Page 10 of The Wedding

Charlotte practically cried, clinging to a bald woman who was more than happy to pat her shoulder as she shoved more hundred-dollar-bills down a G-string. The only other woman there who didn’t feel guilty touching a hottie was Lara, who claimed to have permission from her generous wife to have as much fun as she wanted. As long as she let said wife watch on camera. That scared the other two girls off until she climbed over the table and hunted one down. Or at least tried to. By that point, shewas so drunk she had to drag herself to her chair.

“For the bride, we do anything,” said a gorgeous tanned woman with a sharp jaw. She leaned against Monique’s chair, doing her damndest to look down at that generous cleavage.She’s letting her. For a woman who wasn’t even a tiny bit inebriated, Monique had zero inhibitions. Maybe Etta was right after all. “You want to touch? You can touch anything. Maybe more.”

“Darling,” Monique said, staring at those bulbous breasts as they hung free, “I know all about peddling flesh. If you’re offering yourself for a price, just say so. I may look innocent, but I am hardly anything but.”

“She ain’t just whistling a folk tune,” Gwenyth said. Like Jamie and Monique, she was not overtly drunk. “She outdoes us all when it comes to fucked up shit.”

The woman smiled, sort of. Monique batted her eyelashes, and the waitress wandered off, taking her chances with Lara… who was apparently less threatening than Monique.

“I wouldn’t tell on you, you know,” Eve said, cheek on the table. Her hand slapped next to an empty glass. “If you have fun in Miami… I won’t… I won’t tell Helen.” She sat up, woozy. “You know what? You should! You should fuck that hot loaf of banana bread! It’s your last chance!”

Monique gave her future sister-in-law the most perplexed look she could muster. “Why in the world would I do that? I’m not scared of being with only one person for the rest of my life.”

“Let me tell you!” Lara attempted to reach across their broad table but ended up falling face-first against an empty platter of nachos. “As the… as the only married woman at this table… let alone for ten fucking years… the secret… the secret…”

“Yes?” Monique’s eyebrows said she couldn’t wait to hear this.

“The secret is pussy.”

“I know. You’re at my place of business every other week with your wife.”

“Damn fucking straight I am. Praise be andhallelujah!”

Their party ended with only one person missing: Charlotte, who drunkenly took a girl back to her hotel room. Unfortunately, she was sharing a room with Gwenyth, who moaned that there was no way she could stay there tonight. Since she didn’t want to impose on Monique, who was sharing a suite with Jamie, she begged Eve and Kathleen to let her crash with them. This ended with scoffs and Kathleen snoring against her best friend’s arm.

“Yeah, sure, she can sleep with me.” Eve wrapped her arm around her sleeping friend and shook her awake. “Right! We’re finally sleeping together!”

“Brother,” Monique muttered. “I think they’re having more fun at my bachelorette party than I am, and I am having a good bit of fun.”

They took a limo back to their hotel, the bellhop helping Gwenyth and Kathleen get to their rooms since they both kept insisting on passing out every few seconds. Jamie would’ve been taken aback at how loudly Kathleen snored when she was blacked out drunk, but she had been to enough college parties back in her day.I’m not much better.Natasha once outdrank her into the biggest stupor of her life.

“If it makes you feel better,” Jamie said, unlocking her and Monique’s room once they were alone. “I’m not drunk.”

“Thank God, because I babysit drunk women enough as it is. That’s the last thing I want to do on my last weekend before I become a married woman.”

Jamie entered the suite and picked up the room service brochure. “How does wine and popcorn with a movie sound?”

Monique pulled off her sweater and collapsed on a couch. “Popcorn, yes. I’ll pass on the wine.”

“As for the movie?” Jamie laughed. “Fifty Shades?”

“Oh, honey.” Monique picked something out frombeneath her nail. “Secretaryor bust.”

“I’ve never seen that movie before…”

Monique stared at her. “That’s illegal!”

Jamie placed their order for food and drink before scouring the Pay-Per-View list for one of Monique’s favorite movies. She soon found out why – and couldn’t say she disagreed.

Chapter 4

Jamie and Monique were the only ones not hungover at brunch the next day. Well, Gwenyth sobered up and lost her headache halfway through brunch, but she still showed up wearing the thickest sunglasses a woman could own. Also, Charlotte remained missing.

“It truly isn’t a bachelorette weekend if everyone isn’t in pain,” Monique quipped, stirring her iced tea. “Now I’m really glad I wasn’t drinking.”

So am I.There were plans that day. It was a beautiful, sunny February day in Miami and shopping called. Jamie checked her bank accounts on her phone while everyone around her groaned and fought over coffee. One account said she had a healthy thirty-thousand dollars. The other said she had four million.

I don’t touch that account. That was the money Etta gave her after their work contract ended. She was originally offered one million dollars. Then that turned into two. Then she asked for three before she condescended to be a high-class escort and executive assistant.Almost in that order.Then? Etta gave her another million as a bonus. This was after they decided to become a “real” couple.