The Wedding Date

She Deserves to Know (J)

"You okay, mate?" Joe heard Brendan to his left, as he stared down into his dinner. Sucking in a slow breath, he managed to rearrange his facial expression as to not give away anything, before turning to look at Dianne's brother.

"Great," Joe replied, a smile spreading across his face, in a way he hoped was convincing.

"You sure?" Brendan asked, his eyebrows furrowed. "You seem a little--"

"I'm good," Joe interrupted hastily. "Just tired. This damn jet lag, I swear. My body still thinks it's the middle of the night."

Brendan studied him for another few seconds before shrugging and nodding, "It is a bitch, isn't it?"

Joe nodded with a small smile, before turning back to his dinner, allowing himself to melt back into the thoughts that had just been tormenting him for the last ten minutes.

Ever since he'd returned from the toilet and his head had begun to spin.

~~~

Joe hurried toward the beach hut a few feet away from the party, desperate to wash the sand off his hands and then get back to the Buswell's table, excited to engage in some more rugby debate with Mark and Brendan. He had done some cramming on the teams stats that morning, and couldn't wait to quiz them about--

"She's going to KILL ME."

Joe stopped in his tracks when he heard a women's voice from inside the men's restroom. He was too shocked by the feminine tone for a moment to realize who it was, until he heard the next part of the sentence.

"I'm her cousin, Leo, and I kept this from her. For TWO years."

Joe froze, his hand on the door handle.

Penny.

"It wasn't your secret to tell," Leo replied, his voice equally low, "We both told Will to be honest and take accountability, and he didn't. It's not your fault."

"I thought he told her the other night," Penny muttered, "At the Rusty Rooster. She was really upset when they left. But then Dot has seemed so clueless every time I've brought it up...apparently I did it again last night when I was wasted..."

"He told me he was going to tell her that night, but he chickened out again," Leo grumbled. "But Pen, we can't get involved in this shit again."

"I still need to tell her," Penny whispered. "I knew Will cheated on Dot two years ago, and I didn't tell her."

Joe felt his eyebrows shoot up.

Leo sighed loudly, "Pen, like I said it's not--"

"By the time I knew Will pussied out and left her without an explanation, she had moved across the world," Penny barreled on, "But I should have called her. Or told her last Christmas. But she always seemed so...sad. I didn't want to make her feel worse."

"She's not sad anymore," Leo commented offhandedly.

"I know," Penny sniffled, "Joe's perfect for her."

In spite of feeling very off balance by the secret he'd just overheard, Joe couldn't help but feel his lips quirk up at the corners.

"I need to tell her," Penny murmured, so softly Joe could barely hear her.

"Pen, we're getting married tomorrow," Leo sighed again. "I don't think it's the right time to bring it up."

"But--"