Breaking Up with Barrett: The English Brothers #1 (The Blueberry Lane Series - The English Brothers) Read Online Free Page B

of whom they were vaguely fond but unconcerned. Though she wasn’t formally invited to any of their social events, with the exception of Boxing Day and the annual Summer Party, living on their property in close daily contact with the family had afforded Emily a certain education on how to fit in with the upper crust of posh Haverford. That was another reason that Barrett had chosen her to act as his fiancée: he knew she could pull it off.
    Emily dusted some blush on her pale cheekbones and brushed some mascara on her light lashes, then swiped a bit of pale pink lip gloss across her lips. Subtle. Understated. Perfect. And all for him. Not that Barrett would notice or care.
    As she pulled on the light blue tweed skirt, adjusting the gold link belt that accented her trim waist, she considered the question Valeria had asked yesterday and the very real feelings it had forced Emily to recognize.
    Being “engaged” to Barrett wasn’t just a job anymore. Emily loved being Barrett English’s fake fiancée, which was not just inconvenient, but pointless. Because despite her deepening feelings, heart flutters, and silent longings, Barrett had made it clear from the start she held no romantic interest for him. Falling for Barrett was not only one-sided, but a recipe for heartbreak.
    Emily looked at herself in the mirror, buttoning the Mother-of-Pearl buttons on the perfect-fitting cropped jacket, then running her hands slowly and regretfully over the beautiful material before grabbing her purse and heading for the door. She had looked at the situation from every angle, but regrettably had come up with only one feasible solution.
    Before her feelings for Barrett developed any further, she needed to “break up” with him.
    ***
    “Another day another dollar, eh, Smith?” said Emily, ducking under Smith’s umbrella to take a seat in the back of the custom-fitted town car.
    “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, Miss Em,” said Smith, taking his seat behind the wheel.
    “Damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” she answered, cracking her window for fresh air as Smith pulled away from the curb in front of her apartment building.
    “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, now.”
    Emily grinned. She’d been playing this game with the English family chauffeur, Reginald Smithson, since she was a very little girl when he used to call her “L’il Miss Em” and she’d occasionally help him wash the cars on the odd, lazy Sunday.
    “Put your best foot forward.”
    “You win,” said the older black man, chuckling and flicking his gaze up to Emily in the rear view mirror.
    Emily leaned forward until her chin rested on the windowsill between the front and back seats of the luxury town car. “Still not mentioning these dates to Mom and Dad, right Smith?”
    “I’m not one to stir up trouble, Miss Em, but I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”
    “I promise you I do. You ever known me to act stupid?”
    “Can’t say I have, but there’s a first for everything.”
    “Barrett’s between girlfriends. He needs a date for these things, so I help out. That’s all.”
    “ Between girlfriends?” scoffed Smith. “That would require a girlfriend or two.”
    Emily sat back and asked as casually as possible, “Felicity Atwell?”
    “She ain’t no proper girlfriend, Miss Em. But that’s all I’m gonna say about that. Mr. Barrett ain’t had a real girlfriend in years, come to think of it. He has lady friends from time to time, but never someone special.”
    Emily sighed softly in relief. She knew every girl that every English boy had ever brought home, and Barrett hadn’t brought home anyone special for a long time. Still, something inside of her relaxed knowing that Barrett’s heart was free. Not that it should matter to you at all , she reminded herself, since she was determined to give him back the engagement ring tonight and tell him she wasn’t available for any further dates.
    “All work and no play makes