Matthews POV
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMGv8YNvoD
"Brandy Matthew" Richard smiles at me, a Cheshire grin falling over his face. Platinum hair that is cropped back and coiffed to perfection. Wearing a hunting jacket, I'm not kidding, as if he's just jumped off of his horse and strolled in the back. The fact that this man owns rifles should worry me more than it currently does.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGLH8rg8NN
"Of course" I say with a smile as Emily gushes over her friends and I try to maintain physical contact with her before she slips out of my hands. Three girls surrounding her as she commands them under her gaze. Glass chandeliers over my head and arched ceilings, Emily's family is all present, aunts uncles and cousins. A log fire that's been tended too and a large oak table with a mixture of dishes on it. My palms sweat slightly and I hasten to admit that it would have been easier had I of invited Ross at least as a backing.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxo7Z2psw0
"Nothing beats it" he smiles and I eye him nodding as he passes me the glass. I cast my eyes over the room and notice that Bianca has not been invited, all of the guests are here for Emily. Clearly Emily and Bianca have gone their seperate ways, not altogether a bad thing.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NE1qeuBZn
"I've been a brandy man for many years" I smile at him confidently.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9hm3vI0fn
"That's my boy" he says rubbing my shoulder and grinning. Richard has but one child. Emily his daughter is his all. And I cannot help but to imagine that he would have loved to have had a son. Emily's mother passed away sadly during childbirth; it's not something we talk about all that often. It worries her however that her mother suffered complications birthing her. But her relationship with her father is iron clad strong. He raised his daughter and honestly he did a great job.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJ72CDKCTB
"Emily my darling" he calls out over the classical music playing. A soft piano melody enchanting me, I'm focusing on tuning out from its twinkling melody as it conjures up memories. Instead I sip the brandy and smile playing the part. Emily turns to me smiling before her eyes wash over her father.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfCv2TnrX0
"Yes papa" she smirks and I get the ick just slightly. Papa Richard laughs beckoning her and I watch her red dress sashay over to me. She slips into my arms and I hold her around the waist. Papa Richard looks pleased. I decide that no child of mine will ever be saying the word papa. My mind whirls over the notion of having children and I push the thought away for the time being.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPwGazmIhe
"You must introduce" he hints and she nods laughing. A huge stag head on the wall and I'm sure the area rug is real fur. Hunting indeed.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4bpGs9WhQ
"Matthew" Emily begins and I rub my fingertips up and down her waist. Imagining slipping the gown off later, how the silk will fall to the floor and how she will gaze at me wonderingly.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvp4Cnbl6U
"My auntie Rebecca and her two Jerry and Geraldine" she smiles pointing people out. Rebecca, her auntie, is clearly Richard's sister. The resemblance is striking, she's the younger female version of him. Slightly plump with rosy cheeks and light streaks in her hair.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGSuDLQymm
"Nice to meet you" Jerry says shaking my hand, and there's something decent behind his blue eyes. Auburn hair which is slightly darker than his sisters. Geraldine stands behind her older brother; a petite frame, pale golden hair and a keen smile.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHObiAWbcg
"Are you kinless Matthew!?" Richard laughs jovially opening up a conversation to highlight my lack of family present.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYK1IRGWpg
"Not at all, my mother is abroad, in fact they all are!" I quip with him and he nods.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3iVBUwamK
"My father however he left when I was young. My mother is a force of nature; she raised myself and my sister" I explain soberly, his nod of appreciation tells me that being genuine was the correct thing to do. Glancing down at my glass before Emily clears her throat, she's no good with personal matters. Kimberley was less forthcoming with Emily, in fact she was a little cold when I took the both of them to dinner. Kimberley was under strict instruction not to mention Taylor, I found this to be reasonable seen as people generally do not talk about their ex partners in the presence of the new one. Kimberley saw it as a charade and she told me so afterwards as we stood outside the Ritz in London when Emily had been getting her coat.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclsV6LdrAT
"My uncle, mother's side, Jude and his daughter Emma" she says softly and I watch her rosy cheeks as she speaks. Smiling at her uncle and Emma in turn before the chatter picks up again in the large dining hall.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4Z3z5V77x
