Steven's Bride by Pascal Francine

Author:Pascal, Francine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-01-26T16:00:00+00:00

Eight

"I thought you'd be spending every possible minute with Cara," Mrs. Wakefield remarked to Steven as the family sat down to dinner on Friday. "Not that it isn't nice to have you here with us!"

"I'll see her tomorrow. Her family's having a sort of reunion tonight," Steven explained. He helped himself to the stir-fried chicken and rice. "Her dad and brother are in town. She was really excited about seeing them."

"I suppose they won't have many opportunities to get together when she and her mother are living in London," Mrs. Wakefield observed.

"Right." Steven met Jessica's eyes across the table. Jessica winked, and Steven frowned at her. Could she be any less subtle? It was amazing to him that she had managed to keep the elopement a secret from the family this long. Not that he was in the clear yet. Jessica still had a week to blow it!

The meal got under way. As usual, each member of the family had news to share. Mr. Wakefield talked about a plan to reorganize his law firm that had been discussed at a partners' meeting that day; Mrs. Wakefield made everyone laugh by describing an odd client for whom she was doing some design work; Elizabeth described her latest reporting assignment for The Oracle; Jessica complained about the cost of the new cheerleading uniforms, the fact that Robin had picked them out, and that they were boring. Only Steven was quiet. He felt strangely apart, as if he were already an outsider. It'll never be the same once I'm married, he realized sadly. His home would be with Cara. She would be his family. He would be a guest at his parents' house, no longer just one of the kids.

But that was the way life worked, Steven told himself. It happened sooner or later; in his case, it was going to be sooner, that was all. Because he had made up his mind. He was still carrying the law program's letter in his jacket pocket. He had read and reread it a dozen times and he knew he was making an enormous sacrifice, but his decision to decline the offer was firm. And he had made another resolution: not to tell anyone, including his family and Cara, that he had been accepted. Cara would only feel guilty if she knew, and he couldn't tell his parents why he was turning down the program without revealing his wedding plans. As for Elizabeth . . . Steven knew she would never understand why he was turning his back on the chance to realize his dream. She would try to talk him out of it; they would just have another fight.

Steven set down his fork. He might as well get this over with. He cleared his throat. "Urn, I have something to tell everybody."

Jessica stared at Steven, her eyes round. She probably thinks I'm about to come clean about the secret wedding! Steven thought ironically. "I heard from the law program. My application was turned down."

"Oh, Steven.

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