Page 3 of Nothing to the Wedding

“How about this…” she said, curving her free hand around her bent knee.“I’ll spend tonight dancing with Tripp…”

“Yeah?”

“And in less than two weeks, I’ll marry you.”

“Slight flaw in that statement, Lo.”

With a roll of her eyes, her head bumped back on the mirror.“Well, yeah, but go with it, Skippy.How about in less than two weeks, I’ll walk down the aisle to you.Is that better?I’ll wear a floofy dress and get my hair done, may even shave my legs—I haven’t decided.”

“Nervous yet?”

She almost laughed.“It’s weird, isn’t it?People ask that all the time.I get it from my Delights, the Crimsettes, not just fans and strangers, I get it from people we know too.Real life people.Why do they ask that?”

“I don’t know.For something to say?Maybe it’s normal for other people.”

“To be nervous?Why would anyone marry someone they didn’t love and trust completely?”

“Because not all people are lucky enough to have the perfect partner.”

This time, her smile liberated the laugh.“Tripp told you about that, huh?Tattletale.He’s supposed to have a woman’s back.You really shouldn’t talk too much to my friends.”

“Yourfriends?I’ve known that kid since he was a pimple-faced brat who couldn’t string two words together in front of a woman.Who do you think taught him the secrets?”

“So his perfection is Zairn-induced?”

“I was a different man before you, you know that?”

Though she sometimes played up the contradiction, she loved how her guy was always half a step away from sappy.

“Are you getting romantic on me?”

“Blame it on the alcohol.”

Yeah, ‘cause it was likely he’d hit the bottle at that time of the morning during back-to-back meetings.Regardless of the latter, if she asked him to get on a plane, he wouldn’t hesitate for a second.

“Our wedding is in twelve days.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Jane’s having kittens.”

“Yes, she is.”

“Baby on one coast, wedding on the other.It’s an embarrassment of riches,” she said.“The house isn’t ready yet.”

“I heard.”

“Turns out sometimes you can’t just throw money at a problem.”

“It will all work out.”

Some might think it was a wonder they could be calm with so many things in limbo.Yeah, okay, they didn’t have to chase the details of their wedding day because Jane, her BFF, was doing that for her.That didn’t leave them off the hook completely.

Remember the twist?It required preparation and deception, at least for now.

“We have to keep her busy,” she said.“It’s not cruel.”

“No.”