or real until you’ve told your mother.
As long as she had a little more time simply to enjoy being in love with him and getting her head around being engaged to him, then Sophie was certain she’d be able to deal with the other issues eventually. After all, now that she’d said yes, there was no going back.
The ring would be ready and perfectly sized within a couple of hours, so Louis suggested lunch. Bella suggested bridesmaid shopping and Sophie suggested the pub. In the end they compromised by going to the Bell, which was located next to a bridal shop and served food all day. As Sophie sipped her gin and tonic, she watched Louis and the girls talking, planning, laughing. They, the Gregorys, were a family now. A proper unit, something they had not been until very recently. And Sophie was proud that in some small way, she had helped make that happen. Or in a rather large way, actually, she admitted to herself, quietly blowing her own trumpet.After all, it was Sophie who had taken Bella and Izzy in when all she had to offer them was microwavable frozen dinners and a one-bedroom flat with a neurotic cat. And it was Sophie who had employed a private detective to track down the girls’ father after Carrie died. Sophie had stood guard over Bella and Izzy while she tried to work out if the wildly handsome stranger who happened to be their father was friend or foe, and it was she who had done her best to reconcile the three of them even
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