The Bridesmaid's Checklist: Laura's Wedding (BCL Book 1) (8 page)

I
did my best to get ready in the least amount of time. To achieve that, I rushed through my hair and makeup. For an elegant, chic look, I held my tresses up in a French twist so my golden-brown curls would display the beautiful silver earrings I wore. Adding some drama into the mix, I fashioned a really dark smokey-eye and kept my lips in a nude tone. I absolutely loved my dress. Maria Fernanda had made it, after all, and in only a few days.

Maria and I had had different ideas in mind for the outfit, but since the beginning, we’d agreed on one thing—you couldn't go wrong with a classic black and white. After that, it all became easier. We just had a minor disagreement on the length and the zone it would emphasize—she said we should take advantage of my booty, but I wanted to show off my boobs. In the end, we agreed on making the dress about the legs. It had a monochromatic palette, aiming for an extra slimming effect on top of the form-fitting cut by using sleek white, gray, and black mismatched panels along its length.

I finally felt like I deserved to stand next to my friends.

When I returned to The Garden, my friends were greeting people at the door. They made a beautiful threesome standing by the portal, smiling and showing how proud they were to be hosting the party.

“Kassie, what a change!” Denise was the first to greet me. “You look awesome, girl!”

“OMG, Kassie! That is the perfect dress for you!” Natalie complimented.

“I guess Maria Fernanda convinced you to emphasize your curves, huh? You look bootylicious!” Sol said, although I wasn’t thrilled about her observation.

“This dress isn’t about the booty,” I reproached. “It’s about the legs. I should look leggy-licious.”

“Well, girl, with a booty like yours, it’s difficult to look at anything else.” Leave it to Marisol to make a statement like that.

“Well, thanks. I guess.”

“Don’t listen to her, Kassie. You look amazing.” I could always count on Natalie to defend me.

“Whatever it is, now I feel worthy of standing next to you girls and receiving guests,” I stated in order to end that conversation. My backside was a sensitive subject.

“Which reminds me, Kassie,” Denise interrupted us, “Laura’s been looking for you. She definitely noticed that you weren’t here when she arrived.”

Oh, great. What now?

Hopefully, she was excited and super grateful that everything was exactly as she’d wanted it to be.

“Oh, sure. I’ll go look for her.” I left my spot at the door next to the girls and walked inside. Now I could really appreciate its beauty.

The Garden was a really successful spot for events in recent months. When we’d attended Marisol’s civil wedding all those years ago, we hadn’t imagined it would become this successful. But Laura had her eyes on the place, even if Edward wasn’t part of her life at the time. It consisted of a series of terraces surrounded by the most beautiful landscaping. For Laura and Eddie’s party, we used the whole place, unlike in Marisol’s.

The higher terrace was used as their seating area; in it were an dining table for the engaged couple and two other tables on either side—one held a beautiful, three-tiered fondant cake, and the second held their gifts. Its placement gave them importance and a view of everything happening at the gathering.

The largest central terrace was used as the dancefloor, and around it were tables for the guests and the buffet stations. Overall, the place had an amphitheater vibe, mostly covered by majestic canvasses. Christmas lights hung in almost every tree of the place, and all centerpieces included white floral arrangements and candles at different heights. It felt magical, and I really thought the soon-to-be-married couple must be happy with the results.

As I approached Laura, I noticed how beautiful she looked—really breathtaking. She’d selected a white, satin, heart-shaped fitted mini-dress with gorgeous lace detail all around. The lace covered her arms and back, which was mostly bare, so it didn’t look completely like a wedding dress—which was totally what she’d had in mind. She wore nude pumps, and had kept her hair and makeup classically understated. She left her hair loose to show off her ombré highlights, and her face looked angelically natural. Laura was the perfect bride-to-be.

Edward didn’t look so bad himself. In fact, he wore exactly what I imagined he would if we’d ever gotten married—a three-piece, light gray suit with a silver, silk tie. I had to admit, he really looked handsome. What I didn’t expect in my juvenile fantasies was that he’d wear black leather gloves and dark lenses. That seemed a bit over the top. It reflected his arrogant and overbearing personality perfectly.

