I CHECK THE time on my phone. I’m running late, and I know Matthew also needs to get back to the hospital. I’m lucky he was able to sneak away this long. We need to finish this up. Thanks to the members of the Daniels family not liking to be left out of anything, and I’m talking an-y-thing, I’m meeting everyone and his mother for dress shopping across town.
“Penne alla vodka.” You can’t go wrong with that. We make the final decision on the pasta course, and the menu is done. I sign the check for the deposit and hand it over to Marco Romeo.
June 24. That’s it, we’re officially booked.
“One last thing.” Marco stops us before we get up. “How do you want the tables set up? We can do four tables of six, or we can do one large table, or we can do a table for you, a table for the bridal party, a table for the guests.”
“No bridal party table. Four tables of six is good.” Since more than half the guests attending the wedding are now in the bridal party. I bite down on the inside of my cheek to prevent any internal grumblings from sneaking out.
“Sounds good to me,” Matthew agrees.
“Perfect.” Marco taps all the paperwork on the desk and clips it together. “We’re gonna take good care of you.” He dips his head in a polite gesture and takes off toward the dining area, leaving us alone.
Matthew stands tall in his blue scrubs, his dark hair sticking up in front where he is known to tug when he’s nervous or excited. His hands rest on his hips, and a bright pink stethoscope hangs around his neck. I yank on the girly stethoscope and urge him down to my lips.
“Make sure you give this back to whomever you stole it from.” I grin up at him.
“Oh, geez. Pink. Nice.” He chuckles.
“I think a man who can rock the color pink is sexy. And you certainly can rock it.” I keep my arms wrapped around him, and slide one of my hands down for a quick squeeze. His butt is so hard to resist. “I wish we had more time, but I really have to go.”
“I know, me too.” Our fingers link as we walk out the side door to our cars parked in the back lot. “Is your mom still coming down to meet you at the dress shop?”
“Yes.” A sense of dread at the thought of my mother and Mrs. Daniels in the same room swoops in. That should be fun.
“I feel bad that I’m not gonna be there when the moms meet.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re really torn up about that.” I snicker. “Should be a real interesting day. Have two aspirin ready for me when I get home.”
“I can’t. Remember, I’m going out with Jeremy tonight? I have to figure out a way to break it to him that he’s being downgraded from best man to groomsman.”
“I forgot about that. Yuck, I can’t imagine if I had to un-ask Jayne.” I shudder and stick out my tongue. I’m so glad I was right about my sister. She was relieved when I told her I had asked Jayne. Planning showers and bachelorette parties is not high on her list of priorities with a baby on the way. “Although, I could have always pulled the ol’ maid of honor, matron of honor thing. Do guys have that? Can you do best married man and best unmarried man?” As soon as I say it, I hear how stupid it sounds.
“No, I don’t think that works with men. But I was thinking, and tell me if this sounds stupid… we offer Jeremy and Justin the spot at the Chateau. I already mentioned it to Ashley, and she said her friend would give them the spot if they wanted it.”
“I don’t know.” I pause. “They’re not even engaged. Don’t you think that might be putting a lot of pressure on them?”
“They’re on the waiting list, so it has to be headed in that direction, and maybe the only reason they’re not engaged is because of the wait.” His hazel eyes go wide and his eyebrows rise over the top of his dark-rimmed glasses. “Wait, are you okay with that? Or is it weird? I don’t have to offer it to him, I just thought….”
“No. It’s not weird. Definitely offer it to him. Besides, you’re gonna need something after rescinding your invitation to have him as your best man.” I laugh nervously at the awkwardness of what Matthew has to do tonight. God, must there always be something incredibly awkward going on in our lives at all times? I press down on my car key, unlocking the door that Matthew graciously opens for me. One more quick kiss, then I duck down inside.
“I’ll see you tonight.” He gives me a sexy, crooked smile, and my skin flushes all the way to my toes. His sexiness is so effortless. He doesn’t even need to try. Damn, I miss having a bed that doesn’t squeak.
“Wish me luck.”
“Good luck. I love you.”
“I love you more.” I blow him a kiss and he catches it.
“Holly, wait.” He holds on to the door, keeping me from closing it. “June 24,” he says with a slowly widening grin.
“June 24!” I repeat excitedly, mirroring his face with a huge smile of my own. He closes the door, and I watch him walk away. Every nerve in my body tingles. We have a wedding date. In less than two months I am going to be Holly Daniels. Eek!
