Emily: A YA Spin on Jane Austen's Emma

Chapter 1

"Honey, I have news," Dad says as soon as I get home.

"Oh, man." Blake's leaning against the sofa and giving my dad a look. "Sarah's going to kill you. She told you not to tell."

"Oh my gosh!" My fingers tighten on the mail I'm holding. "You have to tell me now. I'll act surprised; I promise. She's engaged, isn't she?" And how did Blake find out before me?

Blake holds up both hands and laughs. "I just want it to be known that I am not the one who ruined this secret."

"What?" Dad smiles, his cheeks rounding. "I didn't say a word. She guessed."

I squeal and throw my arms around Dad. I knew this was coming, but somehow it still feels unreal. I wonder how Blake feels—Sarah's marrying his older half-brother. Weird. His half-brother is marrying my sister. It's not like I haven't thought about it before, but something about it actually happening makes it feel even stranger.

But I know it'll bother Blake more. "Congratulations, brother," I say and walk towards him, arms open for a hug.

He backs away. "Um, no. Never call me that. I'm not your brother."

I paste an innocent expression on my face. "Do you prefer bro? Or hermano?"

"I've got a bit of work to do in my office." Dad grabs his clipboard and then points a finger at me. "Remember to act surprised. You promised. And, hey, thanks for fixing the sink, Blake."

"No problem," Blake says, and it's then that I notice he's holding his work gloves. He's still in his O'Donnell Hardware shirt and khakis, so Dad must have called him at work.

I wait until Dad leaves the room before grabbing my phone. "I'm sending you money for the sink."

"No, Em, it's fine," Blake says. "I don't mind helping out."

"That's more than helping out. That's asking you to do the job you get paid for as a free house call. Besides, Dad would want you to get paid. He just doesn't do the money." I do, and Sarah does the cooking. I'm stoked for her, but what are we going to do without her? I set my phone on the coffee table. "Done."

"Thanks." He stuffs his work gloves in his pocket and gives me a long look, his brown eyes searching my face. "So are you okay about this Sarah and John thing?"

"Of course! I'm happy for them." But I know what he's getting at. "I'm going to miss her." So much. Sarah's nine years older, but she's lived at home while she went to college and grad school. I know some people say that when your sister's that much older, she's more like your mom, but it was never like that with Sarah. She's always been like my sister.

"She'll still be close by," Blake says.

That's true—John's place is just on the other side of town, so I know I'll run into her. Highbury's not that big.

Blake falls onto the couch beside me, into what's pretty much his official spot. "But it's hard for me to think of her not living here with you guys. So it must be really weird for you."

It feels selfish to admit this, but, "Maybe I'm a little bummed when I think about her moving out. But mostly I'm happy for them. Plus, you know, I made the match, so how can I feel sad when I'm the one who made it happen?"

Blake snorts so hard a few strands of his dark hair flutter up. "Now you're talking like a crazy person. But, please, explain your crazy. How did you make this match? No, let me guess—you were lying in bed one night and thought to yourself, 'You know who'd be good together? Sarah and John.' And then when they got together, you thought, 'Wow, I'm like a matchmaker or something.'" He says the last part like a Valley girl and pretends to flip his imaginary long hair over his shoulder, which I guess is his impression of me.