Just for Fun

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Book: Read Just for Fun for Free Online
Authors: Rosalind James
as alike as we are, but he’s good
for you. He’ll settle you down, keep you focused.”
    “Do I want to be settled down, though?” Emma asked her
reflection.
    “It’s not too late to back out, if you’re having second
thoughts,” Lucy said helpfully.
    “Of course it is,” her mother shot back. “It’s cold feet,
that’s all. You’re just being a little flighty, like always. David’s perfect
for you, Emma. He’ll give you stability. Trust me.”
    “Shouldn’t I feel more . . . excitement, though?” Emma
asked. “Thrilled, or something?”
    Lucy looked down at her sister thoughtfully as their mother
moved to the closet for the simple dress she’d helped Emma choose. “No sparks,
huh?”
    “Well, not no,” Emma conceded. “But you know, not a
burning flame or anything. He doesn’t seem to feel like that either. I thought
men were supposed to be more eager than that. More excited.”
    “That’s a myth,” her mother said firmly, coming back with
the ivory silk held carefully in her outstretched arms. “You’d think men were
some kind of animals, the things people say. Anyway, that certainly isn’t what
carries a marriage through the years. It’s the friendship that matters. That’s
what lasts.”
    The door to the bedroom opened, and the man in question
stepped inside, closing it again behind him. All three women turned to look at
him. He hadn’t changed into his dark blue suit yet, Emma saw with surprise.
Instead, he wore his usual khaki Dockers and blue button-down Oxford cloth
shirt. And his usual white New Balance shoes. Emma felt a guilty flash of
annoyance even through her puzzlement. She wished he’d take her hints and buy a
pair of more fashionable shoes like the ones she kept pointing out to him. How
was she supposed to get excited by somebody who clipped his phone to his belt,
and flossed every single night, and wore those shoes? She felt a wave of
actual revulsion. Was it just cold feet? Was this normal?
    “David,” Frances said in surprise. “Why are you here? I
don’t believe in that nonsense about bad luck, of course. But Emma needs to get
ready, and you should be getting dressed yourself.”
    David, for once, ignored the wife of his department head. “I
need to talk to you, Emma,” he said instead. “Privately.”
    “Five minutes, then,” Frances decided. “Come on, Lucy.”
    Lucy’s observant glance shot from Emma to David, then back
to Emma. “I can stay, if you want,” she offered.
    “No,” Emma said, swinging herself around on the little stool
so she faced the room. “David wants to talk to me alone.” Icy fingers of dread
were running down her back, even as her mind went blank. Something was about to
happen.
    Her sister nodded, gave David one final appraising glance as
she left the room with their mother.
    Emma watched the door shut behind them, then turned to look
again at David. “What’s going on?”
    He sank onto the bed. Put a hand on each knee and exhaled in
a long sigh. “I know how much this is going to hurt you. But I can’t pretend
anymore, and it wouldn’t be fair to you to marry you, feeling the way I do.”
    “What way?” Those icy fingers were playing some kind of
sonata now. “Are you dumping me? On our wedding day?”
    “I just don’t think we’re compatible enough,” he explained.
“You have good values, and the right background. But there’s something
missing.”
    “I have good values?” she asked, staring at him.
“That’s it? That’s been the attraction?”
    “You’re a nice person,” he explained. “Not that steady,
maybe. A little moody. But you have a good character. And that’s important, in
a partner. But I’m sorry. It isn’t enough for me.”
    “My good character isn’t enough,” she said, fighting an
absurd desire to laugh. Or cry. Or something. “It doesn’t make up for . . .
what?”
    “For a real connection. I’ve realized I need somebody who
understands my work, and can have a real discussion

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