An Echo in the Mafia (Echo Reid, Reid Family Book #1)

Part 47

"Wait... Echo?" George repeated in disbelief. "and Luke Farina?"

Alice and Michael exchanged glances before turning back to him and nodding in unison. 

"How did I miss that..." George mumbled, trying to sort it out. It was true that they had dance a couple of times... George frowned. Actually, it was probably more than just a couple of times. The truth was that George was much too caught up that evening to even think about the fact that Echo was being a lot more sociable than usual. 

"We all did." Alice said with a shrug. "Echo is just so quiet, she keeps to herself and she doesn't like to call attention to herself at all. I think if it was any of the other girls, we would have caught one sooner."

"You keep saying that but I don't doubt that those girls knew something was going on." Michael said with a frown. It was obvious that he was still not happy about the situation. Then again, it was only natural for a father to dislike the idea of 'giving' his daughter to another man. But this... this was Echo, the one that made him feel he had to protect her so much more, the one he thought he could count on to never leave home. 

"There was the flowers." George added. 

"Yes, but Echo is a secretive person. I wouldn't be surprised if she kept those girls guessing." Alice added, "And even if they did know, that's a sisterly privilege. We wouldn't want our girls not to honor the bonds of sisterhood." 

"If this was about Ben, they would have told us." Michael said.

"If this was Ben, it wouldn't have been a secret for so long. Ben is not Echo, not like her at all." Alice said.

"Have you two told Ben yet?" George asked with a grin. "I'm happy to break the news to him."

Alice laughed. George really did look at Ben like a little brother and so he liked to tease him quite a bit. 

"We did." Michael said, "He actually called us the very next day to ask if we had seen what he saw."

"And what did he see?" George asked nervously. He really HAD been distracted and unfortunately, he couldn't blame his bride.

"The same as me, Luke and Echo dancing together all night." Michael said, rolling his eyes. "He didn't let anyone else near her."

"They'd just had a romantic moment, it was only natural they would want to spend time together." Alice said. 

"I'm not sure about this. He seems like the possessive, over protective sort." Michael said. 

"Says the over protective dad." Alice said. "You were just talking about how much you liked him last week. 'seems like a hardworking guy... very clever.'" 

George had to sustain a chuckle as Alice mimicked Michael's voice. 

"That was before I knew he was dating my daughter. That's sneaky." Michael said, "Shaking my hand and lying to my face." 

"That was Echo's doing. You know that." Alice said. 

"I like him. I don't like the way they did things either, but I like him. I'm curious to see those two together." George intervened. "Echo's always been shy and quiet and he's the exact opposite."

"We all are. You'll get the chance on Friday. Can we count on you guys for dinner? I know it's cutting close to your honeymoon but we'd like to have the whole family there." Michael said.

"I'll talk to Karen but I'm sure it will be fine." George said, "Besides, our flight isn't until Sunday and I know she'll want to see this first hand." 

"Great." Alice replied. "Friday."

George stepped out of Michael's office and crossed the open office floor silently, pensively. He didn't bother to turn at the people around him, nor did he hear anyone who was calling his name. Instead he just walked on, trying to clear his mind. It seemed that a lot more happened at his wedding that anyone expected. He frowned as he had a sudden image of the night. That was certainly not a reaction one should have when you think about what should of been the happiest day of his life.