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T o be a good wedding planner, Asher had to be detail-oriented, analytical, strong-willed, and sometimes, effective at picking an anxious bride up off the floor after she’d had too much champagne to calm her nerves. Today, she needed to be all of those things.

“But does he really love me?”

“Of course, he does. He’s standing there, waiting for you right now,” she told the bride, whose eye makeup was beginning to smudge from her likely alcohol-laced tears.

“He slept with my cousin, you know?” the bride shared with a sniffle as Asher helped to lift her onto the love seat in the bridal suite.

“No, I didn’t know,” she replied, checking on the dress to see if it had gotten wrinkled or stained when the bride dropped to the floor and started crying minutes ago. “Before you were together, you mean?”

“Three months ago,” the woman replied, reaching for the half-empty bottle of champagne. “There’s a reason Carey isn’t in my wedding party.” She went to take a drink straight from the bottle, but Asher took it from her.

“Okay. I think you’ve had enough. Why don’t I go get your mom and your bridesmaids so that they can help? I’ll let the minister know we might be a few minutes, too.”

“We’ve been together for four years. This is what you do, right? After four years together, you get married. He fucked one of his TAs in college, right after we got together. We’d just gone exclusive, too.” The bride met Asher’s eyes with her red and swollen ones. “Do you think there are more I don’t know about?”

“Uh… I don’t know,” Asher said.

She had been doing this job since she graduated from business school, and she had a one-hundred-percent success rate at getting her brides down the aisle. She’d been twenty-five when she started, and now, at thirty-seven, that meant she had twelve years of experience with semi-drunk brides, late grooms, wedding cake disasters, sick DJs, bands that played the wrong songs, and angry fathers when they got the bill because, despite having the info in advance about how much things would cost, seeing it all laid out for them was often too much. Then, there were the friends who didn’t like the seating arrangement, the venues that weren’t ready when they arrived, the vendors who didn’t show up on time or at all, and more. This , however, was the drunkest bride she’d ever seen before the ceremony.

Usually, Asher was able to ensure that no one in the wedding party got this intoxicated, but today had been a day. It was a plantation wedding outside of Baton Rouge, which she personally wasn’t a fan of because of the past that those locations represented. She wished she didn’t have to work the events taking place there, but this couple was a huge client for the company, and her boss had said that whatever the bride wanted, the bride got, which meant that Asher had to get the woman to the altar no matter what. While this particular location handled weddings all the time, there had been a mild plumbing issue that morning, unfortunately, so she had spent much of her time on the phone with possible backup venues in case they couldn’t get the half-flooded dance floor cleaned up in time. That had left the bridesmaids and the mother of the bride to take care of this woman, who was still crying, and they’d clearly done a horrible job because when Asher had finished her last-minute checks, she entered the bridal suite to find the bridesmaids helping the bride finish the third bottle of champagne. Asher had gotten them out the door and lined up, only to find the bride in a ball on the floor.

“I fucked someone, too,” the bride admitted. “Two years ago.”

“Oh?” Asher said, faking interest as she reached for her phone and tried to covertly text the assistant planner working with her today to let her know that they would need at least thirty minutes to get this woman cleaned up.

“Yeah. And he’d hate it.”

“I’m sure he would.”

“It’s a girl. I had sex with a girl.”

Asher’s eyes lifted from her phone at that.

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” the bride said, slurring a little. “Her name was Reggie, I think.” She leaned back against the sofa, messing up her hair. “I met her in a bar. She looked kind of like a boy. I danced with her. I let her touch me all over.”

“Okay,” Asher replied, putting her phone away into her inside blazer pocket. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“I didn’t touch her, though. She touched me. She went down on me way better than he ever had. Why can’t boys get it?” The bride pointed between her legs. “It’s right there. Just suck on it until I tell you to stop, right?”

Asher shook her head, trying to figure out what to do here. She’d never had a bride talk to her quite like this before, and Asher wanted to pick her up, toss her in a shower, dress and all, and make her walk down the aisle in a sopping wet dress, with mascara running down her cheeks.

“Anyway, she made me come, like, five times before I left. I think he’s done that in the whole four years I’ve been with him.”

“Well, maybe you should talk to him about this after the wedding.”

“Are you into women?” the bride asked.

“What?” Asher asked back.

“It’s just that I didn’t have a last-second fuck. I’m sure he did. He doesn’t think I know about Carey, and I’m sure there was someone at his bachelor party. His brother hired women, not strippers, if you know what I mean. And they don’t think I know that, either. If I’m going to do it with someone before the wedding, might as well be with a woman who can get me there, you know?”

