The full skirt seems to take up more than its fair share of my car. I push a swath of it towards Lucy’s thigh so I can reach the gear shift. With a roar of the engine, I pull out of the parking space with a bit more speed than the local law enforcement would like.

Lucy shifts in her seat, straining against the seatbelt until she’s facing me.

“Stephanie seems really nice.”

“She is.” The traffic light ahead of me switches from green to yellow, and I press down on the accelerator, sending the car sailing beneath it just as it blinks over to red.

“How long have you known her?”

I have to think before I can answer her. “We met about four years ago when we were both working on this little historical piece. Her career was just starting to take off and she was assigned to handle my makeup. We just clicked. We’re friends,” I hurry to add. “That’s all we’ve ever been.”

Lucy eyes me suspiciously. “She must be a good friend to drop everything and fly out here on the spur of the moment.”

“Stephanie loves a good adventure and for her, that’s just what this is,” I explain.

“There’s no place in Patina Falls that requires getting dressed up. Even the country club at the golf course is perfectly happy when people show up wearing jeans and T-shirts.” Her fingers fumble with the skirt, pleating the material as she studies my expression. “And if you wanted to go to Green Bay, why not have Stephanie meet us there?”

“We’re not going to Green Bay,” I tell her as I turn the car down a side street.

“Then where?” Her brow furrows in consternation.

Keeping my eyes on the road, I find her hand and lift it to my mouth, brushing a kiss across the back. “Someplace fun.”

The scenery catches Lucy’s eye and she blanches. “Please tell me we’re not …”

Her words trail off as I swing the BMW into the crowded parking lot of the huge church that has been a mainstay in the community for over a hundred and fifty years. A large sign near the entrance welcomes people to Suzie and Eli’s nuptials.

“I can’t be here.” Lucy’s voice climbs a full octave higher than its normal pitch.

I find an empty spot at the north side of the parking lot and slip the BMW into it before unsnapping my seatbelt. “Why not? Everyone keeps saying how you’ve been responsible for planning this thing. Seems only fair that you should see how it all turns out.”

“But I haven’t been invited,” Lucy protests.

“Neither have I.” I reach over and unclip Lucy’s seatbelt. She doesn’t even notice. “What’s your point?”

“You were invited,” Lucy says. “There wasn’t time to get a real invitation to you, but I heard Suzie say-”

“You heard Suzie start to invite me, but than she got distracted by our alleged relationship status. She never actually uttered the words ‘Come to my wedding’ or ‘You’re invited,’ or ‘My finacé and I would be honored by your presence’.”

“But she was going to invite you. Probably, she thinks she has.”

“I hope not,” I tell Lucy. “Being a wedding crasher seems like a lot more fun than an actual invited guest. Don’t you agree?”

“I think that I don’t like attending events where I’m not wanted.”

The funny thing about her statement is that, even though her words are ones that most people throw around as prelude to an argument, from Lucy, they come across as passive. And the longer the argument goes on, the more submissive her body language becomes.

It’s the same thing that happened yesterday at the coffee shop when Suzie was yelling at her.

I don’t like it. There’s a time and a place to let things drop, to go along with the flow, there’s also a time to draw a line in the sand and fight back.

“Not wanted?” I shove back the automatic wave of irritation. “Remember what Christian said yesterday, that he was looking forward to dancing with you at the reception? How Suzie’s father, your real boss has been telling everyone about how much hard work you’ve put into this thing. And those are just two people. I’ll bet the church is full of people who not only expect to see you here, but who want you here.”

“I don’t know.” Lucy looks out the window at the church. I sense her wavering. “I really hate the idea of spoiling Suzie’s big day. She’s so excited and wants everything to be perfect.”

“If your being here is all it takes to ruin her day, then Suzie has far bigger issues to worry about.” I lean across the center console and kiss Lucy’s scarred cheek. “If you crash this wedding with me, I promise you’ll have a good time.”

Before she has a chance to protest, I jump out of the BMW and jog around the front of it. I grab the handle of the passenger door and pull it open, feeling ridiculously pleased that I was able to complete the sequence before Lucy let herself out.

She still doesn’t look like she’s convinced that this is a good idea, but after a moment’s hesitation she gets out of the car.

I take her hand in mine.

“I didn’t get a wedding present,” she hisses as we walk across the faded asphalt.

I refrain from pointing out that most people would consider the sheer amount of work she put into Suzie’s wedding, and the fact that she did it for free, a massive wedding gift.

“I already took care of it.” And if Suzie yells at Lucy, I’ll grab the five-thousand-dollar Tiffany’s gift certificate off the gifts table. “I put both of our names on the card.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re supposed to be a couple,” I remind her, “and couples go halfsies on wedding presents.”

I half expect her to protest. When she doesn’t, I decide now might be the time to bring up another thing I’ve done that she may not approve of.

“Since the reception is going to be at the Fletcher Hotel,” I say, trying to keep my voice casual, “I went ahead and booked a pair of rooms for us.”

As expected, Lucy skids to a halt. Her head snaps up to stare at me, and she gives her hand a tug, trying to pull it free. I hold tight.

“Why?” she demands.

“Because even though this town is growing, it still doesn’t have much of a taxi service.” I smile at an elderly couple who eyes us warily as they walk past on their way into the church. “And I want both of us to have a good time, which includes being able to drink without having to worry about how we’re going to get across town.”

Lucy opens her mouth, ready to say something else, and for a split second, I think she’s about to disagree, that she’s going to actually argue with me or put her foot down, but then she just closes her mouth and drops her gaze to stare at her freshly polished toenails.

I grind my teeth together. I never thought the day would come when I wanted someone to argue with me, but that’s exactly where I am right now.

“If you end up not needing the room, and someone’s willing to drive you home after the reception, that’s fine. No skin off my nose. But it’s already booked, so there’s no point in yelling at me about it.”

I nod at another couple. The woman looks familiar, like maybe she was my third-grade teacher. “So, rather than standing in the parking lot and attracting a lot of attention, how about we go inside and wish the couple a happy future?”

So far, my plans to show Lucy a good time seem to do nothing but crash and burn.