I turn up the radio and sing at the top of my lungs the entire ride over to David’s Bridal, where I’m meeting everyone—the BF, the moms, my sister and future sisters-in-law, and my nieces. I figured David’s was the most likely place to accommodate such a large bridal party in such a short amount of time.
I park next to my mother’s car. Crap. She’s already here. Please don’t let everyone else be here already. I step out and do a quick scan around the rest of the lot, but the only other car I recognize is Jayne’s. Phew. It would have been a disaster if I was the last one to arrive and introductions had been made without me.
“Hey, Holl, wait up.” Jayne comes up behind me before I reach the door to the shop. “I was waiting in my car. I wasn’t sure if I should go in without you or not.”
“Sorry I’m late. We had to put down the deposit and firm everything up at Romeo’s. It’s official.”
“That’s awesome. Yay. I’m so happy for you.” Jayne hugs me tight and pours it on extra thick, still trying to make up for her initial reaction the other night.
“Thank you.” Over Jayne’s shoulder, I see my mother peering into the parking lot from the store window. I detach from Jayne and hurry us toward the door. “Are you ready to start meeting everyone?”
“Very ready. I can’t wait to finally be able to put faces to all these names. Is anyone else here yet?”
“My mom. Brace yourself,” I warn Jayne through clenched teeth as the bells on the door announce our entrance.
“Holly.” My mom rushes over and greets me with a big smile. That’s odd. “I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”
“Bad news,” I answer right away. Does that make me a pessimist?
“Michael died.” My mom’s big smile goes to a frown, and her voice does its trademark sad crack. “We woke up yesterday and he was stiff as a board. He died in his sleep.”
“Oh no, that’s awful.” Poor old cat, but at least he went peacefully. “Michael is, was, my parents’ cat,” I say to Jayne, even though she already knows all about Michael.
“I’m sorry.” She offers condolences to my mom.
“Why are you sorry? Who are you?” My mother eyes Jayne suspiciously with a turned-up nose. Today she has plastic chili peppers dangling from her ears that look like little red wangs.
“Mom, this is my friend Jayne. She’s my maid of honor.”
“Oh, you’re the one who she does all the yoga with.”
“Namaste.” Jayne places her hands together and bows her head. My mother does nothing to hide her exaggerated eye roll at Jayne’s response. Oh, this is gonna be loads of fun.
“I’m sorry about Michael, Mom. But at least he’s in a better place,” I say, hoping to move on.
“A better place?” My mother recoils in disgust. “What better place? Do you think he’s in heaven?” she asks, but doesn’t wait for the answers. “He was a cat, Holly. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Wow,” Jayne mouths silently to me, and I hold back a laugh. I warned her.
“So, what’s the good news, Mom?”
“Well.” My mom claps her hands together. “The good news is I’m buying your dress.”
“What?” I gasp, covering my mouth. “Really?”
“Yes, really. It’s unfortunate about the Michael situation, but I guess everything happens for a reason. Maybe Michael died so you can have a nice wedding dress.”
For a second there, I thought we were gonna have a nice, non-weird moment. Shame on me for thinking that.
The bells on the door ring, and the dress shop fills with little girls, followed by Ashley, Robin, and Mrs. Daniels.
Immediately the girls go to the racks of dresses and start searching. The woman behind the counter, who had yet to acknowledge us, comes running over. “Is this the Martin party?” she asks, eyeing the girls over her shoulder.
“Yes. I’m Holly.” I extend my hand.
“I’m Sandra, I’ll be helping you today. Is everyone here?” she asks.
“Almost, we’re waiting on two more.”
“Two more?” Sandra repeats through a plastic smile.
“Girls!” Ashley runs over to the racks, tsking at the girls to stop touching all the gowns.
Sandra tugs on the lapels of her blazer and takes a breath; she knows she’ll be working hard to earn her paycheck today. “While we wait, can I start pulling some gowns for you to try on? Do you have a style in mind? I take it we’re doing bridesmaid dresses today, too?”
“Yes, I have pictures, they’re on my phone. Hang on.” I shuffle through my bag for my cell. Shoot, I should have gotten here earlier. I haven’t even had a chance to introduce everyone yet.
“Just pull a bunch of pretty white dresses in a size twelve,” my mom instructs Sandra. “I want to see my daughter in a little bit of everything.”
“No, wait, please. I have pictures. I know the style I want. And I’m not a twelve.” I blush at my mother yelling out a size larger than I really am in front of everyone. “It’s right here, I got it.” I open up my phone and scroll to picture one in my wedding dress album. “Scroll right. That’s kind of the style I’m looking for.” I hand my phone over to Sandra. “And a size ten,” I add in a hushed voice.