“You’re drunk, so I think it’s best that we get you cleaned up. I’ll get you some water and coffee, and maybe some medicine, too. Then, with a clear head, you can–”

“You’re hot,” the bride stated, interrupting her. “I’ve always thought so. When my dad found your company online, I thought you looked hot in the picture. I’ll touch you, too, if you want,” she added. “I don’t want to go down on you, though, if that’s okay. Just, like, fingers.”

Asher had never been propositioned by a client before, and definitely not quite like this. She was certain that if this woman wasn’t drunk, she wouldn’t be saying these things, but even her grooms hadn’t propositioned her over the years. Members of the wedding party, yes, but they weren’t clients.

“I have a better idea. Let’s get you married, okay?” she said as she stood. “I think we should take off the dress because you’ll mess it up when you wash your face. I’ll get the makeup artist back in here with the hair person.”

“I don’t love him,” the bride told her, closing her eyes. “He’s been my boyfriend since college, but I’m not even sure why we’re getting married. He proposed. I said yes. Now, we are here, but I don’t really know why.”

“Do you want me to get him in here so that you two can talk?”

“What’s the point? There are three hundred people out there. It’s not like I’m going to run away or anything. I’d embarrass my family.”

“I’m sure they’d understand.”

“They wouldn’t. He’s the heir to a Fortune 100 company and millions. I was raised to marry a man like him.” The woman stood up, seemingly preparing herself for something, and was a little wobbly on her feet. “Okay. I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

“Oh, you need to–”

“Pee. God, I need to pee so bad.”

“Take off the–”

Before Asher could finish her sentence, the bride lowered the side zipper of her dress, and it fell to the floor, leaving her in only white lingerie. The woman then disappeared into the bathroom, and Asher rushed to pick the dress up off the floor and hung it up to prevent it from wrinkling.

“What’s going on in there?” the assistant asked into her headset.

“I’ve got a situation,” Asher replied. “I don’t want it on comms. Can you come in here, please?”

For big weddings like this, the team wore headsets and communicated through them, but there was always a chance someone from the wedding would overhear, so she’d texted the assistant before to avoid that. A moment later, the door opened, and the assistant walked in.

“She’s drunk,” Asher said. “We need at least thirty.”

“I’ll let the chef know not to start cooking.”

“And maybe get her mom in here. I don’t know what else to do. She’s drunk and pouring her heart out to me, but maybe her mom can help.”

“You’ve met her mother… Do you really think she’s going to help?”

Asher sighed and said, “No. You’re right. Okay. Get me hair and makeup, and then come back in and steam the dress again. I need to talk to the groom to calm him down.”

“He’s in the room, still waiting. I just checked. He and the groomsmen are drinking and having fun. I’m not even sure he’s noticed it’s time to start the ceremony yet.”

“Jesus,” Asher said to herself. “Skip the mom. I’ll get the groom ready. Get hair and makeup. Steam the dress.”

“And tell the chef?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Hey, I’m kind of naked in here!” the bride yelled for her through the closed door. “Come in, hot stuff. Get me off, and I promise I’ll do the same.”

Asher’s eyes went wide. Her assistant looked shocked and confused.

“She’s drunk.”

“Did she just call you hot stuff ?”

“No, I think she’s just talking to–”

“Asher, come in here.”

The bathroom door opened then, and the bride walked out with only her bottom half still covered. Her one-piece teddy had the straps hanging down at her sides, and her breasts were exposed.

“Please. I promise, I’ll make it– Oh. Hi.” The bride finally noticed the assistant standing there, staring at her.

“Hi,” the assistant replied with an awkward wave.

“I don’t know if I can handle all three of us.”

“You – cover up,” Asher stated, pointing at the bride. “You – do what I asked.” She pointed to the assistant. “I’ll be right back.”

“Hurry up, lover,” the bride said with a laugh.

“She’s drunk. Not her lover,” Asher said to the assistant. “I’ll be right back.”

Asher left the room and pressed her body against the door once she was free, letting out a deep sigh. This was not supposed to go this way. This wedding had been a fairly easy one to plan. She’d had a year and a half to do it. The groom hadn’t cared much about anything, and the bride had gone along with whatever her mother had wanted. She’d managed to avoid the fighting between the bride and her parents over budget and colors, so, overall, she’d thought the whole experience to be a smooth one. She should’ve expected that that would mean today would be difficult.

A minute later, she found the groom partying in his room with the groomsmen. The assistant had been right: he’d been shocked to discover that it was time for him to get married. Asher had gotten him to straighten up, pop a mint, and get himself together before she found the minister and let him know about the delay herself. Rushing back to the bridal suite, she found the assistant steaming the dress and the makeup artist hard at work fixing the damage while the hair person was getting her equipment back out to fix the hair.

