An (Almost) Perfect Love Story (Love Story Book Three) (17 page)

“I don’t doubt it,” I muttered, standing up to go get ready.

* * *

We ended up going to a martini bar called Gizmos, where Ryan berated Emily and me for taking advantage of the large and varied “flavored” martini menu.

“It’s a Snickers martini, Ry,” Emily said, shaking her head. “How is that a bad thing?”

“A martini is not supposed to taste like a candy bar,” he said. “It’s supposed to taste like gin.”

I wrinkled my nose. “I hate gin. I’d much rather have a vodka martini.”

“That would be fine,” he said, looking at my drink in disgust, “if you actually got a vodka martini. Instead you got…what is that?”

“A peppermint patty martini,” I said happily, taking a loud slurp.

“The things I have to deal with,” Ryan said in mock-sad tones.

“I don’t know how you guys drink
any
of that,” Chris said. He and Elliot had opted for beers. Luckily, Gizmos had a great selection of local micro-brewed beers, or I would have never heard the end of it from my fiancé.

“All right,” Allison said, setting down her own dirty martini. “Let’s get to the good stuff. Tell me about the wedding.”

I suppressed a sigh. I knew Allison wasn’t joking when she had assured me she wasn’t going to drop the wedding discussion we had started before leaving the house, but I had hoped she’d hold off until we were alone. I looked at Chris, feeling uncomfortable, but he only smiled. “Well, let’s see,” he said. “We have the venue booked now, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, my cheeks flushing for reasons I didn’t want to examine too closely. “We’re going to have it at the country club down here.”

“You are?” Ryan asked, gaping at me.

“Uh, yeah. Mom booked it a few weeks ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ryan asked. He looked hurt.

“Sorry, Ry, it kind of happened fast. Mom and the wedding planner went over and saw it—”

“Wait,” he said, holding up his hand. “You didn’t even
see
it?”

From the corner of my eye, I could see Allison watching me. “Well, it’s not like I haven’t been there before, you know. I’ve seen the club a million times.”

“Yeah, but how do you know what they do for a wedding if you haven’t talked to the event coordinator?” Ryan asked. He sounded way more concerned than the situation warranted.

Chris turned to me, a worried expression on his face. “Do you think we should have been there?” he asked. “You never said anything.”

“No, it’s fine,” I said hurriedly, wishing we could change the subject. I had no desire to discuss any of this right now. “Jen knows what she’s doing. I’m sure she asked all the right questions.”

“Okay,” Allison said slowly. “So you have the venue. What else?”

Everyone was looking at me expectantly. I struggled to think of another detail my mom and Jen had covered already. Why hadn’t I paid better attention to those emails? “The dress!” I finally cried. I cleared my throat, knowing I sounded nuts. “I mean, I found the dress. That was one of the first things we did.”

“It’s gorgeous,” Emily said. “You’ll love it, Allison.”

“We’re going to look at bridesmaids dresses tomorrow,” I told Elliot, hoping that if I kept talking it would prevent Allison from asking any more questions. “My little sister Amy’s coming down from school.”

“That’s what Em said.” He took a sip of his beer then grinned at me. “I’m sorry I won’t be involved in that one.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing, man,” Ryan said. “I, for one, cannot wait to be surrounded in all those silks and chiffons.”

“Are you coming with us, Ryan?” Allison asked.

“I am indeed. Your sister is under strict instructions to make no major style decisions without me.”

I nodded. “We made a pact years ago.”

Ryan blew me a kiss. “That’s right. So you’re stuck with me, ladies. But I think it will be fun.”

“Oh God, it will
not
be fun,” Allison sighed. “Have you met our mother?”

Everyone laughed and I sighed, feeling like I had dodged a bullet in deflecting the attention. I wasn’t quite sure why I was so unwilling to talk about the wedding. All I knew was whenever the subject came up, my palms started getting clammy and my stomach knotty. Somehow, those feelings got even worse when Allison was the one asking.

I took a long sip of my drink—which really was delicious, no matter what Ryan said, and listened as the conversation moved naturally to Ryan and Emily’s race training. My sister was an avid runner; she had even qualified for the Boston marathon the previous year. Running talk led to an argument between Elliot and Allison about the benefits of vitamin regimens.

I was safe, for now.

