Friday Night Brides (4 page)

They stood in companionable silence for another minute before Becca broke the spell. “Thanks again. For everything.”

Max simply nodded.

“And I’ll see you next weekend and hopefully have enough pictures and information for you to use for the slide show.”

Reaching into his back pocket, Max pulled out his wallet and then one of his business cards and handed it to Becca. “If you have any questions or…anything, just give me a call. That’s my cell number on the bottom.”

Taking the card, Becca smiled and waved, then turned and walked away.

Two

Ella sighed as she rested her head on Dylan’s bare shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and hugged her close.

“You were beautiful up there tonight.”

She smiled against his skin. “How do you know? You showed up after the show.”

Dylan shook his head. “I actually got there right before the finale. The dress you were wearing…the one that looked like a silvery-blue? It was awesome.”

“The train weighed a ton. I don’t know how some brides do it. There was no way to move around easily in that thing.”

“Well, either way, you looked great.”

Placing a small kiss on his chest, she quietly said, “Thank you.”

They lay there together in silence for several minutes. “You okay, El?” Dylan asked. “You’re kind of quiet tonight.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know…so much is going on with the girls and…” She sighed. “I just can’t relate to any of it.”

Sitting up, Dylan looked down at her, frowning. “What do you mean?”

Ella moved away and sat up, tugging the blanket with her. “Tonight Danny broke up with Becca right before the show. She didn’t want to talk about it, but after she left Angie told me and Hailey about it. He basically told her she wasn’t pretty enough to be modeling for Mrs. J!”

Shaking his head, Dylan continued to frown. “Not for nothing, but she should be thankful he did it.”

“What?” she cried. “How could you…?”

“Look, I think Becca’s great—pretty, too. But Danny’s always been a jackass. I never understood what the hell she saw in him. I’m glad he made such a colossally bad move. It should guarantee she won’t take him back.”

“Oh…well…I guess I didn’t think of it like that.” She paused. “I still feel bad for her, though.”

“Of course. No one wants to be dumped. And insulted. I hope she didn’t take what he said to heart.”

“She did,” Ella sighed. “She already has self-esteem issues and this just added to them. It’s going to take a while for her to get her confidence back.”

Dylan sat quietly for a minute. “And what else is going on? You said things were going on with the girls. What’s up?”

“Well…she won’t talk about it, but I think Angie’s still upset over Sean.”

“The guy from her cousin’s wedding?”

Ella nodded.

“I thought it was just a hook-up.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course you did.”

“What does that mean?”

“You know she doesn’t ever gush over a guy. Hell, she doesn’t gush over anything. But I think she really liked Sean. And it wasn’t just a hook up at the wedding, they sort of had a…thing going.”

“So what happened?”

“He travels a lot. Or at least that’s what he told her. They were talking and texting all the time and then it just sort of fizzled out. From what I can guess, the fizzling wasn’t on her end.”

“Oh.”

She shifted and faced him. “Why do guys do that? I mean…Angie’s a great girl! She’s beautiful and sweet and funny and…she’s just awesome. Why would a guy get involved like that and then just bail?”

Dylan’s eyes went wide. “You’re asking me? How on earth would I know? You’re the only girl I ever dated!”

Ella made a face and sighed, slouching back against her pillows. “Oh. Right.”

Now it was his turn to straighten and look at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Look, all I’m saying is it…bothers me how I can’t help my friends! I have no idea what to say or do when they’re dealing with stuff like this. It’s completely foreign to me!”

“That’s not a bad thing,” he grumbled.

With a patient smile, she rolled toward Dylan and put her hand on his arm. “I know and believe me, I know how lucky we are, Dylan, but…”

“But…?”

She shrugged. “Sometimes it just seems like maybe we…missed something.”

His eyes went wide. “You’re kidding, right?”

Ella shook her head.

Jumping up from the bed, he grabbed his jeans and pulled them on and began to pace. “So…here we are, planning our wedding after we’ve been together for thirteen years and you’re telling me you’re missing something?” When Ella went to speak, he held up a hand to stop her. “And what you’re complaining about missing are the failed relationships and being able to understand what it feels like to be dumped?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

“It’s exactly what you’re saying!” he yelled. “You don’t have to experience getting dumped to sympathize with your friends, Ella! Plenty of my friends have had girls dump them and I feel for them—I really do—but that doesn’t mean I want it to happen to me!”