“I have to pee again,” the bride stated. “She made me drink a whole bottle of water.” She pointed to the assistant.

“Bless you,” Asher whispered to the assistant when she approached.

◆◆◆

“Hey. How’s it going?” Linden asked.

“It’s going,” she replied into the phone. “Yours?”

“It’s about done. When the family doesn’t pay for an open bar, these things end early.”

“Yeah…” Asher said with a sigh. “Open bar here. But over half the guests have left already.”

“Really?”

“Southern society wedding.”

“Ah…”

Linden had joined the company only a couple of years after Asher, so she knew how these kinds of events went. It wasn’t about the ceremony, the romance, the love, or even the free booze and party. It was about being invited and being seen. Most people stayed for the first dance and left shortly after.

“So, how tired are you?” Linden asked.

Asher was leaning against a pillar outside of the building. The ceremony had gone off forty-five minutes after the originally scheduled time, and the reception had been in the same location, so after an hour of pictures, the food was finally served, and the music was now playing. She’d watched this couple, which clearly wasn’t meant to be, get married and wondered why they were doing it. It wasn’t her place – she was their wedding planner, not their couple’s counselor – but they seemed to barely talk throughout much of the reception and didn’t look even remotely in love.

Hearing Linden’s question, Asher closed her eyes for a second because she knew why her best friend was asking it. Linden, at thirty-five, had finally come out recently and had been going out a lot in the city. She’d been in that phase where she wanted to meet as many women as possible because, as she put it, she was finally free. Asher was happy for her, but she wasn’t in her twenties anymore, so going out nearly every night after working all day was beginning to take its toll on her. Still, if Linden needed her there for moral support, she would be.

“Where to tonight?” she asked.

“Yeah?”

“I could use a drink, honestly. Today has been rough.”

“What happened?”

“Drunk bride,” Asher said.

“The worst.”

“No, the worst was when she asked me to fuck her and came out of the bathroom with her boobs hanging out.”

“What?” Linden laughed. “No way.”

“Yes, way. And we weren’t alone, either. I was mortified.”

“Was she hot?”

“Linden…” she said, laughing.

“What? I never get hot brides hitting on me.”

“You wouldn’t do anything even if you did.”

“No, I’m a professional. But it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want a hot bride to flash me her boobs.”

“Your bride didn’t flash you today?”

“Two grooms today.”

“Oh, right. I don’t suppose you’d want either of them to flash you, huh?”

“I’m done with dicks. You know that,” Linden said.

“Crass,” Asher replied with a laugh.

“Maybe. But it’s the truth. I’m not faking it anymore.”

“I need to go,” Asher said when she noticed the bride walking around the building and away from the reception. “Text me?”

“Yeah,” Linden said.

Asher hung up and yelled, “Everything okay?”

The bride turned, clearly surprised that Asher was there.

“Needed a moment.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Asher replied.

“Wait,” the bride said, walking toward her now. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

“It’s okay. It’s a stressful day.”

“I’m really embarrassed.”

“All forgotten,” Asher said, knowing that was impossible.

“I made a mistake,” the bride added, looking up at the moon.

“I’ll give you a minute to–”

“Are you married?” the woman interrupted.

“No,” Asher replied.

“Ever been?”

“Nope.”

“Want to be?”

“To you?” Asher joked.

The bride laughed and said, “To anyone?”

“Someday, yes.”

“Make sure it’s to the right person when you do.”

“Have you talked to him?”

“After pictures,” the bride told her. “He did sleep with someone at the bachelor party.”

“I’m sorry,” Asher replied.

“He said that’s what people like us do. We marry because we’re supposed to, and we have people on the side when we want. Of course, he waited until after we were married to tell me that. Here, I was thinking we were exclusive this whole time. Four years together, and I’m not sure we’ve ever had a real conversation about what we wanted. His mother asked me about twenty minutes ago when we were going to get pregnant. That’s just how it is. And I’ve never even really wanted kids.” The bride paused, and Asher stood there, not knowing what to say. “He gets horny when he drinks, and he’s drinking now, so, knowing my luck, I’ll get pregnant tonight, and that’ll be it. I’m twenty-six years old, married to someone who doesn’t even love me, and probably about to have his kid.”

“If you’re this miserable, why–”

“It’s funny.” The woman released a forced chuckle and finally met Asher’s eyes. “I never even thought of leaving.” She looked back toward the reception and added, “I should get back.”

“Yeah, okay,” Asher said.

“I’m really sorry.”

Asher nodded at her and gave her a sympathetic smile. As the bride walked back toward what should have been the best party of her life up until now, Asher thought about her boyfriend. She tried to picture Gavin standing up at the altar and her walking toward him, and she couldn’t.