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Maddie and Connor exchange guilty glances.
“Of course not.” Maddie scoffs. “I invited a friend.”
I give her a dubious look. “To fall in love with me and become the future baby daddy of your children’s cousins?”
“Well, I didn’t think that far ahead but now that you mention it, it doesn’t sound half bad.” Maddie smirks.
I roll my eyes. No one is more on board with me getting back in the saddle than Maddie. Which is kind of ridiculous considering she was so against dating when she met Connor. Or maybe she was against dating Connor. Their history is kind of confusing.
“Well, he doesn’t seem to be coming anyway so let’s eat,” Connor says and helps himself to some asparagus. It still blows my mind. Connor willingly eating asparagus. Before Maddie, our regular meals consisted of empty carbs and loads of sugar. Love really can change a person.
I grab the bowl of mashed potatoes. Because love has yet to change me. We load up our plates and begin eating. The only sound in the apartment is a ticking clock somewhere.
They are waiting for me to speak. I usually don’t have a problem filling any kind of silence. But if I start, I’m not sure where I’ll end and then they will be seriously worried about me.
Connor asks if I’ve made any headway with the jewelry box and I jump at the safe topic.
“Not yet, but my friend at work is going to help me with it tomorrow.” I chew some meat, waiting for him to say something else. He doesn’t.
“How's work, Connor?” I ask. But even that yields only a short response. He knows what I’m doing. It’s time to bring out the big guns.
I swallow, hating to do this, but it’s the only way to make it through this dinner without spilling everything on my mind.
“How’s the wedding planning going?” I nearly choke on the words.
Connor’s eyes widen like he can’t believe I’m willingly bringing this conversation up. Weddings are still a sore subject for me. Justin couldn’t commit to me, but I couldn’t commit to a wedding date. I was terrified to plan a wedding that didn’t include my parents. No mom to tear up in the front of the chapel, no dad to have a first dance with.
If I ever get engaged again, I’m eloping.
“Well, we are trying to decide between a photographer or a videographer,” Maddie says, her face instantly shifting from inquisitive lawyer to gushing bride.
Am I so heartless that this seems like the most ridiculous decision ever?
“So go with both?”
“Well, I’d love to but unfortunately only one of us is a lawyer, and the other is a public school teacher,” Maddie says. “And we still need to pay for the dress, the venue, the caterers, the honeymoon.” Her eyes get more dreamy by the second.
Maddie is good for my brother. He’s good for her. I want them to have everything for their big day. Unfortunately, I’m not made of money either, but I was already planning on getting them a nice wedding gift since they are my only family.
“I’ll pay for the videographer,” I say.
“What?” Maddie’s voice squeaks.
I shrug. “Yeah, I mean, it’s either that or matching pineapple salt and pepper shakers.” I know her distaste for tacky kitchen counter decor.
She scrunches her nose. “I mean—”
“Great, send me the info and I’ll book the videographer.” I clap my hands. “Yay, weddings!”
Connor watches me with knowing eyes. He’s not buying my little act. I should probably tone it down.
But the damage has been done. I opened the well into endless wedding plans and Maddie is on a roll.
I shall surely die.
I waste the next two hours going brain-dead as Maddie discusses everything she’s planned so far while watching Connor play with the dogs he supposedly hates. Like right now they are playing tug-of-war with his shoe and Connor is laughing. Or cursing. It’s kind of hard to tell from my spot far away on the couch.
Finally, I can't take one more thought on napkin colors and I stand up. Justin won’t come over this late, and if he does I’ll pretend I’m asleep.