She sighed loudly and looked up at him with her big blue eyes. “I don’t want it to happen to me either. It’s just sometimes I feel guilty. I mean…we found each other when we were so young and it’s always been…” She looked at him and smiled. “Perfect. It still boggles my mind how it doesn’t happen like that for everyone else.”

And just like that, Dylan relaxed and sat back down beside her. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her slowly, thoroughly. When he lifted his head he smiled. “How did we get so lucky?”

“I don’t know,” Ella said softly as she cupped his cheek. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I get frustrated when my friends are hurting and I don’t know how to make things better.”

“I think both Angie and Becca are going to be just fine. Becca’s going to realize real soon that Danny breaking up with her is a blessing and Angie…well…she’ll just be mad for a while. Maybe you should encourage her to take up kickboxing or something. She’s definitely the kind of woman who needs to get her anger out.”

Ella laughed. “That she does. I’ll bring it up next time I see her.”

“You mean tomorrow,” he said with a wink.

It was true, Ella and the girls rarely went for more than a couple of hours without talking and Saturday was usually their day to go to lunch.

“What does Hailey think of all of this?” Dylan asked. “Thank God you have at least one friend who’s not in a crisis.”

“Well…”

It was his turn to roll his eyes. “Seriously? What’s going on with Hailey?”

“I’m not sure. When I got to the show tonight, she was having this angry staring contest with Jackson. And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why. Hailey gets along with everyone—particularly anyone who works for her mom—but for some reason, she really dislikes him.”

“Wait…who’s Jackson? The guy she’s always walking with in the shows?”

“No,” Ella said, shaking her head. “That’s Logan. He’s the one she’s really interested in. He’s sweet and handsome and she’s always going on and on about how perfect he is for her, but he hasn’t made a move on her or taken any of her hints.”

“So who’s Jackson?”

“He’s who I walked with tonight. He’s a really nice guy—funny, smart and he’s always going out of his way to help Mrs. J—but for some reason, he just rubs Hailey the wrong way.”

Dylan considered that for a moment. “I’m stumped. I’ve known Hailey almost as long as you have and I’ve never seen her argue with anyone.”

“That’s what I’m saying! It’s weird!” She shook her head again and shifted until she was laying down again. “Why can’t they have their issues separately? I think I could handle them one at a time—and with the help of the others—but all at once? I’m feeling seriously overwhelmed.”

Shucking his jeans, he joined her back under the blankets, tucked her back in at his side and sighed. “All you can do is be yourself, sweetheart. No one is expecting you to solve all of their problems and besides, you’ve got issues of your own. Mrs. J told me you’re finally going to pick out your gown this week.” He kissed the top of her head. “That’s great news.”

“Mmm…”

She felt him stiffen beside her and decided to say what was really on her mind.

“I think I know why I can’t pick a gown.”

He took a steadying breath and let it out. “Why?”

“Because this wedding isn’t…this isn’t the wedding we always talked about. I feel like no one is listening to us about what it is that we want.”

“I know, but they’re just excited. And they aren’t asking for anything bad, El. It’s just going to be a bit bigger than we planned.”

“But…”

“Come on,” he said softly, hugging her, “it’s been a long day and an emotional night. I think a good night’s sleep will go a long way toward making you feel better.”

Honestly, she wasn’t so sure. Her mind was swirling with everything that was going on. Becca. Hailey. Angie. The wedding. If Ella had her way, she’d stand up and demand that everyone listen to her. Of course she had no idea what she’d say—except about the wedding—but that was beside the point.

She wanted her friends to be happy.

And she wanted that for herself too.

The only problem was…she no longer knew what it would take.

****

“I’m ordering a burger that’s as big as my head,” Angie announced as she sat down.

“Make that two,” Becca replied.

The waitress looked at the group of girls with a hint of confusion. “Um…today’s specials are…”

Hailey held up a hand to stop her. “Just give us a few minutes. Thanks.” When the waitress walked away, she turned to her friends. “I will not allow you to scare that poor girl or have a food pity-party.”

“Geez
mom
….unclench,” Angie muttered.

They were seated at a table at their favorite café in downtown Raleigh. It was a Saturday tradition they started their senior year of high school and other than a handful of times when one of them was sick, they never missed a date.