“I’ll go start a room for you.” She takes my phone and heads off.
The bells chime and my sister and niece walk in. That’s it, everyone is here. It’s time for introductions. My mother and Mrs. Daniels are about to meet. I swallow a few times and clear my throat.
Here we go.
“YOU LOOK NERVOUS. Everything okay?” Jeremy bites into his cheeseburger.
“Yeah. Fine.” I take a long swig of beer. This sucks. Everything about this sucks.
“You sure?”
“Yup.” Nope. “Holly and I booked Romeo’s today. We’re officially booked for June 24. We’re really excited. Holly’s out dress shopping.” I glance down at my phone. Actually, I’m sure she’s gotta be home by now. I sent her a text that I was with Jeremy at Twisted, but she never replied. Strange, usually I’m the one who’s bad at texting. “The uh, bridal party has grown a little bit. My nieces and my sisters-in-law and even my brothers want to be involved.”
“That’s nice that they all want to be a part of your big day.”
“Yeah, it’s nice.” I scratch the back of my neck. I had hoped that somehow Jeremy would understand what I was painfully trying to get at with that one small statement. But why the fuck would he? We’re men, we don’t pick up on and obsess over the same bullshit details that women do. “I was just wondering, so um, how serious are you and Justin?”
“You were just wondering that?” Jeremy grins. “Why were you wondering?”
“No reason.” I take another sip of my beer. Do it. Get it over with. Speaking in riddles doesn’t work. Offer the Chateau, then tell him that Patrick is the best man. “Well, not no reason. You mentioned the Chateau the other night when we were out. You said you were on the waiting list.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.” Jeremy drops his head. “I meant to apologize about that. Jayne put me on the spot, and I spoke without thinking. I hope I didn’t make things worse.”
“No, not at all. In fact, we wanted to know if you and Justin wanted the date being held at the Chateau. It’s yours if you want it.” I wait for a reaction.
“For this June?” Jeremy blinks, stunned by the offer. “Thank you, but no. That’s way too soon for us.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. That’s nowhere near enough time to prepare, never mind pay for a wedding at the Chateau. Besides, not sure if I ever mentioned it, but Justin’s already been married once before. This time around, he wants to do things at a slower pace, which I respect.” He raises his glass to me before sipping. “I do appreciate the offer, though.”
“Patrick’s gonna be my best man.” I just say it. “I’m sorry, dude. My brothers just kind of assumed, and I didn’t really know how to say no.”
“Cool.” Jeremy shoves an onion ring into his mouth. “Is that what you were stressed about?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “I asked you, and then my brothers informed me of their plan. And now Pat’s gonna be the best man and Kent’s gonna officiate. You okay with being a groomsman?”
“Of course.” He chuckles, leaning over and giving my shoulder a squeeze. “There’s no need to stress over something like that. This day is about you and Holly. I’m just happy to be able to celebrate it with you guys.”
“Thanks, man. That’s such a load off my mind.” I sit back in my chair and finally pick up my burger to take a bite, my empty stomach now relaxed enough for me to eat. “Ya know, I assisted in removing a knife from a man’s hand today. He needed forty-two stitches, and my nerves stayed calm the entire time. Why is it always the small stuff that throws me off my game?”
“I don’t know, but you can’t let it. Sweating the small stuff is a waste of time.” Jeremy shrugs. “So, tell me, the knife guy, what happened? Dr. Porter said he was slicing an avocado.”
“Yeah, he was trying to get the pit out like he saw on a cooking show.” I get ready to delve into the gruesome details, splaying my hand to show him where the knife entered.
“Matthew,” Holly calls from across the bar, running toward us. “Thank God, you’re still here.” She pushes back her disheveled hair and collapses onto the stool next to me. She waves over the bartender. “Fireball, please. And a glass of water.”
Uh-oh.
“What’s going on? You okay?”
“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t go back to your parents’ yet. I needed a drink to relax after the day I just had, and I saw your text, so I knew you were here.”
“Did something happen? How did dress shopping go?”
“Let’s see.” The shot is delivered. Holly gulps it and doesn’t even sip the water chaser. She shivers from the burning liquid and signals for the bartender to bring her another one. “My mother met your mother, and surprisingly it seemed to be going well, until your mother chose a lavender-colored gown, and my mother made a huge fuss about how she was going to wear that color. So your mother chose a yellow gown, and guess what?” Holly pauses to do the second shot. “My mother decided that yellow was a better color on her. And that’s just for starters. Sorry. Hello, Jeremy.” She gives a quick wave before continuing. “I chose red for the bridesmaids, but Ashley wasn’t a fan and told me that metallic was more on trend. Whatever. Fine. But then Jayne freaked out and said that if I wanted red that red is what everyone should wear. You can imagine how the rest of that went.”