"Thank you darling" I whisper as she smiles up at me, charmed.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqnOoQKb1e
"For what" she blushes, gloriously pink as she giggles.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMw647FiIx
"For saying yes" I whisper in her ear, my hands on her waist as her family members chatter around us and I keep her close.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3zScuRMjY
Emily has grown up with maids, chefs and cleaners and so when a formal dinner ensues she's not surprised. I however had imagined the plates already set upon the dining table containing fish, salad, and a seperate cheese board had been the main event however I had been incorrect they were just entrées.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgeyDi0Ply
A five course meal served by staff in black and white suits, with coats and tails. The finest roast beef and dauphinoise potatoes with all the trimmings. Emily sat next to me as I slip my hand onto her thigh, trying desperately to keep track of my brandy consumption is hard when a waiter tops up my glass periodically throughout our courses. It could be four or five glasses so far and I'm sure the effects are beginning to set upon me. Feeling her breathing hitch as my hands wander, before I whisper in her ear that I need just a small nicotine hit. I excuse myself like a gentleman, grasping my jacket as raucous laughter around the table can be heard. Emily's family knows how to party for a rich bunch. The alcohol is endless however I keep myself steady as I waltz out to the gravel drive, lounging back on the Porsche and lighting up.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR10a8rBxMq
Looking up at the estate, six floors of pebbledash walls separated by stone pillars and individually painted white pane windows. A large outhouse at the rear of the grounds, being the soon to be groom I have socialised and had more than too many brandy's. It's rendered me to stand out in the chilly British night listening to the owls wondering what more could I need? What more could I possibly want?
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbOQEy5CNG
Deciding that Brandy has gotten to my head I pull my phone out and notice more calls from my past life. A message from my boss, Paul, sending me a rain check on the engagement party. I sigh and hasten to wonder what Taylor could possibly need from me. Inhaling my cigarette deeply I ponder, hesitating over the call button, wondering if it’s urgent.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVumvLbvKE
“Matthew” Jerry calls out, and I curse straightening myself out and ditching the cigarette. Jerry laughs easily pulling a packet of Marlboros out of his breast pocket and lighting up next to me. Wordlessly he gazes at the house as I proceed to ignite a second cigarette.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vQK7uAW6L
“Didn’t want to blow it by being a smoker” I quip and he laughs. Turning his curly auburn hair to me, a grin that is welcoming.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuHfNhR2aP
“Me too man don’t worry” he smiles softly, the formality removed from his tone that he used inside of the estate home.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGyoM7CDAH
“How am I doing?” I venture laughing slightly and he grins.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsmQUrnUJ3
“You’re already engaged to her relax, I presume you spoke with Rich beforehand” he says inhaling his smoke and eyeing the Porsche briefly.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeoWUCX13v
“I did of course” I say softly.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJp6nmmEOJd
“She’s everything to me” I murmur as he breathes in deeply nodding. I notice he’s brought out the brandy bottle and how he swigs it casually before handing it over to me. Cufflinks on his shirt, a smooth white handkerchief in his pocket. He’s refined and I would place his age at around thirty four.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcAA2EwM1K
“She’s absolutely head over heels” he surmises and I smile.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lreVSivKB
“I only wish to make her happy” I announce giving him the bottle back and rising to my feet. Laughing slightly at how unsteady I am.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOIJLylBQO
“Matthew?” He says slightly apprehensively, I feel the gravel crunch under my foot as I spin back round to take in his face. A look of concern over his face, the sort of look that Ross would place upon his face when he’s protecting the girls.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2yXCzJ7Og
“You would tell her? If there were anything? Anything at all” he begins raising himself up to his feet and towering over me. I hadn’t realised his height until now but he must be at least six foot.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcsPYdZG4Q
“Of course” I murmur earnestly, as if sincerity is my second name.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPLVdBWUl2
“Well” he nods looking down at his bottle and his clipper lighter.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPM5OovteCT
“Then you’d be willing to share with me just who Taylor Gilbert Scott is to you” he whispers as my hackles rise and goosebumps shimmer over my skin. The air cold as I attempt and fail miserably to conceal the shock at hearing the sound of her name uttered out loud.
