Holly knew everything had been going too well. Everyone in the bridal party had arrived on time, even the maid of honor, who kept sneaking away, returning a couple of times with red eyes.
Coraline had refused to take photos before the wedding, saying it was bad luck for the groom to see her in her wedding dress. The dress that was still on its padded hanger on a hook on the wall in the changing room—even though the ceremony started in thirty minutes.
Holly gave Miranda a worried glance, and the older woman scowled.
Miranda approached her daughter as if approaching a skittish horse. “Coraline, darling, if you would just tell us what the problem is, then maybe we can fix it.”
The bride paced, her white satin dressing gown billowing behind her. “And I told you, I don’t know what’s wrong. But there’s something wrong. I just feel it.”
The maid of honor bolted from the room again, muttering “Bathroom issues” as she ran out the door.
“Eww…” one of the bridesmaids sneered. “TMI.”
Coraline glanced at the door and took off into the hall.
“Coraline!” Holly called after her. “The guests will see you!” But as soon as she started after the bride, the flower girl tripped and fell flat on her face, letting out a shrill cry of pain as blood started pouring from her nose.
“Oh no!” Holly exclaimed as she scooped up the child, and then she had her lean her head back while Holly pinched her nose. “Someone get me a towel!”
One of the bridesmaids held out a small hand towel between her thumb and forefinger, as though the blood from the child’s face would jump off and land on her dress.
Holly swiped at the blood while trying to comfort the four-year-old. “Can someone find her mother?”
Everyone stared at her like she’d asked them to run outside naked.
“I want my mommy,” the girl wailed.
Holly’s phone vibrated against her thigh, but she ignored it. “You!” She pointed to one of the bridesmaids who she’d seen talking to the little girl’s mother earlier. “Go get her mommy.”
The woman sighed and grabbed her phone from her purse and sent a text.
Holly’s phone stopped buzzing, then began to buzz again, but the flower girl was still crying, and now one of the bridesmaids looked close to fainting as she stared at the bloody towel in Holly’s hand.
“Someone get some wet paper towels.” When no one moved, Holly pointed to the pale woman. “You. Go get some towels.”
“Her mom won’t answer.” The bridesmaid with the phone said, sounding aggravated.
“Then go find her yourself.”
“But someone might see me!”
Holly fought the urge to roll her eyes. “No one cares if they see you. They’re here to see the bride. Now go get her mother!”
“The wedding planner’s kind of cranky,” the third bridesmaid grumbled to the woman leaving the room.
Ordinarily the snide remark would have stung, but at the moment Holly had bigger issues to deal with.
Her phone began to vibrate again. Holly reached into her pocket to pull it out, but her hand caught on the edge of the seam. Once she had it free, she answered without looking at the name on the screen. “This better be an emergency.”
“I think this counts as one,” Kevin said. “You need to get in here right away.”
“Oh, crap.” Holly stood, balancing the phone on her shoulder and handing the little girl to Bridesmaid Number Three. “Where are you? What happened?”
“Groom’s room.” Kevin’s voice sounded strained and Holly heard yelling in the background. “Now.”
She took off sprinting down the hall, running into the flower girl’s worried mother. Her eyes widened as she stared at the blood smeared across Holly’s left breast.
“What happened to my baby? Is she okay?” her mother cried out. “Tonya said she was bleeding out.”
Holly gave the mother a comforting pat on the arm. “Oh, no, I promise she’s fine. She fell and got a bloody nose. It’s almost stopped now, but she’s scared and wants her mommy.”
A loud bang shook the hall wall, followed by a woman’s unintelligible shouting coming from the groom’s room.
Oh, crap.
“If you’ll excuse me…” Holly hurried past the woman and took a deep breath before she opened the door—just in time to see Coraline throw a chair across the room.
“How dare you?” the bride shrieked, stalking toward the cowering groom. “How dare you sleep with my best friend!”
Holly put a hand on her chest, suddenly feeling light-headed. “Oh, shit.”
Kevin was beside her in an instant. “I’m sorry. I had no idea what you wanted me to do.”
