Page 3

Three

The night of Austin and Katie’s engagement party, I took forever to get ready.

Seriously, I was pretty confident that in my whole entire history of being a teenage girl, it had never taken me so long to get dressed.

I sang an entire concert set list in the shower, then flopped on my unmade bed and scrolled aimlessly through my phone for a while before mustering the strength to change into something a little more appropriate than my orange-and-pink-checkered bathrobe.

I swapped it out for a dusty violet dress; it had a cool metallic sheen to it.

And despite blowing my brown hair dry, it ended up in a French braid, which was how I always wore it for field hockey.

But then I did something way out of the ordinary: I searched for a makeup tutorial on YouTube and followed along with my eyeliner pen, hoping to execute the perfect cat eye.

I don’t know; I guess I wanted to look older tonight?

I would be meeting Katie’s other bridesmaids for the first time and didn’t want it to be so obvious that I was Austin’s younger sister—his kid sister.

Downstairs, I could hear my dads debating over the party’s mood music.

Da wanted smooth jazz while Dad was pitching something called “Hipster Cocktail Party” on Spotify.

“Harry, how did you even discover this playlist?” Da asked, chuckling as Lana Del Rey purred through our speakers.

“We don’t frequent Brooklyn coffee shops…”

Per its invitation, the party began at seven, but the key players had arrived by six-thirty.

“Mads?” Austin walked into my room looking dapper in a slate-colored suit.

“You ready? Everyone’s downstairs.”

I finally found the right heels, vintage silver T-straps from the 1960s.

They’d been Grandma’s and were still in perfect condition.

“Yeah, almost!”

“Wait, you haven’t drunk this yet?” Austin seemingly teleported from my doorway to my closet, where he pulled out the mini bubbly bottle from my bridesmaid box.

“Did Da say no?”

I shrugged.

“You know I’m only allowed to drink on super special occasions.”

Austin chuckled but didn’t pop the prosecco.

“Well, I’m sure he’d agree tonight qualifies.” He raised the bottle.

“To the highly esteemed hosts!”

“Yes.” I grinned.

“To Dad and Da!”

We pretended to take a sip (that bottle was way too warm to actually drink) right as Katie called up the stairs, “Austin, your nana just got here!”

“Coming, Kates!” my brother called back, then rustled through my goody bag until he found the bracelet.

“Don’t forget this,” he told me.

“Katie mentioned all the bridesmaids are wearing them.”

That’s news to me , I thought, even though Katie was apparently thrilled I was a bridesmaid.

She’s so happy you said yes , Austin had texted after Katie’s curt response.

I know you’ve got a lot of stuff going on, but thanks, Mads!

Love you!

I desperately wanted to ask my brother why Katie had changed her mind and asked me, but I didn’t.

Love you, too , I’d written back.

I’m pumped!!!

“I’ll be right down,” I told him now, and after he hurried out of the room, I took a deep breath and stared down my reflection in the mirror over my dresser.

They’ll like you , I reassured myself.

Just because they love Katie doesn’t mean they won’t like you!

After all, no one but my parents knew my true feelings about Katie.

I could pretend I loved her, too.

Who knew? Dad and Da could be right; by the end of this, Katie could be the sister I never had.

Not that I’d ever really dreamt of a sister.

Austin was all I needed.

But still.

We had three sets of stairs in the farmhouse; the wide kitchen staircase was the easiest to navigate in heels, so I stomped down only to be greeted by the caterers.

We all considered Da a gourmet cook, but with all the people invited, solo cooking wasn’t feasible even if it was only drinks and heavy hors d’oeuvres.

Ember the álvarez family had inquired about potentially putting their house on the market this spring.

I inhaled an aroma of deliciousness from the second-floor landing before gliding downstairs to the kitchen.

Well, maybe not gliding —I spent most of my time in turf shoes or cleats, not high heels—but it wasn’t until I tripped over the last couple steps that my cheeks sparked with embarrassment.

“And she sticks the landing!” someone shouted when I got my footing at the bottom.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the floor and desperately willing my warm face to cool before looking up and across the kitchen to see a familiar guy smiling at me.

He was wearing Ember you should show it off every once in a while…”

Decades ago, Nana had been a hairstylist. She’d worked at one of those fancy salons that served clients champagne while they got their hair done.

Today, she owned the place.

“Okay, wonderful!” She smiled once she was satisfied with her work.

There was no mirror in the kitchen, but I knew we had a half-up, half-down situation on our hands.

“Doesn’t she look lovely?” she asked Marco.

And dear lord, my face practically burst into flames.

“Yes,” he said, nodding robotically.

“She is beauty and she is grace.”

I flipped him off when Nana took me by the shoulders and directed me toward the door.

Marco gave me a thumbs-up, then went back to work.

If Nana hadn’t been physically pushing me out of the room, I might’ve asked for his number so we could keep in better touch.