“Laura, you look wonderful!” I approached her, looking for a hug that never came.

She just glared at me reproachfully and said, “Why, exactly, are you this late, Kassie?”

Was I hearing correctly?

“I wasn’t exactly late, Laura. You must have been misinformed.” I didn’t know what to say. I was speechless. The last thing I imagined was Laura scolding me after I’d spent nearly two hours running around to make her party perfect.

“Well, I arrived fifteen minutes ago, and you weren’t here.” She continued, “There were several things that needed correcting. If it wasn’t for Josh being here to help out, I have no idea what I would’ve done.”

Josh was here helping? Of course he was! Who did she think had called him in the first place?

I was so angry at him. I couldn’t believe he’d used this as an opportunity to place himself as the hero of the day. Sure he helped out—and he did help out a lot—but all of this didn’t happen only because of him. Had he not even mentioned my part in it at all?

Now where the hell was he?

“The poor thing didn’t even get a chance to go home and change,” Laura said as she pointed his way. Josh stood next to one of restrooms available for guests, and Twiggy-tall-blonde struggled with his tie. “He’d be here wearing jeans all night long if his date hadn’t brought him his suit. And where exactly were you, Kassandra?” Laura babbled nonstop about how Josh saved the day, all the things that went wrong before the event started, and how I hadn’t been here to make it happen.

I was furious.

The moment Josh felt my heavy gaze on him, he turned and looked my way. There was a playful smile on his face, and he absentmindedly made Twiggy-tall-blonde let go of his tie. He then walked our way and joined our little heart-to-heart.

“Oh, Josh! You look incredible,” Laura complimented. “You would definitely be on my list if I wasn’t already engaged,” she added shamelessly.

Edward, as usual, stood boringly next to her.

Josh didn’t acknowledge either of them. He kept looking at me and said, “Kass, wow! That dress looks totally sweet on you.”

I completely ignored his comment and looked at the door. Laura’s parents arrived.

“Eddie, my mom’s here,” Laura said. “Let’s go greet my parents at the door.”

“Sure, honey,” he replied.

Laura and Edward walked behind me. I could feel Ed staring at my ass. He’d constantly told me I needed to work out to make it look good when we’d dated. Well, I worked out a lot to keep the area in excellent condition. So now, I’d give him the opportunity to look. Later on, I would kick him in the nuts for it.

Josh kept looking at me—or I guess I should say admiring. His gaze held a certain quality of adoration I wasn’t used to receiving from him. But I was so angry at him, I wasn’t processing that information at the moment.

“Stop staring. It’s uncomfortable.”

“Sorry, babe. You just look fucking awesome,” he said, hungrily keeping my gaze.

“Well, at least you appreciate it. Because apparently, those thirty minutes I took to get me looking like this got me in trouble,” I said. He looked really confused. “So, now you’re playing dumb?” I wasn’t about to fall for his handsome face, his perfect body. He looked unbelievable in his outfit.

He wore an outfit similar to Edward’s but without the obnoxiousness. And he looked way hotter. His suit was a darker shade of gray, only a two-piece, with thin silver stripes along the sumptuous fabric. The silk tie with which he still struggled was of the same silver. In all honesty, Josh looked like one of my wet dreams.

“Why would you having gone home to get ready get you in trouble?” he asked. Even his voice sounded genuinely confused.

“Well, I can only assume that
someone
told Laura I wasn’t here to help out during the whole engagement party crisis,” I responded simply. I was tired of playing silly games. If he wanted someone to spell it out for him, I could do it.

“I’m not sure I’m following, babe.” Josh reached for my hand. “But if it makes you feel any better, I haven’t talked to Laura since she got here.”

He seemed sincere, so why didn’t I believe him?

Someone had to have told Laura that I wasn’t here to do my part, and he’d been the only one who’d both shown up early enough to know what had happened
and
been appointed the ‘party hero’.

I took a step back, retrieved my hand from his grasp, and inquired, “So you didn’t tell Laura that you did this all on your own.”

“Of course not. Why would I? That’s a shitty move.” Again he looked completely honest. It was really confusing. “
You
were the only one here all concerned about their stupid, conceited party.”

