The Maxwell Sisters by Loretta Hill Read Free Book Online

Brooks?’
    â€˜ Of course not! ’ Anita was adamant. ‘That’s not what I was getting at. I just think, given our contribution, it seems odd that you would choose Spider’s parents as the leading party.’
    â€˜They’re not the leading party, and I didn’t choose to write them first. In fact, I didn’t word the invitation. Spider’s mum organised it all.’
    â€˜Is that so?’ replied Anita, the cynical inflection in her voice indicating that all was becoming clear to her now.
    Phoebe quickly switched to damage control. ‘Mum, it’s not like that. It’s just one of those things. It doesn’t matter whose name is first on the invitation. Nobody is going to notice.’
    Anita snorted. ‘If that’s the case, then why did Patricia put her name first?’
    â€˜She probably didn’t even think about it.’
    â€˜I think you’re being naive there, darling. If she had a shred of humility she would have done the right thing and honoured our contribution.’ When she heard Phoebe’s sigh she quickly added, ‘Not that I’m trying to make a big deal out of this. That’s the last thing I want to do.’
    Really?
    â€˜I have no desire to stress you out about the wedding. I know how much you’ve got on your mind.’
    â€˜Thank you.’
    â€˜But I do think if you’d just let me handle the invitations this never would have happened.’
    As surely as Napoleon leading an army into battle, her mother was declaring war. Phoebe shut her eyes. Was she going to be the referee at Patricia and Anita’s boxing match?
    â€˜In any event,’ her mother went on to say, ‘you’ll have to give me the contact details of the printer she used as I have a few more invitations to send out myself.’
    This made Phoebe pause. Here was the catch for having the wedding on her parents’ property. ‘Mum, we were kind of hoping for a small wedding. Not too many people.’
    â€˜I know.’
    â€˜Just family and a few of our close friends.’
    â€˜I wouldn’t dream of inviting anyone who wasn’t family,’ her mother said airily.
    Phoebe’s brows furrowed. Don’t panic. Stay calm. ‘Then who else were you going to invite?’
    â€˜Well, my cousin Athena, for instance.’
    â€˜I’ve never heard of her.’
    â€˜Probably because I haven’t seen her in five years.’
    â€˜Then why invite her to my wedding?’
    â€˜Darling, Athena is my first cousin. I couldn’t have a wedding in the family without inviting her.’
    â€˜Mum, how many cousins do you have?’
    â€˜About twenty.’
    â€˜Twenty!’
    â€˜They all came to Tash’s wedding,’ her mother declared defensively.
    How do I not remember that?
    â€˜Don’t worry, darling,’ her mother said, ‘I don’t intend to invite their children. But the spouses must be welcome, of course.’
    â€˜Right,’ Phoebe agreed, faintly wondering how she was going to break it to Spider that they were going to have forty-plus strangers at their wedding.
    In the end, she decided to put it off and give Tash a call instead.
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    But her sister, predictably, did not pick up. She left a voicemail message that remained unanswered for a couple of days. By then, it was time for Phoebe and Spider to leave Perth and return home. She didn’t try Tash again till she was safely back in Dunsborough. This time, however, she tried Tash’s office number instead. If her sister wouldn’t pick up her mobile or her home line, then perhaps she would answer her work phone. It came as a complete surprise when the receptionist there told her that ‘Natasha Maxwell no longer works here’.
    â€˜Then where does she work?’ Phoebe demanded more to herself than to the woman on the other end of the line.
    â€˜I’m sorry, she didn’t leave a forwarding