Page 37 of Bride Games
37
Paige & Emma
T he minute Zach left, Paige knew she needed to see her girlfriend—and fast. She texted Emma, chanting over and over: Please be available. Paige nearly begged Emma to meet. Emma agreed and said she’d get a sitter if Eli weren’t available to watch Lucy.
After Paige and Emma were seated, they pushed the menus aside and ordered a glass of wine. Once their vino appeared, Paige held up her wineglass and clinked it with Emma’s. “I can always count on you to meet me. Thank you. I hope it wasn’t too hard to find a sitter for little Lucy.”
“Actually, Eli’s watching her. He was excited.” Emma furrowed her brows. “I could tell by your text that something’s wrong. What is it?”
Paige took a healthy gulp before answering. “Do you check social media at all? I mean, I know you’re a busy single mom—for now—with an Etsy business and are planning a wedding, so I’m guessing you don’t spend hours checking Facebook or X.”
“Not often. I covet my rare alone time.” Emma cocked her head. “I basically hop online to get inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram occasionally, but I haven’t been online in more than a week. Why?”
Paige laughed so hard her cheeks hurt.
“Oh, is it something good?” Emma stared at her best friend over her wine.
Nearly choking from something between laughter and despair, Paige said, “Nothing good. Nothing at all. It’s probably easier if I just show you.” Paige pulled up the trending page on X and passed her phone to Emma. Before she did, she saw that #Paigeisafraud and #FirePage were both still trending. Paige watched as Emma’s eyes widened.
“Who did this?” Emma asked after a couple minutes of scrolling.
“Who didn’t is the question.” Paige took her phone back as Emma sat agog. “Both hashtags are trending. That means thousands of people are commenting. Maybe tens of thousands.” Paige shook her head. “You’ll never get through all the comments tonight, but trust me, these trolls have covered every social media platform I can think of.” Paige waved to the server for a second glass of wine. “And there’s more.”
Emma took a tiny sip of her wine as she studied Paige. Brows furrowed, she asked, “Sorry, but how could it get any worse?”
Again, Paige laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks. “Oh, pretty easy, actually.” She began ticking the calamities off on her fingers. “My boss pulled me off the air. He hired the effervescent Marie Fallon away from ESPN. And she’ll be traveling with my non-boyfriend-because-we-can’t-date-now to the games.”
Wide-eyed, Emma’s hand flew over her mouth. “No wonder you were desperate to meet. What will your job be? Or did he fire?—”
“At least he didn’t fire me. That’s the only silver lining. Luckily, the station retained me. Not so luckily, I’ll be replacing my boss—temporarily—as general manager while he goes on a long, luxurious Mediterranean cruise.” Paige grimaced. “I already have to meet with accounting and legal tomorrow. Doesn’t that sound like an ant-infested, fly-swarming, fire-ant picnic?”
“What an image.” Emma reached for Paige’s hand. “So sorry. And here I am just concerned about all things wedding. Is there anything I can do?”
“You’re doing it by letting me vent. You and Eli are the only ones who know I’m dating Zach, but since I’m the”—she made air quotes—“boss now, we can’t even risk that. I get to watch him on the field with Marie.” Paige stuck a finger in her mouth as if she wanted to make herself vomit. “Enough about my sad sack life. Tell me about the wedding. I need some happy news. How’s the planning going?”
Emma leaned forward, her smile practically reaching both ears. “You’re never going to believe this but we’re getting married at Lucy’s school.”
“What? At Appledale?” Paige’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s unique.”
Beaming, Emma said, “Yep. Eli and I discussed the possibility since we met when he was Lucy’s kindergarten teacher. Now, he’s back at the school teaching again, so it’ll be a full circle moment. The principal held an assembly to get input from the teachers and students.” Emma clapped. “The teachers actually agreed. They’re excited, as are the students.”
Leaning forward, Paige lowered her voice and waited until a couple passed their table. “Don’t tell anyone else about this, okay? Let’s keep this under wraps.”
“Why? How? The whole school knows. All the teachers, principal, students, their parents, likely.” Shrugging, Emma added, “Several people already know.”
“I meant don’t tell any other media outlets.”
“You’re the only media person I know.” Emma cocked her head. “What are you getting at, Paige?”
Paige peeked around the nearby tables to make sure there weren’t any eavesdroppers—fans who might be a little too interested in their conversation—before saying, “My boss has been a little weird lately. Okay, a lot weird. Mr. Hales wants the station to stay number one?—”
Interrupting, Emma said, “Which they already achieved, thanks to your incredible sports reporting.”
“I appreciate your support, friend. But now, he wants me to do some big, unique community relations story. We’ve done all the hospital events, charity events, but this—this—a wedding at an elementary school is different.” Paige whispered, “Who has ever heard of that?!”