The groom held up an arm in defense. “My little Cora-bean. It’s not what you think.”
“How can finding your tongue halfway down her throat be not what I think?” He started to say something, and she jabbed him with her long, pointy nail. “And if you give me an excuse like you did in Spain last month about giving that woman mouth to mouth, I will kill you.”
“You were kissing someone in Spain?” the maid of honor asked in dismay from the other side of the room, hiding behind two of the groomsmen.
The groom grimaced as he glanced over at the maid of honor. “I was saving her life. I’m certified in CPR!”
“She was standing up!” Coraline shouted.
The groom held out his hands and gave her a cocky grin. “I’m just that good.”
Coraline screamed in frustration, then picked up the first thing she found—a duffel bag—and began swinging it at the groom’s head.
That sparked Holly into action. “Coraline, I know you’re upset, but this won’t help anything.” She tried to reach for the bag, but the bride turned her attention on Holly. “This is all your fault!”
“How is your cheating, asshole fiancé Holly’s fault?” Kevin demanded, stepping between them.
Holly pushed him to the side. “Kevin, I’ve got this.”
Coraline burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. “How could he do this to me?”
Holly grabbed the strap of the bag and tugged it away from the crying woman, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get you back to the changing room.”
The groom tried to reach for her, but Kevin held him back. “I still love you, Cora-bean!” he called after her. “This was a huge misunderstanding!”
“I hate you!”
Holly glanced over her shoulder at Kevin. “Don’t let him leave.”
“I’ve got it covered,” he said, pushing the groom backward into a chair.
Holly led the now hysterically crying bride back to the changing room. Unfortunately, the hall was now full of guests who had heard the commotion and had come to investigate. They watched Coraline’s walk of shame with looks of horror and amusement, snickering to each other, a few taking photos with their phones.
Some friends.
“Where’s security?” Holly asked no one in particular, pulling out her phone and calling the man in charge of the guards. “I need you to clear the hallway to the bridal party and groom’s room. Now.”
“Go back to your seats,” Holly said, trying to hide Coraline with her body as she motioned for the guests to leave the hallway. She cracked open the changing-room door and pushed the bride inside. Everyone in the room stared at Coraline with wide eyes and open mouths. To be fair, she was a sight, with a bright red nose and snot dripping over her upper lip.
Holly led her to the sofa, then snatched a box of tissues, grabbing a handful and mopping up the mess on the bride’s face as best she could. Coraline’s makeup was a lost cause, although that was probably the least of their worries.
“Where’s Piper?” Miranda asked, glancing around the room for the missing maid of honor.
“She’s with that lying, cheating bastard!” Coraline threw herself down on the sofa, her chest heaving with sobs.
Miranda gasped and looked up at Holly. “What on earth is going on here?”
“Your daughter just caught her fiancé kissing the maid of honor. Apparently they’ve been sleeping together.”
“I see.” Miranda’s face paled, and Holly knew she was thinking the same thing she was. There would be no wedding. There would be no magazine spread. Everything Miranda had been striving for had come to a grinding halt. But, to her credit, Miranda sat on the sofa by her daughter and pulled her into her arms. “There, there, Cora. Everything will be okay.”
“How can you say that?” Coraline asked as she pulled away and looked into her mother’s eyes. “He cheated on me.”
“Better to find out now than after your ceremony.”
“I can’t marry him, Mom.”
Miranda pulled her daughter’s head to her shoulder. “Of course you can’t. I wouldn’t let you even if you still wanted to.”
“But your magazine photos…” Coraline’s voice trailed off and she started crying again. “I’m sorry.”
Holly nearly fell over from shock.
Miranda stroked her daughter’s head. “You’re much more important than a magazine spread, darling.” But Miranda had a gleam in her eyes as she looked Holly over.
She knew she was a sight—covered in blood, snot, and tears—but Miranda’s look wasn’t one of disgust. She looked…hopeful.
“Never fear, darling. There’s going to be a wedding. Just not yours.”