CHAPTER 3

JULIA

"Thanks for picking me up, Pen," I say, jumping into the front passenger seat.

"No problem," she replies, but then laughs under her breath, like she's hiding something.

I frown at her, exaggerating, which only makes her laugh harder. "What?"

"It's nothing." Yet, her smile lingers.

A few minutes later, we pull up at Chase's place. We both hop out of the car and head to the front door. Just as I go to knock, Penny pulls my hand back, hesitating for a second.

"Jules," she starts, and pulls her brows together like she's thinking, or cautious.

"Yeah?" I ask, unsure what's up with her.

"Just - be nice," she says.

I don't know why she's being so - weird - right now. I'm nice - mostly. My knuckles rap on the door, and Chase answers.

"Ladies," he says, ushering us in. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Great, I'm starving," I say, throwing my coat over the back of his couch.

Penny greets her fiancée, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him like she hasn't seen him in forever. It's unbelievably cute, but still, I couldn't imagine doing it myself. In fact, I'd go so far to say, the day I do that is the day hell freezes over. There's not a chance in hell that I'll ever let a man crush my independence. But I'm happy for them. If there ever were two people who were 'meant to be', it's these two.

They finally let go of each other. Chase grabs hold of her hand and guides her to the kitchen. I trail behind like a third wheel - a cool, funny, and independent third wheel, though.

As the hallway opens to the combined kitchen and dining room, I see him - Kyle. Grabbing Penny's arm, I pull her close, whispering in her ear.

"What the heck is he doing here?" My whisper is more aggressive than I anticipated but she just brushes me off.

With a feigned broad grin and a strained whisper, she scorns at me. "Be nice, Jules." Then she pulls away, taking a seat at the table.

Kyle looks at me, our eyes meeting briefly, before I scowl and look away. I take a seat opposite Penny. I'm thrown off guard, not realising he'd be here tonight too. And I'm unsure how to play this one out. Just looking at his bastardly handsome face makes my blood boil. I don't know how Penny can just sit there beside him - her ex-fiancée - like it's nothing. As if he didn't break her heart, leaving her at the altar on their wedding day like he did. The way he didn't even bother to tell her, instead texting his brother to do his dirty work. The more I think about it, the more riled up I become, but I can't help it. Shit.

Quietly, I sit there, trying to figure out how I'm going to get through the night. Penny appears to be managing quite well, exchanging small talk with Kyle, which is surprising to me, given their shared history. I wonder if she's actually struggling inside, and she's just got a natural talent for acting? Glancing over at Chase, he's shaking a cocktail shaker. Thank goodness for that. Maybe alcohol will help take the edge off. So long as it doesn't involve vodka - which makes me more 'fighty' - then we're sweet.

Chase places two green coloured cocktails in front of Penny and I, then serves up our meals.

"This smells amazing," Penny says, admonishing Chase.

"Enjoy," Chase says, looking around the table.

Picking up my knife and fork, I glance stealthily at the other three, who seem to have no trouble digging right in. I carve off a piece of steak, checking it's cooked properly - medium rare - which it is, and stuff it in my mouth. I can't remember the last time I had a steak, but this one is amazing. Juicy, tender, and full of flavour.

With my mouth half-full, I blurt out, "Oh my goodness, Chase, this is divine." Kyle snorts and says something under his breath, and I glare at him, hoping the daggers from my eyes might stab him hard enough to wipe that damn smirk off his face. I swallow my mouthful, glancing over at Chase and continue. "Where did you learn to cook like this?"

I notice Penny's gaze shift between Kyle and me, almost fierce, like she's ready to jump right up on the table to split up the pending argument between us. Her words repeat in my head, 'Be nice'. Ugh, I'm trying. I truly am, but it seems like an impossible task.

Penny sits up straighter in her chair and grins lovingly over at Chase. "This might be the best thing I've ever tasted."

Chase's voice lowers, sultry, as if neither Kyle nor I were even sitting there alongside them. "Are you sure about that?" he says.

The sexual undercurrent of his words is obvious, and Penny's cheeks blush. While I'm happy for them, there's no need for that type of talk at the dinner table - unless they want to see what that juicy steak looks like reconstituted on my plate. By the look on Kyle's face, it's not lost on him either. It's both pained and disgusted. And for a split second, I almost feel sorry for him, but then I remember he brought that on himself.

The legs of Kyle's chair screech against the tiled floor as he gets up from the table. He mumbles something, then leaves the room in a hurry. It's awkwardly quiet at the table, and no one makes eye contact for a long minute.

Placing my cutlery together on the edge of my plate, I decide to break the silence. "Mm, that was great. Thanks Chase."

He just smiles. "You're welcome."

Then Penny clears her throat and leans in, speaking softly. "Maybe we should just stick to the wedding. No more lovey-dovey stuff," she holds Chase's glare. "Just for now. I don't want your brother to feel out of place... especially since he's doing us a huge favour."

"You're right,' he says, nodding in agreement. "Stick to the plan."

Kyle returns, wiping his hands on the back of his suit pants, then slides into his seat.

"Right then. Dessert, then wedding planning," Chase says, collecting the plates and heading to the sink.

After dessert, Penny pulls her wedding planner folder out from her massive bag. The one she showed me the other day, still in pristine condition. I grab a notebook and pen from my bag, popping the cap on the end, ready to scrawl down notes.