The rage quieted inside me a little, and I felt a bit better about him at that moment. I briefly took the time to give his outfit more credit, which it definitely deserved, looking him up and down for any signs of dishonesty.

Josh eventually noticed my reluctance in believing and stated, “If I had anything my way, we’d be at my place. In bed. Certainly not playing party planner at The fucking Garden.”

His total honesty caught me by surprise, and my body prickled as it remembered our earlier flirting. Then he reached for me; it wasn’t only my hand this time. He pulled me to him with full force, plastering my body against his in all the right places.

“What do you say, gorgeous? Wanna bail on them?” he whispered in my ear. His hot breath made me shiver.

I wasn’t falling for this. I wasn’t twenty anymore.

“Shut up,” I playfully pushed him back. I really didn’t know how he did it. One moment I was ready to choke him, and the next I found him adorable. He was a dangerous charmer.

He gave me one of his alluring smiles, took one step toward me, and entrancingly kissed my cheek. I think he understood I wasn’t playing any games tonight. Besides, he had that beautiful blonde with him, and she looked like a handful.

“Do you mind helping me fix this stupid tie?” he asked, slathering on the charm.

He was shameless.

“You were doing all right a minute ago with that girl in the corner who’s staring at us,” I reminded him.

“Mindy? Oh, no. She’s crappy at it, babe. Could you please do it for me?”

That name caught my attention. Mindy. Had he mentioned that name before? I wasn’t sure, but it sounded so familiar.

It didn’t really matter. I had to get back to my friends and he had to get back to his.

How could I get rid of him without been a total bitch?

“Here, give me a minute,” I said, reaching for the hem of my dress and turning a bit so I didn’t face possible observers of our little conversation. I lifted it up to reach for my cellphone, which was safely tucked in the black lace garter on my left thigh.

I heard Josh giving a series of forced breaths. It wasn’t really my intention to tease him at all; I just needed my phone to help him fix his tie. How-to videos and all. Only after I’d grabbed my phone did I realize reaching for it and showing a bit of leg may not have been the best idea if I wanted to get away.

I stepped back and hid my iPhone’s screen from him. I needed a minute to complete the task, and he needed a minute to calm himself down.

“Here,” I said. “I found a video on YouTube that explains it all for you. I’m sure you can manage.”

He kept looking at me like a starving animal. I was positive I didn’t want to be alone with him right now, so I gave him as guilt-free of a smile as I could manage, turned around, and left.

I
went to the restroom for a minute to myself. It was still difficult to accept that things sometimes didn’t go as planned.

After getting here early and arranging everything that had been completely wrong, I went home, got ready for the party, and came back to a place set up exactly as planned. Everything was perfect, from the flower decor to the buffet tables, the band, the waiters, and even the guests. It was a major relief, even if Laura wasn’t happy with me and believed I wasn’t as responsible as she’d expected. That, I could handle, but not what happened next.

I’d planned and explained to everyone the order of events and how everything should go. Even still, no one seemed to care. At exactly 6:00 pm, I was supposed to open the floor for speeches by welcoming everyone, followed by Laura and
Eddie
thanking all their guests for their presence. Then, some family and friends were to say their congratulations to the couple.

Needless is to say, it didn’t happen like that. At all.

For several minutes, I tried to get Laura and Edward to join me on the main floor to start the celebration, and they completely ignored me. Apparently, they still resented the fact that I
‘wasn’t there early to help out with the party’s details.’

It was until Denise went to the band and grabbed the microphone that the welcoming started, only then Laura and Edward decided to follow the program. That was how Denise took my place as the event’s host. In a way, I was grateful to her for standing up and taking that pressure off my shoulders, but a little part of me still resented her.

Her welcoming words were really fantastic, to be honest, and she looked gorgeous. So in control of the situation. She smiled and maintained her charisma throughout the speech. It was so easy for her to handle an audience now—nothing like the eighteen-year-old Denise who married as soon as she graduated high school.

The transition from Denise’s speech to Laura and Edward’s speeches went smoothly as well. Of course, Laura said most of their words. It was like watching an Academy Award thank-you speech. She basically thanked everyone in her life for their support to make this all happen. Edward looked handsomely sharp next to her, not a hair out of place nor a crease in his suit. He still wore those ridiculous black leather gloves for some unknown reason; the only things to add to the ensemble were the cane, top hat, and a pocket watch.

