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“He assures me it was just an accident and you were trying to protect him and his sandwich.”

“That’s true, but I’m still sorry he has a knot on his head. The good news is that after Dad’s little accident, everything went smoothly. I might have noticed people giving me a lot more room than usual, but that’s purely understandable. We didn’t practice our vows or exchange the rings, but Slash did kiss the bride.”

“I’m sure that was a hit.”

“It was the highlight of the night for me.” I paused. “Mom, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, honey, ask anything.”

“Is everyone really creating various disaster plans for my wedding?”

“What makes you say that?” The way she deflected the question back on me implied she didn’t want to provide a truthful response.

“Hands and Basia both mentioned disaster planning and a spreadsheet. Gray had a full med kit right in her car. Is that normal for a wedding?”

“Sweetie, one must always have backup plans for a wedding as small things always go wrong. Your friends are simply thinking ahead.”

“Do people usually call them ‘disaster plans’ at a wedding?”

“Well, that might be a little extreme, but given your track record…”

“…they’re taking extra precautions,” I finished. “Fair enough. I get it. I just don’t want my wedding to be a disaster.”

“It won’t be, precisely because everyone is so well prepared. Just relax and enjoy. We’ve got the hard part behind us. There might be a few kinks between now and Saturday, but I promise we’ll have them all worked out by then. Have faith.”

Not sure if I was upset or impressed by my friends’ disaster planning, I left my mom and headed toward one of the waiters who had just exited the kitchen carrying a tray of hors d'oeuvres. I racked my brains to remember what food we’d chosen and remembered one of them as being beef Wellington bites. I snatched one and popped it in my mouth. It practically melted on my tongue.

“Delicious,” I said to no one in particular. “Good choice.”

Finn and Stefan entered the dining room, chatting as if they were old friends. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Gray behind me.

“Hey, Lexi, you doing okay?” she asked.

Was she really asking me that question? “What do you think, Gray? I just brained my father with a plant stand and then had to practice how to walk down an aisle and what to say in a church where lots of people will be looking at me. Now I’m hosting twenty-four people for a dinner in my honor. Of course I’m not okay. But I’m doing my best.”

She patted my shoulder. “You did great at the rehearsal, except for the swing at your dad. But don’t worry about it. You’re going to kill it on Saturday.”

“Knowing me, Gray, maybe ‘kill it’ wasn’t the best choice of words.”

“Really good point. You’ll do fine at the wedding. You’ll be a beautiful, graceful bride and all that. The service will be lovely, Slash will be as handsome as ever, and all your friends and family will be cheering you on. No one is going to care about a snafu or two. What’s the problem?”

“The problem is the wedding is five days away, and all these people are arriving just to see me and Slash. I feel like this week is going to drag on and on.”

“After tonight, you’re just going to relax and take it easy until the wedding. Remember? No planned events.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure we’ll have to meet up for at least a few dinners and lunches. That's going to require a lot of peopling."

“Yeah, maybe a little. But I, and the rest of your friends, will keep you as shielded as possible. If we have to make up stories about why you can’t do something, then we will. We’ll make sure you’re as relaxed as you can be by Saturday. We’ve got you.”

I let out of breath. “Thanks for having my back, Gray. I mean that. Honestly, the one thing I’m really looking forward to is seeing Wills and Hulk at the wedding. I haven’t seen them since the mission in Somalia. I’m glad they feel well enough to attend.”

“Hands tells me they’re doing great, but you’ll get to see for yourself.” She nodded her head toward her sexy SEAL boyfriend. “He says both of them have been doing great in physical therapy and are definitely on the mend. I haven’t seen them, either, so it’ll be one big homecoming for all of us.”

“That homecoming is definitely one of the things that will brighten my day…besides marrying Slash, of course.”

She laughed. “Of course. See, youdohave fun things to look forward to on Saturday. Look, you need to relax. Your wedding is going to go off without a hitch. Trust me on this. I’m CIA, remember?”

I did want to trust her on that, but my experience with a little black cloud of trouble and a large spreadsheet of disasters that happened to me didn’t make me comfortable doing that quite yet.