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Her mother’s hand flew to Bianca’s. “Did you two get engaged?”

Sam saved the wineglass from spilling across the table. Bianca, however, was powerless to stop her mother from grabbing her hand and showing off the modest diamond ring on Bianca’s finger to everyone.

Scarlett dropped her napkin and slapped a hand to her chest. Isabel gasped with excitement. A look of intense relief crossed Parker’s face. Julia cocked her head, squinting to get a better look at the ring. Her father grunted in approval.

“When did this happen?” Her mother leaped out of her seat, shaking the back of Bianca’s chair. “Tell me everything! Don’t leave out any details.”

“Well…” Bianca looked to Sam, who steeled herself in that stiff way she had come to know well. “We have an announcement to make. We wanted to wait until we were a bit farther into the meal to mention anything, but—”

“You two got engaged. What else is there to tell us?” Vivianne sat back down, hand on Bianca’s leg. “Except the details. Was it romantic? Sam, did you do my daughter right by taking her out to a nice dinner? Some fireworks, perhaps? Oh, what about one of those blimps they have down there?”

“Mom,” Bianca said, clearing her throat. “We didn’t get engaged.”

The table fell deathly still and silent. The only movement was Parker practically twiddling her fingers in glee. She knew a bomb was about to be dropped. And for once, it wouldn’t be her dropping it.

“We’re uh… we’re actually married already,” Bianca said. “We eloped a little while ago.”

“You did what?” Her mother sprang to her feet again. “You eloped? Why? You didn’t tell anyone? How long has it been? Are you having a proper ceremony? Whose idea was this? Phillip! Phillip, do something!”

He steepled his fingers before his face, thumbs pushing against his chin. “There isn’t much I can do about it now, is there?”

“But your youngest daughter has run off and gotten married, depriving us of a wedding! No beautiful white gown. No flowing veil. No flowers. Nothing!”

“Yes. And I gave them my blessing to do so.”

“What?”

The squawking didn’t stop until Bianca stood up from her chair, put both hands on her mother’s shoulders, and looked her in the eye.

“We got married, Mom. I’m a grown adult who made an adult decision. Yes, there was a prenup. No, we will not be having a ‘real’ ceremony. The whole reason we eloped is because we wanted it to be special, just the two of us. One of my grad school friends was the witness. Everything is legal, and everything was exactly the way we wanted it. I’m sorry none of you were invited. And to be fair, when Dad gave us his blessing, we swore him to secrecy until it was done.”

While the idea of only asking her father for his blessing felt a little chauvinistic, Bianca knew they’d need to have at least one parent on their side to keep the situation from blowing up too badly.

And it seemed to be working. Aside from her mother, the table was all smiles.

“Congrats!” Isabel rounded the table and flung her arms around Bianca. Scarlett soon followed. That was Julia and Parker’s cue to come shake Sam’s hand and hug Bianca too. Soon, they were encircled by her whole family, save for her father, who continued to sit at the head of the table, presumably contemplating his golf handicap.

“Thank you,” Parker whispered into Bianca’s ear. “You’ve done the rest of us a huge favor.”

Bianca’s laugh was cut off by her mother, who practically yanked Parker away.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook,” she said. “I’ve been cruelly denied the right to attend the first wedding among my daughters, but Bianca isn’t the only daughter I have. You and Julia have been together for years. And I swear to God, if you don’t give me a proper wedding—”

“Why are you interrogating me?” Parker glanced in Scarlett’s direction. “I’m not the one who’s spent months ring shopping.”

Scarlett glared at her sister. “Really, Parker? Isabel is right here!”

Parker gave her an apologetic shrug. At the same time, their mother swiveled toward Scarlett and Isabel and began battering them with questions.

Isabel shrank down in her chair, looking like she’d rather be anywhere else. Bianca and Sam exchanged a look. Neither of them mentioned that what Parker had said was true. Scarlett had bought a ring. And over a heartfelt phone conversation, she’d told Bianca that she was preparing to propose to Isabel. “Assuming she accepts—and I don’t know why she wouldn’t—we’ll be getting married by the end of next year. Besides, we’ve been talking about having kids before I get too much older…”

“Do you understand now why we had to elope?” Bianca hissed at Sam. “My mom can’t be trusted around weddings.”

“My mother would have been worse,” Sam whispered. “I would have ended up in a sari. Me!”

“Mom,” Scarlett shouted over the rabble. “I swear, I haven’t proposed to Isabel. If I had, you’d be the first to know.”

“I want grandchildren!” Vivianne chased down Scarlett, who was attempting to return to her seat at the other side of the table. “I’ve been holding onto Adrian’s sperm for years, Scarlett!”


Tags: Anna Stone Romance