You Are Cordially Invited...

By Sally McLean

Devon is on the way to her sister's wedding, when her car breaks down. That night she meets a handsome man in a bar. How was she to know he was her sister's fiancé, who she'd never met? Trying to avoid the consequences of her actions, Devon has a chance encounter with a stranger and offers to drive him across the country. As the two get to know each other, a mutual attraction grows and he helps her to find the freedom to look objectively at her life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sally McLean
• Release date: Oct 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005302627

Sally McLean

Writer and chronic procrastinator.

Book preview

You Are Cordially Invited…

Copyright 2014 Sally McLean

Published by Sally McLean at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Table of Contents

Olivia Lucille Matthews

and

Jeffrey Michael Harding

request the pleasure of your company

as we vow our lives to one another

on 23rd August

at 2 p.m.

1221 Larkspur Avenue, Oak Falls.

ONE.

It rounded off Devon’s week perfectly. Sure, it seemed like an innocent little wedding invitation but it might as well have been a kick in the gut. It certainly felt like one. The bride to be was her sister - her younger sister. It wasn’t that she begrudged Olivia her happiness, even though she’d only known this guy Jeffrey for two months, (it would be five by the time the wedding rolled around, assuming things lasted that long) or that Devon had never even met the intended groom, but Devon had always assumed she would be the first one out of the two of them to get married. The real kicker was that it could have happened that way.

Two weeks ago Andrew, the man she had been in a relationship with for almost three years, loved beyond a doubt and was sure was the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with, asked Devon to marry him. The proposal was perfect. Fairy-tale some might have called it. He had picked her up from their apartment in a limousine, the first indication of where the night was headed, and taken her to dinner at Lotus, a very expensive restaurant on New York’s upper east side. The food was exquisite and the champagne had been plentiful, although Devon’s nerves at what she was anticipating to happen did hamper her appetite, but only a little.

After dinner Andrew took her to Central Park for a carriage ride. They’d snuggled up together under a musty blanket and Andrew whispered into Devon’s ear, telling how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. All the things a girl wants to hear from the man she loves. Beneath the silver glow of the moon, Andrew produced a small, blue box. Opening it, he revealed the most beautiful Tiffany engagement ring with a tear-shaped diamond the size of Devon’s head. Well, it should have been for what she guessed it must have cost. Taking her trembling hand, he uttered those immortal words: ‘Will you marry me?’

Devon had looked deep into his eyes and before she had time to think she replied, ‘I can’t’. It had been as much of a shock to Devon as it’d been to Andrew.

Needless to say, the rest of the carriage ride had been pretty frosty and things had only gotten colder between them over the subsequent couple of weeks. Andrew started sleeping in the spare bedroom. When Devon walked into a room he would leave and if they had no choice but to be in the same room together, he’d make snarky comments until she felt uncomfortable and left. Not that she blamed him.

Three days ago Andrew finally decided enough was enough and announced he was moving out. Devon didn’t try to talk him out of it. What was the point?

She sat on the sofa, one of the few pieces of furniture that belonged to her and therefore wasn’t loaded onto the moving truck waiting downstairs, watching as her life was dismantled, piece by boxed up piece.

I think I’ve got everything, Andrew said as he carried the last of the boxes to the door. He hovered, apparently waiting for Devon to say something.

Okay, she replied. Then, feeling she ought to say something more after spending almost three years of her life with this man, she added, Take care of yourself.

Andrew glared at her. You are one cold bitch, do you know that? he snapped and stomped off toward the elevator.

Yeah, I know, Devon muttered to herself, getting up and closing the door.

TWO.

Oak Falls was a tiny town on the outskirts of Virginia, a town so tiny that ninety-nine out of a hundred maps didn’t even bother to point it out. While publicly the town took this lack of recognition as a slight on their perfect existence, this was actually how they preferred it. Oak Falls was an insular town populated by people whose families had lived there for generations and they were instinctively suspicious of outsiders.

Devon had decided to drive the entire way back to her hometown rather than fly part of the way. It was going to take around seven hours, but she didn’t mind the long drive. It gave her time to prepare for the inevitable judging and snide comments that came with spending time with her family. It had gotten a lot worse over the past three years since she had, in their eyes, abandoned them and shunned their way of life to move to New York. The whole lot of them drove her nuts. At least she had her Grandma Ruth to help keep her sane - kind of. Even though she was a seventh generation resident and the Oak Falls way of life was fully ingrained in her, there was a rebellious side to her that held it and most everyone around her in total contempt.