Getting by (A Knight's Tale) Read Online Free Page B

the activities she’d like me to consider for her bachelorette party—no strippers. “Mom invited everyone, and they’ll be there. Cade’s parents are scared, aren’t they, Cade bear?”
    “I told them about their parties,” Cade bear responded with a husky voice, hugging Gaby tightly on the side with one of his arms. “Scared the hell out of them.”
    Yay, I celebrated internally. There was company to my misery. “Of course I’ll do it. But if I have a work emergency, I’ll need to respond,” I warned Gaby.
    “Em, get a life,” she said, a subject she brought up the few times we spoke over the phone.
    “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to San Francisco International Airport, local time is four twenty five and the temperature is fifty-seven degrees. For your safety and comfort, we ask that you please remain seated with your seatbelt fastened….”
    I turned my cell on and checked my voicemail.
    “Emma, got your message. The boss is on vacation, enjoy your holiday, darling.” Suzy my counterpart in London sounded cheery. “The lion left and we are dancing in joy. Don’t call until next week, I dare you.”
    A chuckle escaped me. There was no way I wouldn’t be contacting the office, checking my emails, or doing something work related.
    Once it was safe to stand up and leave the plane, I followed the other passengers. My wobbly legs carried me through the narrow hallway, where at the end, the captain and flight attendants courteously wished the passengers a wonderful time. Their reassuring smile gave me confidence to carry my numbed body toward the exit and continue on to baggage claim. My two black suitcases with yellow ribbons on the handle appeared at once. I set my carry-on bag over my shoulder and headed toward the exit, pulling both bags with me.

Chapter 4
    Emma
    I LOVE MY FRIEND, but the small pistol made me want to hide behind the column when I spotted her. Gaby jumped up and down while waving a yellow neon sign with big lettering:
     
    Emma L. Anderson
    Marvelous Maid of Honor
     
    “Emma!” she screamed once she noticed me. “Over here, don’t be shy. I’m the bride and you’ll abide by my rules during the following week.”
    Yes, a week full of nonsense. I refrained from saying that out loud. In truth, while growing up, her out spoken, extroverted personality fascinated me. But as an adult, I didn’t enjoy her adorable displays as much. On the contrary, I wanted to seek refugee or simply pretend I didn’t know her. Back then, we were partners in crime. Among our best hits I remembered the day we painted my mom’s roses red, after watching Alice in wonderland a thousand times. Mom didn’t appreciate my wasted artistic talent on her award winning roses. The woman won the neighborhood’s gardener of the month prize every single month—except when we ruined her garden.
    We drank a few drops of her father’s expensive champagne at age ten, because they said it was bubbly—drinking bubbles—what a treat. The worst idea ever. Dad and Mr. Clement gave us a lecture that lasted forever. They thought we had gotten hammered at first, but then when we explained that we poured the entire case in the sink it got worse. Come on, we swore someone poisoned the pretty bubbly everyone liked. We never got a thank you for our heroic actions. Only three weeks without seeing each other. Those were the days I lived freely.
    “Love the sign,” I told Gaby, and gave her a sisterly hug. We were almost the same height. I wore flats, while she sported a pair of platform sandals which seemed to be at least four inches tall. “Would you mind if I skip today’s dinner. I’ve got a slight head ache—jet lag.”
    A friendly nod told me she understood I couldn’t handle being close to my parents’ former home just yet. The jet lag was impossible to believe when I didn’t sleep much. Two, three hours, perhaps four—unless—I pushed away the other reason why I would get decent sleep and followed my friend to