Emma’s face fell. “You think it’s weird.”
Shaking her head so hard she reminded Emma of the actor in The Exorcist, or was it Carrie , Paige continued. “On the contrary. It’s storybook. It’s unique. It’ll be wonderful.” She reached for Emma’s hands. “Please give me the scoop. I need this exclusive to get back in the station’s good graces. Please don’t breathe a word about this to anyone you might know in TV land.
“As I said, I don’t know anyone in TV land except you but I wouldn’t even if I did.” Emma stared at her finally happy friend. “I didn’t think it would be a big deal but I’m glad I was able to make you smile again.”
Paige glanced around again. “Are you kidding me? It’s so cool. Tell me everything.” She reached for a notepad. “I’m taking notes. By the way, dinner’s on me.” Paige waved a server over and put a finger to her mouth as if Emma needed to be reminded like her six-year-old.
Nodding, Emma said, “Got it. Relax.”
After they placed their orders, Paige waited until the server was completely across the room before clicking the end of her pen. “Whose idea was this and how did you get the school to agree?”
“Are you interviewing me?” Emma giggled. “It’s kind of weird since you’re my best friend.” She clearly noticed the desperation in Paige’s face. “Okay, okay. Here’s how it all happened.” Emma stopped talking when the server brought their food, put her napkin in her lap, and picked up her story with more details about the all-school assembly.
“This is so great. I hope I can read my scribbles.” Paige had already filled out two pages. “Our viewers will love this story.”
Emma took a large bite of salad that nearly got lodged in her throat as realization hit her. “Don’t tell me you want to televise our wedding. I just thought—I don’t know what I thought.”
Paige talked fast, likely before Emma could change her mind. “It’ll be adorable. Such a sweet thing for kids and parents alike. Please think about it.” She paused. “I’d also like to mention it on our social media right before the ceremony, maybe a day before, so viewers can watch online.” She brightened. “I bet it’ll go viral. In a good way instead of these blasted sports comments.”
Emma’s brows furrowed. “I don’t know, Paige. I know you’re used to being in the limelight but I’m not. I’ll need to discuss this with Eli—and Lucy.”
“That’s fine. I understand. No coercion from me.” Winking, Paige said, “Okay, maybe just a little. Kidding!” Her face fell. “But according to last quarter’s ratings, Trent’s station is closing in on ATV 10. He’d love nothing better than to put us back in the number two spot.” She fiddled with her wine stem. “I don’t want to talk about that jerk. Tell me more. Who is handling the decorations? The food? The cake?”
Emma stabbed a cherry tomato that kept eluding her. “The teachers and students. We’ve decided to give them full reign. Less stress, you know?”
“Seriously?” Paige’s eyebrows shot up and stayed high as if she had just had too much Botox. “Little kids are going to make your wedding decorations? Actually”—she grinned—“that’ll be darling. See why this is the greatest story? I guess you’re giving them a few guidelines, though.” She poised her pen above a tablet as she waited for Emma’s response.
“Very few. Just the color scheme and sunflowers, basically. After Eli resigned from the school last year to date me, he met up with me in a sunflower field while I was on Lucy’s field trip. He broke off his engagement to be with little old me—a single mom who is a mess most days.” Chuckling, she added, “I still can’t believe it.”
“You’re not a mess. But see. This keeps getting better and better. It’s becoming a novel. A heartwarming, sweet love story.” Paige’s eyes glistened. “I’m really happy for you, Em. You deserve this. He deserves you. And little Lucy seems elated. I’m glad one of us is happy.”
Emma squeezed Paige’s hand. “You’ll find love again. I was hoping it would be with Zach, but maybe that isn’t in the cards since you both work at ATV 10. That’s got to be complicated.” She bristled. “Back to Marie. I saw her on ESPN once. She’s such a flirt.”
Rolling her eyes, Paige said, “Don’t get me started. She has it out for me, I think. Marie Fallon is pulling out all the stops to not only get my job but also my guy.”
“He seems crazy about you, though.” Emma wiped her mouth, placed her napkin over her mostly empty plate, and yawned.
Paige mirrored her friend’s yawn. “Em, I know this is a lot. Please think about it. Talk to Eli and Lucy. I really, really want this story but you have to be comfortable with it. I would never tread on your wedding day if I weren’t welcomed with open arms. I promise we’ll still be best friends no matter your decision.”
“Thank you for saying that. I’ll—we’ll—take it under serious consideration.” Emma giggled. “That sounds so official. I know you’d have our best interests in mind, and I do want you to get the best community relations story ever. I just wasn’t expecting this.” Emma reached for her purse. “I promise I’ll let you know soon.”