Fry Read Online Free PDF Page B

his face.
    “Julio!”
    “Well, aren’t you going to invite me in?”
    He taps his foot with mock impatience.
    “What are you doing here?” I demand. “How come you didn’t tell me you were coming?”
    “I don’t know. I just thought it would be better this way.”
    I usher him into the house and thrust a warm cup of tea into his hands. We’ve barely spoken since he walked out on Kate, but I can’t deny I’ve missed him.
    He is my brother, after all.
    “So what have you been up to?” I ask. “Tell me all your news.”
    “Well, did you get your ‘save the date’ card?” he asks, his face taking on the puppy dog expression that drives the women crazy.
    “Yes.”
    The card came this morning. I can’t believe they’ve already sent them out.
    “You seem to be in a bit of a hurry to get married. Is there anything I should know?”
    “If you’re asking if Holly is pregnant, then no. We just can’t wait to get married. I just hope we get all the paperwork through in time – you know, for the divorce.”
    “Yeah, Kate told me.”
    “Is she OK?”
    “Better than I would have expected.”
    “That’s good.”
    “So what’s she like, this Holly? Are you really sure you want to get married again so soon?”
    “Absolutely, totally one hundred percent.”
    “Wow, you’re really hooked, aren’t you?”
    “It’s different with Holly,” he says, setting his cup down on the table. “It just feels so right.” A stupid smile flits across his face and I can see that he’s smitten.
    “Well, then I look forward to meeting her.”
    Julio beams. “Why don’t you come for Christmas?”
    “Christmas?”
    “It was Holly’s idea, actually. She really wants to meet you.”
    “That’s really sweet of her,” I say, stalling. It’s not like I have any other plans for Christmas. Mum’s going to be in Morocco, after all, but I’m not quite sure if I’d feel comfortable spending it with Julio and his new fiancée.
    There’s a reason why I’m a bit reluctant to meet Holly, and it’s not purely out of loyalty to Kate, although that is a factor. The reason is this: I’m afraid that I’ll like her. I know that sounds strange, but I can’t help it. I find myself wondering if this love can really last, or if Holly will become another one of Julio’s statistics. Because no matter how much in love with her he says he is now, there is no knowing how he will feel in six month’s time. That’s just the way he is.
    Growing up, my brother always had a reputation as a heartbreaker. He’s been like that since the age of twelve. Even then, he seemed to have a different girlfriend every week, and it was always me who ended up dealing with the hysterical women he left in his wake. But I never thought my best friend would be one of them. I don’t know why I was so naive, but I just thought she was different to all his other women - stronger, more independent. I thought Julio had met his match with Kate. Turns out, I was wrong.
    Ding-Dong!
    “You expecting someone?”
    “Yeah, that’ll be my pizza.”
    “You ordered pizza?” he says, rubbing his hands with glee. “Fantastic! I could eat a horse!”
    I pay for the pizza, and just for the record, the delivery man is definitely good-looking, though the goatee is a deal breaker.
    I open the box of pizza and we dig in. With other men, I pretend to eat more daintily, but with Julio, I pig out. It’s amazing how we can pick up just where we left off, even though we haven’t spoken in months. It’s always been like that between the two of us. He’s so much a part of me that I can’t just shut him out, no matter how hard I try.
    “I’m really glad you came,” I tell him, once all the pizza’s been eaten and neither of us can manage another cup of tea.
    He smiles his devilish grin. “Me too.”
    We both rise to our feet. I tower over him, even without shoes. He may have inherited his mother’s Mediterranean good looks, but I got every inch of Dad’s