My sense of security lasted about as long as it took me to finish my drink. After placing an order for a second round, I jumped up from my stool. “Bathroom break.”

“Don’t do it,” Ryan advised. “You’ll break the seal.”

“Oh, well,” I said. “A girl’s got to do what she’s got to do.”

“I’ll go with you,” Allison said, standing up to join me. I felt my stomach drop. I had a feeling there’d be some sisterly advice handed out in that restroom. I should have listened to Ryan after all.

Allison waited until we had both finished and were washing our hands before she pounced.

“So,” she said, watching me in the mirror. “What’s going on here, Ash?”

“What are you talking about?”

“This whole wedding thing. Are you even excited?”

“Of course I’m excited.” My temper, so close to the surface these days, threatened to snap. “Why would you think I’m not excited?”

“Uh, maybe ’cause you haven’t said more than two words about it since I’ve been home.”

I glared at Allison. “There’s a lot going on, Al. I’m a little stressed about things. Sorry if I’m not all singing with joy and skipping around the place.”

She didn’t roll her eyes like I expected. Instead, she kept them right on me.

“Why are you letting Mom plan everything?”

I squirmed a little, feeling uncomfortable for some reason. “She isn’t planning everything.”

Allison snorted. “Yeah. Right. Between her and this wedding planner they seem to have the entire thing under control. Do you have a single opinion about this wedding?”

“What the hell, Allison?” I snapped, jumping up. “Why do you care?”

“I’m just worried about you,” she said, her voice even, despite my outburst. “You’ve been dreaming of your wedding since we were little kids. Seriously, you made poor Barbie marry Ken more than a hundred times. She must have been exhausted.”

She winked at me, reminding me suddenly of our mother, but I didn’t crack a smile at her joke. “What do you want from me, Al?”

She shook her head. “You’re a bit bitchy tonight, aren’t you?” I gaped at her, furious, but she went on. “I’m just worried about you, that’s all. It seems to me there must be a pretty damn good reason for you to be so ambivalent about your own wedding.”

My shoulders sagged, and I felt a sudden rush of exhaustion. “It’s fine, Allison. The wedding is going to be beautiful. Jen is great, and you know Mom has excellent taste. I just have a lot going on. It seems easier to leave it to them, okay?”

She looked at me for a long moment without saying a word. Finally she sighed. “If you say so.”

Chapter Sixteen

I woke up with a pounding head the next morning. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the martinis or if my body was rebelling over what I had to do that day.

“You look awfully excited for this,” Emily said, when I joined her in the kitchen.

“Oh, yeah, just the way I want to spend my Saturday.” I turned on the coffee maker, wishing I had thought to program it the night before. I needed caffeine, badly.

“It wont be bad,” Emily said bracingly. “It might even be fun.”

I stopped what I was doing to turn and stare at her. “Really, Em? You think any part of this might be fun? What sounds the most fun to you: my mother being bossy and picky? Amy being a brat because she has to spend the day with us? Or Allison picking fights with my mom, just because she can?”

Emily shook her head. “Wow, Ash. You really know how to talk up an obligatory outing.”

“I’m sorry.” I slumped into a chair at the kitchen table. “I’m just tired.”

“Try to be positive. Allison seemed really happy to be home last night.”

“She did, didn’t she?” I asked, brightening slightly. “Maybe she’ll go easy on Mom for once.”

“I thought you were pretty upset with Amber yourself,” Emily said. It sounded like she was choosing her words carefully.

“I am,” I said, wishing I hadn’t mentioned it. “But that’s different. Ally picks on her for stupid stuff. I just wish…I don’t know. I just hope we get through the day.”

“We will, babe,” Emily said. “Try not to worry. It will be fine.”

* * *

The day did start out fine. We met first for lunch at a local Panera. “I figured this way you girls could get a salad,” my mom said, smiling at my sisters and Emily. “Probably be better for our figures when we’re about to try on dresses.” She gave a little twinkly laugh. Inwardly, I sighed. So she was going to pretend to be just one of the girls today—I was used to it. She had won over countless friends of her daughters that way over the years.

I caught Allison rolling her eyes and suppressed a laugh when she ordered a large order of creamy mac and cheese instead of a salad. “And chips, too,” she told the lady at the register. “And the biggest pop you have.”