After that, their parents gave them their blessings. Natalie and Marisol started crying from simply talking and giving big hugs, and then it was finally my turn to speak. When the mic was handed to me, I had nowhere to run. I felt completely unprepared and, once on the spot, I froze, sensing everyone looking at me. The words I’d prepared were meant to be shared at the beginning of the event, not after everyone else spoke. So I couldn’t use those. As a result of the pressure and my own annoyance, I said the only words which came to mind—and I didn’t even think.

“When a man steals your last single best friend, there’s no better revenge than to let him keep her." And then I smiled at both of them.

Of course, it was meant to be joke which only some people laughed at. But it felt tense. Laura looked tense. Or maybe I was just so tense I couldn’t tell. Hoping to redeem myself, I looked at my best friend and said, “Laura is a beautiful woman on the inside as well as on the outside, but she’s high-maintenance.
Eddie
,” I gave a look and a big smile as I addressed him, “I hope you’re ready for her, because everything she does is great, big, and expensive.” Some more people laughed, and I tried my best to close my words with something positive that made me sound less bitchy. “Take care of her. I love her. She’s the best.”

I meant every single word. I probably should have kept my speech light and sappy, but I couldn't do it. Edward only stiffened in reaction; he knew exactly what I was saying. Natalie’s big blue eyes looked at me in what was possibly shock, but I kept staring fiercely at Edward. I didn’t know if anyone else noticed. Then Josh took the microphone from me and I realized what was happening again.

“It isn’t easy being a groom, nowadays,” he said. “Especially with a set of beautiful bridesmaids to take care of the lovely Laura over here. So, of course my pal Edward had to look for the best man available to help him out.”

Josh moved from his place at the very left of the stage to stand between Edward and me before really getting into his speech. “The first thing Ed did was to go to the smartest man he knew.” He looked all around the audience and smiled before he continued. “When that guy said no, Eddie asked the most handsome man he knew.” He made another dramatic pause and winked at me. “When
that
guy said no, Ed asked the most popular man he knew.” He paused once more and looked at the spectators. “And finally, after being asked three times, I agreed.”

People cracked up laughing at his joke, and I even saw Twiggy-tall-blonde clap at his silly recount. Josh shrugged innocently and said, “I mean,
someone
had to help him out.”

He’d managed to keep his speech charming and light. Everyone was smiling now, and people were invited to help themselves to the food. Then the party really started.

I stood there in silence for a minute. I saw Laura and Edward go to their table, Marisol and Denise reunite with their husbands to grab something to eat, how Andrik, Natalie’s husband, went to her and ushered her back to their seat—as I stood there all alone. I had no one with me. I had been so busy planning the whole thing that I didn’t even consider who was going to be my date for the event. At some point, I thought I could sit with my friends, but I’d completely forgotten that they all had someone. Then I turned to look at Josh and saw him with Twiggy-tall-blonde. Laura had said that Mindy was his date; it was silly of me to pretend that Josh would come to the party without one. Apparently, I was the only one standing solo.

How did this happen?

I haven’t been without a date since…since…Natalie’s wedding. After I broke up with Edward and got my Masters. And even then, I managed to get hooked up with someone.

Natalie approached me and said, “Kassie, are you all right?”

I didn’t answer back. I honestly didn’t know what to say.

“Come with me,” she added. “Andrik went to get us some food. We saved a chair for you at our table. Marisol and Denise are sitting there too with their husbands. We’re all together. Just as you planned it.”

“I need a moment. I’ll be right back,” I said.

I don’t know how long I stayed in the restroom, but I knew I couldn’t be there forever. I had to go somewhere else before Natalie came back and found me.

Between the restrooms and the open bar, a path of stone steps probably led to a storage room. No one was using it just then, and it served as a great hiding spot. It partially hid among the various plants, which were truly the main attraction at The Garden. It was also close enough to the bar that I could quickly get a drink if needed but far enough that the music didn’t disturb me much.

I decided I’d spend some time there to calm down and compose myself before I returned to the party and faced the world smiling.