Ashley and Jayne are both strong personalities. Very strong. “That must have been like Godzilla versus King Kong.”
“Yes, it was, and I thought we were gonna have to call in the troops when Jayne told Ashley to ‘calm her tits.’”
“She didn’t.”
“She did.”
I don’t want to know but I have to ask. “What did Ashley do?”
“Well, she didn’t calm her tits, that’s for sure.” The bartender comes back and Holly shakes her head to a third. “Thankfully Robin was able to jump in and defuse the situation. She pulled Ashley away to look at shoes on the other side of the store. And I calmed Jayne down by assuring her that I would be keeping to the red theme.”
“So did anyone get a dress?” Jeremy asks.
“My mother. Two. A yellow one and a lavender one. And the thing is, she originally said she wanted blue. She just bought the two fucking dresses so that your mother wouldn’t. Oh, and my niece is in the wedding, and now so is my sister. After she realized everyone else was, she didn’t want to be left out. So, now on top of everything else, I have to choose a style of dress that will accommodate a very pregnant woman.”
I motion for the bartender. “Bring her another one, please.”
“No, if I have another, I can’t drive.” She frowns as her phone lights up and she grabs it from the bar where she left it. “Shit. This is a text from Ashley asking for Jayne’s number. What do I do?”
“Relax. Ignore it. Do the shot, I’ll drive home.” I take the phone from her hands and set it down. The bartender sets up the shot and Holly doesn’t hesitate, she downs it, no shudder this time.
The three of us sit there in a moment of silence. I don’t know what else to say, and Jeremy chomps on his burger, staying out of it completely.
Holly’s shoulders drop and she slouches in her seat. Her rigid lips turn upward as she releases a giggle and the tension leaves her body. She reaches for my beer and claims it as her own.
“Know what? I don’t even care.” She retrieves her phone from where I moved it over to on the bar and types.
“What did you just do?” I’m afraid to ask.
“I sent Ashley Jayne’s number. Red, silver, bronze. I don’t give a shit. If they want to argue over my wedding, they can go right ahead.” She polishes off the beer, and grabs a steak fry from my plate. “But isn’t this day supposed to be about me? I mean, I don’t even have a dress yet, and the wedding is a month and a half away.” She stops and points the half-eaten fry at us. “Oh my God, you know what I just thought of. We should have one of those chocolate fountains at our wedding, but instead of chocolate, it should be a Fireball fountain, and instead of bananas and strawberries on sticks, we should have shot glasses on sticks.”
“You don’t need to worry, I’ll go dress shopping with you,” I say, as she steals another fry from my plate. “I read online that having different opinions makes it much harder for a bride to come to a decision.”
“Oh geez, here we go. Time for the Facts of Matthew. Um, here’s a fact—the groom does not go dress shopping with the bride,” she says with her mouth full. “These fries are so freaking good. I haven’t eaten all day.” She moves my plate closer to her. “So, Fireball fountain? Yes? No? Is that even a thing? If not, we should get a patent. Jeremy, what do you think?”
“Um, about a Fireball fountain? You should do it.” He shrugs, trying to hold back a laugh. Holly motions for a fourth shot and starts to sketch out the details of a whisky-spewing fountain on a cocktail napkin for Jeremy to appraise.
Who would have ever guessed that planning a wedding would be this stressful? Thank God our engagement is a short one. I can’t wait for this to all be done and be boarding a plane for the honeymoon. Wait a second… the honeymoon. How has that slipped by us? We’ve been so busy with everything else, we forgot all about the best part.
I know Maui is Holly’s dream location. We’re saving more than enough on the wedding that I think that’s something we can definitely make happen. Tonight after Holly passes out, and at the rate she’s going, that shouldn’t take long, I’ll start looking into it. Maybe I could even surprise her. The only thing I need to do is check with HR about vacation time. But I have plenty of time stored up, so there shouldn’t be any problems there. And Holly’s job is flexible; her boss is great. He had a bottle of champagne sent to the house by messenger when we got engaged. I don’t foresee any issues there.
Aloha oe. Paradise, here we come.
Yes. This is exactly what’s needed. I’ll book us a suite overlooking the ocean. Holly can wear a coconut bra, we’ll eat pineapple off each other’s bodies, and make love all night until the sun rises. This plan can’t fail.
A Hawaiian honeymoon, there’s no way to screw that up.