Page 42 of Bride Games
42
Emma & Paige
T he following day Emma and Paige decided to have some girlfriend time over dinner. Before going to Coral Restaurant, they decided to meet at Bride & Joy to tell Nigel the news about the wedding being televised and arrived at the bridal shop at nearly the same time. Once they entered the shop, Nigel rushed toward them, arms spread wide. “What a brilliant surprise. Are you here to try on dresses, head pieces, or?—”
“Hi Nigel. We just have a few minutes but wanted to tell you about a new wedding development.” Emma glanced at Paige. “Should you tell him about the story, or should I?”
“Story?” Nigel led them away from a raucous bridal group. “What story? Do tell.”
Paige grinned as they stood behind a massive rack of veils. “This is hush-hush, Nigel, but I asked Emma if ATV 10 could televise the wedding and she and Eli agreed, right, Em?”
Emma nodded. “Yeah, I was hoping for more butterflies on my wedding day.” A nervous laugh escaped. “It’ll be fine. I can’t imagine anything going wrong at an elementary-school-planned wedding ceremony.”
All three of them laughed for far too long. Nigel said, “Brilliant,” and made a zipper motion across his mouth with his hand. “I won’t say a word and will make sure there isn’t a wrinkle in my tux.” He winked as he peered at Emma. “Have you narrowed down the style of wedding?”
“Eli and I are going with whimsical.”
Both Paige and Nigel raised their eyebrows. Nigel repeated, “Whimsical?”
“Uh, yeah. Whimsical. Eli and I decided we’re going to let the students and teachers decorate the school cafeteria. They’re going to handle all of our wedding decorations.”
Nigel sucked in his breath as he touched Emma’s arm. “Are you sure you want to do that? Leave your wedding planning up to first graders?”
“No, I’m not sure at all, but Eli convinced me how creative teachers are. He wants me to trust the process.” Emma held up both hands. “It’s far less stressful for me.”
Paige nodded in agreement. “True, and if they pull it off, this could be the story of the century.” She grinned. “I’m liking this free-range idea.”
Emma’s face fell. “You both think it’s silly. I can tell.”
Nigel put his hand on Emma’s shoulder. “On the contrary, dear Emma,” he said, as a muffled laugh escaped, “if this works, my brides might all fancy stick-figure drawings and balloon animals at their wedding. It could well become all the rage. Why not? We’re all tired of the same old wedding. Bugger. This could be brilliant.”
Frowning, Emma said, “You both hate it. You’re making fun.” She reached for her phone. “I’ll text Eli now. He’s supposed to meet with the principal after school tomorrow to discuss some preliminary details.” Staring at her screen, Emma groaned. “I hope it’s not too late.”
Paige reached for Emma’s cell. “Don’t you dare. We’re just having fun with you. Every bride has the jitters. I’m really coming around to this idea. In fact,”—Paige acted as though she were peering through a camera lens—“I can see it now. A wedding—and love—through schoolchildren’s eyes. But I’m not doing this for ratings.” Paige cocked her head. “No doubt it’ll be good for ratings, but your love story signifies hope and that’s something we all need to cling to.”
Emma stared at her best friend. “You certainly have a way with words.” She made air quotes: “Our love story signifies hope. How can I say ‘no’ to that?”
“Don’t get mad, but I might have already put it on our website vaguely mentioning coming feature stories . It’s extremely ambiguous right now. I’ll update the location with your names the night before or the morning of your wedding.” Paige reached for Emma’s hand. “Don’t worry about a thing. Your wedding will be absolutely darling.”
“I agree. Bravo.” Nigel clapped as one of his employees called him to the register. He kissed both women on each cheek. “Thanks for stopping by and telling me.”
As they walked to their cars, Paige asked Emma if she could manage another two hours for dinner and an adult conversation. “You bet. Lucy is all taken care of. I’m all yours, Paige. See you at the restaurant.”