I’d only been a sophomore during his senior year; his popularity had intimidated me.

It didn’t now.

***

The party, Da joked, was popping.

There were people everywhere.

My family, Katie’s family, my parents’ friends, Katie’s parents’ friends, and friends of the bride and groom.

Ember it would look more cosmopolitan.

But Nana knew me too well.

I loved an ice-cold Coca-Cola and would definitely need a serious sugar rush for this.

Armed with my emotional-support beverage, I let Nana lead me into Katie’s clutches.

“You have nothing to worry about,” she whispered.

“I introduced myself to them earlier—we know Katie’s horrible at that—and they seem like nice women.”

Women.

I was a girl .

Austin , where are you?

I thought. He was so good at this stuff.

By the time we reached the bridal circle, my pulse was pounding so hard that I barely heard myself say, “Hey, Katie.”

Then I immediately noticed Nana had ghosted me.

Katie, wearing a white halter dress and wineglass in hand, opened her mouth, but someone beat her to the punch.

“Oh my god!” a woman exclaimed.

“We were just talking about you! You’re Mads, right? The sister Austin never shuts up about?”

“Well, to be fair, I’m his only one,” I replied.

The bridesmaid laughed.

She smiled and stuck out her hand, the gold knot bracelet on her wrist shining as we shook.

“I’m Amanda. Katie’s older sister.”

Katie rolled her eyes, like this was an inside and reoccurring joke.

“Only by a year.”

“Still.” Amanda lovingly patted Katie’s cheek.

“Older, wiser, and whatever else it is they say.” She looked back at me.

“I’m also the MOH.”

My eyebrows knitted together.

“The MOH?”

“The maid of honor,” another bridesmaid translated.

“I’m Reese, and I believe my title is childhood best friend .”

Then there was Courtney, a cousin.

Paige, another cousin.

Yasmin, a college friend.

“And my college roommate…” Katie began.

“Is finally here,” Yasmin finished, waving her arm in the air.

“Mer!”

“Hey, guys!” A seventh bridesmaid joined our group.

She had bright green eyes and honey-colored hair that cascaded down her back.

I was instantly obsessed with her one-shoulder black jumpsuit and chunky gold heels.

“I’m so sorry we’re late,” she said, hugging Katie.

“Our flight was delayed, and then we sat forever at the gate in Philly. Stephen also forgot to book our Uber in advance…”

“My oh my, where in the world did the Witrys come from this time?” Reese asked dryly.

“We just did three months in St. Croix,” the new bridesmaid answered.

“One of the many wonders of remote jobs, Reese.” They hugged.

“But I know you are married to Manhattan.”

“’Til death do us part,” Reese quipped, then gestured to me.

“This is Mads, Katie’s soon-to-be sister-in-law.”

“Oh, hello.” She grinned and surprised me with a warm side hug.

I was a couple inches taller than her.

“I’m Meredith. It’s so great to finally meet you!”

“Mer, Yaz, and I all roomed together at Hamilton,” Katie supplied, and I nodded.

Hamilton College in upstate New York, one of the prestigious NESCAC schools.

Their field hockey team was pretty good.

“But Reese was like our fourth roommate,” Yasmin added.

“She was an hour and a half away at Hobart and would visit like every other weekend.”

Reese shrugged.

“You had better parties.”

“More like better boys ,” Katie countered.

“Yeah, I heard about this!” Amanda snapped her fingers.

“There was some Italian exchange student you had a crush on sophomore year?”

The bridesmaids giggled, and I silently sipped my soda.

Even though Katie had chosen bridesmaids from different chapters of her life, they seemed as thick as thieves.

Why couldn’t there be a work friend or something?

Someone who could be slow on the uptake like me?

“For you, Killer,” someone said, and Meredith and I turned to see a cute blond guy holding two glasses.

He smiled crookedly at the group as Meredith accepted a copper-colored cup garnished with lime.

Moscow mule, I guessed.

“Ladies.” He toasted us with his bourbon.

“Katie.”

“Wit…” they singsonged back.

A nickname? I wondered.

Hadn’t Meredith mentioned someone named Stephen?

In any case, the guy kissed her cheek before melting back into the party.

Meredith beamed and took a sip of her cocktail.

She wore no engagement ring, but her gold wedding band was inlaid with pale blue gemstones.

They looked like aquamarine.

She’d think Grandma’s ruby was cool , I thought.

Katie’s cousins soon asked if she’d thought about any potential bachelorette weekend destinations, but before she could answer, Marco arrived with hors d’oeuvres.

“Would any of you care for tomato soup and grilled cheese?” he asked.

I watched the bridesmaids’ eyes narrow at the tray, which held shot glass cups of tomato soup topped with bite-sized grilled cheese sandwiches.