“The show was great last night,” Ella said excitedly. “That was a huge crowd to celebrate with your mom.”

Hailey nodded. “She cried at the end of the night. I stayed until the end with her and as we were walking out she started bawling at how much it all meant to her.” She sighed happily. “I hope someday I have a career I feel that passionate about.”

“You could just take over the business,” Angie suggested. “You know that’s what she’s been wanting. Why are you fighting it?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just want something that’s mine. I know I’d never be able to live up to the hype that is my mother,” Hailey explained. “And I don’t want to. She’s amazing.”

“Still…you’re a natural with it all. You should really consider it,” Becca added. “I think with your marketing skills you could even take the business to a whole new level.”

Hailey shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.” She took a sip of her water and looked at Ella. “Are you excited for Wednesday night?”

“Sure,” Ella said a little too brightly.

“Uh-oh…” It was a collective comment.

“Okay, fine. I’m not sure if I’m excited about it. I’m not even sure I’m excited about the wedding anymore.”

Becca reached out and took one of Ella’s hands in hers. “Have you talked to Dylan about it?”

“I have. He seems to think it’s all okay—that our families making things bigger is no big deal.”

“But it is,” Angie interjected. “Did you tell him that?”

Ella shook her head. “It was late and we were tired and…I don’t know. He just doesn’t seem to get it.”

“Then maybe you should explain it to him again,” Hailey suggested. “The two of you have always been in sync with each other. I can’t believe he’s not seeing why this is a big deal to you.”

“Probably because it hasn’t really affected him. No one talks to him about this stuff; they come to me—and usually after the fact. I swear, I once thought it was a blessing how our parents had become such good friends but now it’s a curse. They get together and think and plot and plan and don’t even bother to ask me or Dylan what we think about it!”

“Ella, sweetie, you’re going to have to say something. Soon!” Hailey said. “I know this is a big deal to you because you’re actually upset about it. A couple of months ago when you started planning the wedding, you glowed at just the mention of it. Now your face gets all…scrunchy. You can’t keep this bottled up.”

“Maybe I’m just being ungrateful,” Ella said quietly. “Dylan’s probably right—it’s not like they’re changing a whole bunch of stuff that’s going to make the wedding bad.” She shrugged and then waved a hand at them. “Anyway, it’s not a big deal. I’m starving and a burger really does sound good.”

While Ella picked up the menu and held it up in an attempt to end this particular discussion, Hailey, Angie and Becca exchanged glances. “So…yeah. Burgers,” Becca said, picking up her own menu.

By the time the waitress came back, they were ready to place their orders. Once she was gone, the conversation went to neutral topics—work, the weather and food. When their meals were served, everyone took their first few bites in silence.

“Dear Lord, that’s good,” Angie finally said. “I swear, they have the best burgers here.”

“Agreed,” Becca said. “Although I should have just gotten a salad.”

Without missing a beat, Angie smacked her in the arm.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“Because you let that asshole get to you! There is nothing wrong with you and as your friend, I’m offended that you’re taking his words to heart!”

Slamming her burger down, she turned. “That doesn’t even make sense!”

“So you’re saying you aren’t taking Danny’s words to heart?”

Sighing, Becca picked up her napkin and wiped her hands. “I meant about you being offended. It has nothing to do with you! This is about me!”

“Yeah, I get that,” Angie snapped, “but at the same time, it’s annoying as all hell how you listen to him.”

“Well, sorry to annoy you,” Becca said as she started to slide out of the booth.

Hailey grabbed her arm to stop her. “Okay, that’s enough,” she said gently and then glared at Angie. “Look, I know you’re upset about Danny but that doesn’t mean that anything he said was right. We have all been friends for so long and you have to know we would never lie to you.”

Becca looked up at her with tears in her eyes.

“You’re beautiful,” Hailey said fiercely. “And you’re an amazing friend and yes, it bothers us that we can sit here and tell you this for your whole life and you don’t listen to it while Danny says one thing one time and you believe him.” She paused while Becca wiped away a tear. “You were too good for him. We all told you from the get-go and we all sat back because you said he made you happy. Well…clearly you’re not happy. And we’re all sorry for it. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to sit here and let you beat yourself up over him.”