Paige settled into a corner booth at Coral Restaurant as she waited for Emma to arrive after seeing her friend get multiple stoplights on the way. She ordered a bottle of chardonnay and took a few happy sips while thinking about the free-range schoolkid wedding idea. Within seconds, her smile turned to a frown as thoughts of Trent, Zach, and Marie’s damn party entered her mind.
As she asked the server for bread—why not?—Emma rushed inside with her hair in her usual messy mom bun. Paige’s freckle-faced friend always made her smile. She pushed an empty wineglass toward Emma and began pouring. “I think that went well with Nigel, don’t you? We should celebrate.”
Emma took a sip of wine and clinked her glass against Paige’s. “Yeah, I’m glad he liked the idea. I’m still a little nervous about it, to be honest. I’ve decided I don’t handle stress very well.”
“Then, it’s a good thing I ordered an entire bottle. Want to go first, or should I?”
Emma motioned with her hand. “By all means, you called this meeting. I’m all ears.”
Paige waved the server over and said they were going to chat for several minutes before ordering. She hated being interrupted while telling a story. “How much time do we have? Where’s little Lucy?”
“I’ve got over two hours. Eli had a parent-teacher conference but my wonderful neighbor came through again. I really need to do something special for Mrs. Roberts.”
“Wish I had known. I could have given her some roses.”
“Roses? From Zach?”
Paige made a buzzer sound you’d hear on a game show for the wrong answer. “Trent.”
“ Trent ?” Emma looked like a skunk had just sprayed the dining room.
“Afraid so.” Paige twisted her wineglass. “He wants another chance. Said he messed up.”
Eyes wide, Emma said, “Please tell me you aren’t consider?—”
Paige shook her head so hard the back of an earring fell off. “I’m not. I haven’t forgotten those dreadful photos I saw on his computer of that—that anonymous woman. How could I ever trust him again?”
“Exactly.” Emma scooted her chair forward and lowered her voice. “Everything okay with Zach, I hope?” She knew they couldn’t broadcast their relationship since they both worked at ATV 10.
“Oh, yeah. It’s just fab. Zach went to a splashy party at Marie Fallon’s house recently. She had a fully catered gathering, an open bar, band, swimming pool, NFL players, and God knows what else.”
“Why didn’t you go?” Emma wrinkled her nose as she pushed her menu aside. “I remember seeing Marie Fallon on television. She tries too hard, and she’s?—”
“Drop-dead gorgeous, I know.” Paige rolled her eyes.
“Stop it. You’re drop-dead gorgeous.” Emma’s stomach growled so loud that Paige clearly heard it. “You’re a wonderful friend. Let’s order.”
After they ate salmon cakes with lemon dill sauce and roasted asparagus, Paige waited until she swallowed before saying, “Enough about me. What’s going on with you?”
“I’m doing some promotional work for authors, but basically, we’re in full-on wedding planning mode. My business is mostly on hiatus.” Emma shrugged. “But thanks to the school’s involvement, I honestly have far less to do than most brides.” Emma beamed. “Eli and I can’t wait to get married. Lucy, too, for that matter.”
You’ve got yourself a great guy, Em. I’m happy for you. No one deserves this more than you.” Clearing her throat, Paige swallowed past a lump of unhappiness.
Emma wiped her mouth with a coral napkin. “You’ll find it too, Paige. If it’s not Zach, then it’ll be someone else. I really like him, though.”
“So do I.” Paige lowered her voice when customers hovered near their table, obviously recognizing the TV star and ready to hear some gossip. “Zach really is a great guy, but it’s hard when we can’t be seen much in public—not as a couple anyway, especially with my stupid job situation, which I hope is temporary. Very temporary.” Sighing, Paige added, “If it’s meant to be, it’ll work out.”
“I have an idea.” Emma glanced over her shoulder to ensure no one was listening. “A good one.”
Finally grinning, Paige said, “I’m all ears.”
Leaning forward, Emma said, “Why don’t you go incognito to a football game. A game that Zach and Marie are both covering.”
Paige’s eyebrows shot up. “You mean spy on my occasional-but-mostly-nonexistent boyfriend?” Grinning, she added, “I like the way you think.”