They were smaller than a potato chip and totally didn’t match tonight’s upscale foodie vibe.

“This is my dads’ idea of a joke,” I explained, giggling.

“When Austin was in elementary school, all he wanted for dinner was tomato soup with grilled cheese.”

“Crusts cut off, too.” Katie smiled.

“If the crust wasn’t cut off, it was a deal-breaker.”

I nodded.

“That’s adorable,” Meredith said, taking one American Girl–sized meal for herself.

“Yaz, you want one?”

“Yes, please!” Yasmin smiled, but Marco and I both sucked in a breath before disaster struck.

You could tell from the way Meredith was trying to balance her drink that she didn’t have a good grip on the little plate, and when Yasmin stretched to take it, her phone started to slip from her hand.

She tried to catch it at the same time Meredith passed off the appetizer.

And even though it wasn’t remotely my fault, I wanted to click my heels three times to disappear after the soup spilled down the front of Yasmin’s red dress.

Shit , I thought, wincing as the other bridesmaids swarmed Yasmin.

Was this mess how they’d remember meeting me?

“Napkin?” Reese asked Marco.

“Could you get some napkins, please?”

Dad swept in out of nowhere.

“Seltzer and a dish towel, Marco,” he amended, knowing basically every cleaning hack.

“We’re going to dab, Yasmin, not rub…” He began ushering Yasmin toward the kitchen, with Meredith following and apologizing profusely.

“Mer, stop! It’s totally fine,” Yasmin said.

“It’s not like you spilled on Katie …”

As if on cue, Katie glanced down at her ivory dress.

“I think I’m going to switch to white,” she said mildly, passing off her red wine to Amanda.

“I’ll be—”

“Katie!” Paige half shrieked.

“She’s coming!”

“Paige, can you ever keep your cool?” Courtney whispered as Katie stole her wine back from her sister.

She took a long sip.

“Like, just once?”

“Showtime,” Katie muttered, but it wasn’t until Amanda murmured that Austin and the groomsmen were also heading over that I realized who they were talking about.

Finally , I thought, shoulder muscles unwinding.

Someone I know.

“Samira!” Katie gushed, stepping forward in her sky-high strappy heels for a hug.

“I’m so glad you made it! How’ve you been?”

Samira Bhatia, a longtime family friend, squeezed Katie back before breaking away with a smile.

“I’ve been great, Katie,” she said.

“Busy with school, but what else is new?”

Behind her, Austin’s groomsmen were practically drooling like a horde of hound dogs.

Samira was stunning.

End of sentence.

But she was especially stunning tonight, in a deep green dress and her long black hair hanging in a loose fishtail braid.

I’d taught her how to do one several years ago.

“Great!” Katie tried to smile, but I caught her shift from one foot to the other right before Samira hugged me hello.

It wasn’t hard to figure out why.

Samira wasn’t only a friend; she was also my brother’s ex-girlfriend.

Best friends since sixth grade, they’d dated all through high school and for their first year of college.

My parents and I’d been nothing short of shocked when Austin told us they’d broken up.

We thought they were endgame, especially since they went to Johns Hopkins together.

“We’ve been together for so long,” Austin had said, insisting the breakup was mutual (his sniffling over the phone didn’t help his case).

“We need freedom to live our own lives for a while.”

Everyone was bummed, but we became optimistic when they’d stayed close.

We thought it was only a matter of time before they got back together.

It was fine when Samira started dating someone new.

It was fine, because eventually…

Well, eventually, Austin met Katie.

“Sam and I are friends ,” my brother had said the time Dad had brought up rekindling a romance with Samira (I mean, what exes decided to live together senior year?).

“Best friends, but just friends. I’m with Katie.” He grinned, as if the world were made of ice cream and rainbows.

“I love Katie.”

Now, Samira was at Johns Hopkins Med, and after looping her arm through Austin’s, Katie politely asked a few questions about the semester, and Samira answered them self-deprecatingly.

Austin’s best friend was brilliant, and everyone fell in love with her…

Except Katie.

You really can’t make an actual effort?

I wanted to ask, because while Katie talked to Samira, she didn’t seem genuinely interested.

Sometimes, like right now, she even sounded fake.

Samira might’ve been Austin’s ex, but she was also like family.

She and Austin always took me sledding as a little kid, we watched her high school diving meets, and her desserts were a staple at our summer cookouts.

We loved her, and she wasn’t going anywhere.

It was time Katie truly accepted it.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen soon blended together in conversation, and after Yasmin and Meredith returned, Austin’s best man flagged down the professional photographer circulating the party.

“Group photo?” he suggested.

“Group photo!” everyone agreed.

I smiled for the camera, but internally started plotting my escape.

How was I going to get out of being Katie’s bridesmaid?

I’m not , I thought as the flash went off.

This is also Austin’s wedding, remember?

I really was going to have to grin and bear it.