To her credit, my mother didn’t comment. In fact, as we settled down to eat, I got the sense that she was treading wearily where her oldest daughter was concerned. I wondered if Mom was feeling slightly defensive about her actions. She knew Allison was staying with Dad. It probably grated on her, to give Ally of all people a reason to judge her.

Amy, on the other hand, was her usual self. “How long do you think this will be, Ashley? I need to be back at school no later than seven to get ready.”

“Do you have big plans tonight, Amy?” Emily asked, trying to be nice.

“Oh, yeah,” Amy said, puffing up a bit at the attention. “My sorority is hosting a formal. It’s a huge deal, you know. I’m on the music committee.” She glared at me. “I can’t believe I’m not up there helping right now.”

“Wait a second,” Allison said, narrowing her eyes. “Did you just say sorority?”

“Please not again,” Amy said, sighing. “Just stop being so judgmental, okay, Al? There is nothing wrong with joining a sorority.”

Allison looked like she was begging to differ, but I grabbed her hand under the table. “Please drop it,” I pleaded. “We haven’t even made it to the store yet.”

Allison clamped her mouth shut, though she didn’t seem too happy about it. I squeezed her hand. “Thanks.”

“Ashley,” my mother called from the other end of the table. “I was talking to Jennifer yesterday, and she mentioned that you hadn’t signed off on the color choices yet.”

I groaned inwardly. Jen had sent me several swatches the previous week. I was supposed to be choosing the combination of colors I wanted for the wedding and reception. Of course, I hadn’t done so yet. I was trying to figure out the nicest way to tell her that I didn’t like any of the colors.

“I’m having trouble deciding, Mom,” I said, trying to keep my voice bright. I didn’t want Allison picking up on a negative tone—she’d never let me hear the end of it if she knew how angry I’d been at our mother. Knowing her, she’d probably want to lecture me on her proven methods for the best ways to irritate Amber Phillips when one wanted to retaliate.

“You need to get a move on, dear.” She took a compact out of her purse and peered at herself for a moment, fluffing out her perfectly coiffed bob. “What if we pick a dress today and they don’t have it in the shade you decide on? It will have all been a waste of time.”

“It better not be,” Amy said, narrowing her eyes at me. “I better not have driven all the way here just to waste my time—”

“Give it a rest, Amy.” Allison glared at her. “Can’t you just be here for your sister for once?”

Amy crossed her arms. “Whatever. Like you’re one to talk, Allison. Where do you live again?”

“Enough, please,” my mom said, the kind of edge in her voice that made people automatically pay attention, the kind that said you’d be a fool to argue. I had lived in fear of that edge for most of my life.

“So what colors are you choosing between?” Emily asked politely. I felt bad for her and Ryan, stuck in the middle of our family drama. She was handling it like a pro though, steering the conversation to calmer waters.

“We’re looking at shades of pink and mauve,” my mother said before I could open my mouth. “Though if Ashley can’t make up her mind, who knows.”

I could see Allison looking at me, so I changed the subject. “Jen said we shouldn’t feel like everyone needs the same dress. She said it’s very common now-a-days for the bridal party to look uniform in style, color, and fabric, but with different cuts to suit everyone.”

“We’ll see,” my mother said, her tone clearly indicating she thought Jen was dead wrong.

“You’re going to insist on us all wearing the same thing, aren’t you?” Allison asked, looking annoyed.

“Well, I just don’t know why you wouldn’t,” Mom said. “I can see where Jen is coming from, if you have a bridal party with lots of different figures. But all three of you girls are lovely and slender.”

Allison opened her mouth, probably to argue, but I was saved by Ryan who deftly stepped in to question my mother on her opinion of sweetheart necklines versus halter. He kept up an idle chatter with her throughout the rest of the meal. I would have to thank him later.

Once everyone was finished eating and ready to head to the bridal boutique, I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe the tension would decrease somewhat once we got underway with the actual dress search.

And maybe I’ll win the next lotto jackpot, and Chris and I can retire to a private island
, I thought to myself as I followed the rest of the group out to the parking lot.

* * *

It became evident very early in the appointment that my mother had already decided on the color. Every time one of the girls would come out in a style that we liked, she would ask the consultant if it came in something she called flower petal, but which looked like plain old bubblegum pink to me. After her fifth turn looking like a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, I was pretty sure Allison was going to blow a gasket.