Sloane Sisters by Anna Carey Read Free Book Online Page A

funny,” she whispered to Cate, shooting her a smug smile. “She wants to know if you have a unibrow—she doesn’t know anyone who took so long to get their first snog.”
    Cate bit the end off her shrimp and swallowed hard.
    Emma glanced up from her chilled fennel soup. “You all right, girls?” she asked, looking from Cate to Stella. In the soft light of the restaurant, her flawless skin glowed.
    â€œYes, Mum,” Stella said, wrapping her arm around Cate’s chair and plastering on a fake grin. “We’re great .”
    Emma glanced at Lola, who was now dissecting her crab cake as though it might contain buried treasure. “Lola,” she coaxed, playing with the silver chain on her neck, “you’re awfully quiet. Are you still feeling jet-lagged?”
    â€œYes,” Lola said, glancing around the table at Cate, Stella, and Andie. “That must be it….” She stuck her fork into the crab cake so that it stood up straight. Behind her, two waiters in crisp white shirts strode past.
    â€œWell, you’ll get a proper sleep tonight and be all rested up for school tomorrow.”
    â€œCate, tell them something fun about Ashton,” Winston prompted, looking to her for support.
    Cate leaned back as a blond guy who was too cute to be just a waiter—clearly a wannabe actor—cleared her shrimp tails. “It’s good,” she said flatly.
    The waiter reached around Lola to grab her plate. Lola leaned back, her napkin sliding off her lap. She reached down to get it and hit her head on the corner of Stella’s chair. “Ow!” she cried.
    â€œAre you all right?” her mom asked, resting a hand on Lola’s thin leg.
    â€œI’m fine,” she grumbled, readjusting her hair so it covered her ears.
    Two waiters circled the table, dropping off plates of swordfishà la plancha, rib eye with sautéed porcinis, and pan-seared sea scallops. Winston clinked his fork against his crystal champagne glass.
    â€œDad,” Cate hissed, looking around the crowded restaurant. A couple and their teenage son turned away from their dinner to look at them. The boy, in a navy blazer, stared at Winston, then at the girls. Cate sank a little lower in her burgundy velvet chair.
    â€œGirls, we have an announcement,” he said, bringing Emma’s hand to his lips and kissing it twice. “I am so glad we’re all here, together, in New York. Emma and I spent the summer talking about this and planning this, and now it’s finally happened. These last couple days have been incredible.”
    Cate coughed loudly— incredible wasn’t quite the word she would have used.
    Stella sneered at Cate.
    Andie rolled her eyes.
    And Lola let out a shuddering sigh.
    Emma tugged at the chain around her neck and smiled at the girls. “It’s lovely that you’re all getting along so well. You’re already treating each other like family—like sisters.”
    Cate felt like a fish bone had gotten caught in her throat. Stella was not her sister—not even close. She was a fungus. A bacteria. A leech she needed to have removed. Andie might be annoying, but she was relatively harmless.
    Emma unclasped the chain from around her neck and something heavy slid into her palm. “I didn’t feel right wearing it until we told you girls.” She smiled.
    â€œWe’re engaged!” Winston blurted out. Emma laughed playfully and opened her hand, revealing a glittery ring with a diamond the size of a gobstopper. It looked like something out of a twenty-five-cent machine—too big to be real.
    As Winston slipped it on Emma’s finger, Cate felt like she was watching some bad romantic comedy. This wasn’t her father. That wasn’t Emma’s ring. And this definitely wasn’t her life.
    Cate touched the coral Fendi pashmina around her shoulders—her mother’s pashmina. Sometimes it felt like Cate was