The Maxwell Sisters Read Online Free PDF Page B

father would want that?’
    It was a known fact that, for some reason, John Maxwell wasn’t all too fond of his future son-in-law. His manner towards him was often abrupt and rather dismissive. Phoebe had tried many times to ascertain the cause of her father’s rudeness but could not put it down to anything beyond her father being a cantankerous old man with a dislike for any male who dared lay a finger on his daughter. It was that attitude that had kept her from visiting Tawny Brooks more often. And in hindsight, she realised, there was a lot she had missed.
    Her mouth hardened. ‘He’s going to have to like it. He can’t keep carrying on like a toddler because he doesn’t get his way.’
    It was Spider’s turn to frown. ‘That’s what I worry about, Phee. You can’t force people to behave a certain way just because you think they should.’
    â€˜I know,’ Phoebe grinned mischievously. ‘But I can try. It’s no fun having two sisters who won’t speak to each other, a father who won’t accept my fiancé and a mother who’s going crazy because of it all. I just want things to go back to normal.’
    â€˜Are you sure there is a normal?’
    â€˜If we get everyone together, we might be able to find out. Besides, don’t you think it’ll be special? Tawny Brooks is where we first met.’
    â€˜How could I forget? You bowled me over. Literally .’
    â€˜That’s right, I ran you over with my car, didn’t I?’ Her eyes twinkled at the memory. ‘Forgot to look before reversing in the restaurant car park.’
    â€˜You say it with so much remorse.’
    â€˜Well, you did look rather cute on the ground covered in cake.’
    â€˜Eve was extremely upset about that cake. It was for a function. We had to improvise really quickly.’
    â€˜And I helped, didn’t I?’ she protested. ‘I was in the kitchen with you guys all night so you could catch up.’
    â€˜And my fate was sealed.’ He gazed fondly at her.
    â€˜There you see,’ she sobered as her thoughts returned to their wedding plans, ‘that’s where it all began. Let’s get married at Tawny Brooks, Spider. What do you say?’
    He had studied her for a long moment in that way that was only his. He was reading her, weighing up her need against his own. And, as she knew he would, he put hers first.
    â€˜All right,’ he agreed with a wry smile, ‘it’s not like my mother won’t be over the moon. She’s been hankering for an invitation to Tawny Brooks ever since we got engaged.’
    With all her own emotional upheaval in the background, she had completely forgotten about Spider’s mother. But Patricia Fitzwilliam had definitely not forgotten about her. In fact, her future mother-in-law was probably even more dedicated to her son’s wedding than Phoebe was. She called her incessantly, wanting to be in on every detail.
    â€˜How are things going with her?’ Spider asked. ‘Are you guys getting along?’
    How did you tell your future husband that you wished his mother would back off a bit, especially after you just asked him to have his wedding at your family home?
    â€˜Y-yes, she’s lovely.’
    â€˜Do I detect a note of hesitancy?’
    Phoebe racked her brain for an excuse she could use. ‘It’s just a little hard discussing things over the phone, you know.’
    His eyes lit up. ‘I’m so glad you mentioned that because I was just thinking we could go up to Perth for a week to get a few things organised. I mean, with you having taken two school terms off work to make things easier. Why not? You and Mum could bond.’
    She hoped the smile on her face did not look too fake. She really didn’t want to become the stereotypical daughter-in-law who couldn’t get along with her husband’s mother. So she’d put on her most enthusiastic