“Yes. Your father and Trevor already had to pull them apart from each other before that.”
Myla’s eyes went wide. She glanced over towards her mother, she was crouched on the floor putting a cigarette between her lips. Igniting the lighter she held it at the end and took in a deep breath, blowing out the smoke with sheer joy radiating her face.
“Mother!” Myla gasped incredulously.
“Yes?”
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m having a cigarette, what does it look like? I need one after this afternoon. Tell me if your father is coming.”
Myla could feel her throat instantly dry up and she clamped her mouth shut. My mother smokes?
“Oh, don’t look so shocked, Myla. We all have secrets, don’t we?” She replied with a sarcastic smile.
She felt an instant ball of flames shoot around her body, causing her head to throb even more. Her hands became clammy and her chest tightened but she kept her eyes on her mother. Does she know my secret?
Taking the last puff on the cigarette, Victoria dabbed the end in Myla’s glass of water, then dropped it inside of a lidded tin hidden behind a bean bag on the summer house’s floor. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Myla. Your skin has gone a deathly white color, are you okay?”
She nodded her head unable to speak, her thoughts were becoming muddled as she tried to work out if her mother knew who Rhett really was. No, she can’t do. She would of took great joy in saying something.
“When are you getting married? You’ve been engaged to Rhett for some time now.” Victoria suddenly asked causing Myla to look away sharply.
“I don’t know, we are both so busy right now, me with the boutique and him with the firm…” She mumbled with a shrug of her shoulders.
“You need to make time, Myla, before you’re too old for children. He’s quite something, everyone seems smitten by him.”
“What, even you?” Myla retorted.
“I have my reservations, but I’ve seen the way he makes your eyes light up when he’s around, and the way you laugh, like earlier for instance when he chased you around the driveway, even Casper never put that kind of smile on your face.”
“Uhm, I don-”
> “Although I am upset at what he did to Casper, that was just plain out of order, it took three of us to calm Grace down, she was nearly hysterical,” she cut in over the top.
“Myla,” she heard a deep voice call. Her heart somersaulted at the sound of his tones and a wide smile formed on her face when she saw Kai head towards her across the garden.
“I’ll leave you to it,” nodded Victoria passing Kai without a single glance in his direction.
She stood up when he came to a standstill in front of her. “How’s it going?” He asked, leaning towards her, and placed a gentle kiss on her lips that left her wanting more.
“Okay. I figure another four hours maybe then it will just need some sequins added and I’m going to fix a satin sash around the waist with a bow at the back.”
“I have no idea what you just said, but I’m sure Grace will love it,” he laughed.
“Hmm, well I hear you’re not in Grace’s good books now,” she replied. She sat back down and began continuing to sew.
“You could say that. Are you pissed off with me too?”
“Why would I be?” She asked elegantly moving the material across the machine.
“It was an accident; the guy is a grade A fucking ass wipe. He pushed and pushed me out there today.”
“Sounds like Casper got what he deserved,” laughed Myla.
“But at what cost? Grace is not even speaking to me, Jack has made it quite clear how pissed off he is now I’ve left him without a best man, your mother looked like she wanted to snap my neck. The only one who stood up for me was your father.”
“Listen,” she started, she stopped sewing and laced her fingers in his “you could have stabbed Casper’s eyes out and my dad would have stood and cheered you on, he’s never liked him, he just tolerated him for my sake and now for Grace’s as he is Jack’s best friend. As for my mother, well we won’t even go there and Jack has plenty of friends he can call on for best man duties.”