"So, where should we start?" Chase asks.

"How about we begin with the budget?" I suggest.

I jot down the date and budget in my notebook, then write 'Theme', and underline it. "So, Winter Wonderland, right?" I ask, staring right ahead at Penny. She nods, clasping her hands together, excited. "Close your eyes for me," I say, and she follows my directions. "Now, imagine what this Wonderland looks like." She nods again. "Tell me what you see." I pick up my pen, the ball ready to scrawl down everything she's imagining.

I see Kyle rolling his eyes from the corner of my eye. He leans back in the chair, crossing his arms. But I focus on Penny.

"White, everywhere," she begins. "Strings of fairy lights, and a tall Christmas tree."

"Hold up, Pen," I interject gently. "Are you envisioning an outdoor wedding?"

Penny opens her eyes and tilts her head slightly. "I hadn't really thought about it until now, but yeah, I suppose I am." She glances over at Chase. "Thoughts?"

He grins, "If you're happy, I'm happy."

I narrow my gaze at Chase. "Does that mean we have free rein to do whatever we want?"

He shrugs. "I guess. So long as you 'OK' the big stuff with Pen, then I'm good with whatever you decide."

Well, at least my creative flair won't be hindered, except by grumpy Kyle over there. But I won't let that happen.

"Have you thought of a colour other than white? And, more importantly," I narrow my eyes playfully, "How do you feel about glitter?" Kyle snorts, and I've had just about enough of him. "Is there a problem?"

"I thought only children played with glitter; besides it sounds messy," Kyle says, tightening his crossed arms and smirking.

"Oh please, you clearly know nothing about decorating, and I can't imagine you'll be volunteering for cleaning up afterwards. You'll probably just stand there 'supervising', looking broody and bossing everyone else around."

Penny's head moves frantically between the two of us, but neither of us gives her a chance to speak.

"Broody, really?" Kyle replies, as if no one's ever told him that before.

Sitting up straight in my chair, I reply. "Yes, broody, with a hint of Grinch. All you need is a Santa hat to complete the look."

Kyle looks down at the table and laughs while shaking his head. Perhaps he's lost for words and miracles do happen.

"OK, well for the record, I happen to love glitter - in moderation," Penny says glancing between Kyle and me, then narrows her eyes as if to remind me yet again, to 'be nice'. I flash one back that says I'm biting my tongue more than she knows.

"As for the budget, I'd like to keep it below twenty 'k' if we can," Chase interjects.

"We'll make it work," Kyle says dryly.

I jot it down just in case I happen to forget what we're working with here, but shoot a frown at him and his poor attitude. "Do you even know how much this stuff costs?"

"I know enough," he replies. "I also know you're going to need more than fairy lights and glitter to make a 'Winter Wonderland', too."

"Hmm," I say pouting. He's right, but I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of telling him that. "Perhaps we can find some reindeer and a sleigh."

"Seriously - what are you going to do? Have Chase wear a red suit and have Rudolph pull the sleigh as they leave the ceremony. Instead of opening their presents, they'll be giving them away?" Kyle chortles at his pathetic joke.

Penny and Chase both laugh, but I'm struggling to see the humour in it. "Do you think this is just one big joke, Kyle?" I pause for dramatic effect, but he doesn't say anything - just smirks at me. I continue. "See, I knew you'd screw this up for Penny." Glancing between Penny and Chase, "Maybe it's better I just do this myself. It'll be fine."

Kyle leans back in his chair, obviously unbothered by my frustration, and shrugs. "If you think you can pull it off all by yourself, then by all means, go for it."

Glaring at him, I struggle to hold back a retort. Be nice, Penny's words are like a broken record in my head. But if he's going to be a jerk about this, it won't be my fault if I snap, right?

Penny tips her head, pulling her brows together. "Kyle, come on. This is important to me," she glances over at Chase, "And to your brother."

Ah, the guilt trip. Good one Pen. Trying to hold a grin back, I look over at Kyle. Narrowing his eyes, he scowls ever so discreetly.

"Yeah man," Chase says, backing up his fiancée. "There's enough going on without adding to the mix."

Ooh, a double guilt trip. Too bad I didn't record this. It'd make for a killer TikTok.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Kyle mutters something under his breath, then picks up his drink, taking a slow sip. I keep my eyes locked on him, waiting for that inevitable snide comment. But, annoyingly, it doesn't come.

"Fine," I say, forcing a smile to lighten the mood. "We'll work together. Right, Kyle?"

His lips twitch like he's holding back a grin, and for a split second, I swear he's enjoying this. "No promises."

Chase laughs. "Alright, glad we got that sorted. What's next?"

I flip open the wedding planner, determined to focus on the list instead of throttling Kyle. It's long, but maybe that's a blessing. "I guess we work our way down this."

"Glitter all the way, huh?" Kyle mutters, half to himself.

I narrow my eyes at him, smirking. "Glitter or not, I'm going to make this wedding perfect... in spite of you."

He leans back, his eyes narrowing as a cocky smile plays at his lips. "We'll see about that."

Chase clears his throat like a parent trying to corral rowdy kids, but I don't look away from Kyle. This isn't just about Pen's wedding anymore.

It's about proving him wrong. It's about winning.

And I never lose.