Cinderella Screwed Me Over (Entangled Select)

by Cindi Madsen

  “I’ll just send them to you for the answer to that question,” he said with a smile.

  I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help smile back. I waved good-bye and headed for the elevator, feeling surprisingly cheerful about attending a wedding.

  …

  “I’m hyperventilating,” Stephanie said, fanning her face with her hand. “Why is it, like, two hundred degrees in here?”

  I grabbed a magazine off a table and used it to create a breeze. “Everything’s fine. You’re just nervous.”

  “You would say it’s cold feet.” Steph put her hand over her heart. “I’m excited to marry Anthony. I want to marry him.”

  I could tell by her shaky voice that she was trying to convince herself as hard as she was trying to convince me. “Steph, I know you want to marry him, and I know this is the day you’ve been dreaming about. Still, it’s perfectly fine to be nervous, even if you’re excited. It’s a big deal, and I’m sure it’s nerve-racking thinking about all those people staring at you.”

  “Oh, shit. I forgot about all the staring people. What if I trip?”

  “Your dad won’t let you. Neither will Anthony.” I put my hands on her shoulders and locked eyes with her. “But if anything goes wrong, I got your back. I’ll do something crazy…like flash everyone.” I looked down at my dress. “As soon as I can figure out how to.”

  Stephanie laughed. “You do need to do something big to outlive the slapping story.”

  “Yes, well, it’s my goal to do something crazy at everyone I love’s wedding.”

  Steph took a deep breath. “Okay. Freak-out over. I’m getting married, I can’t wait, and everything’s going to go smoothly.” She flung her arms around me and I nearly toppled over. Once I was sure I was steady, I hugged my best friend back, thinking about all the good memories we’d had over the years and how my life would’ve totally sucked without her.

  I grabbed my bouquet and handed Steph hers. “Let’s do this.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Karl and I were marching down the aisle together, just like we’d practiced the night before. Already, several people were crying and dabbing their eyes with tissues. A couple weeks ago, I might’ve made a joke that they were crying because they knew that Steph’s and Anthony’s lives were over. But I was feeling like a glass-half-full girl today.

  The audience members stood as the wedding march filled the air. Stephanie and her dad walked down the aisle. My best friend, the girl I considered my sister, looked beautiful. The beading on her bodice caught the light, her blond hair was curled and pinned up, and her smile lit the room.

  Before I could prevent it—even sense its coming—a traitorous tear rolled down my cheek. Pull it together. You can’t join the rest of the hopeless romantics crying at a wedding. You’re better than this.

  Another tear ran down and Laura slipped a tissue into my hand.

  How embarrassing. If anyone asks, I’m crying because I’m losing my best friend. I swore I could feel Jake somewhere in the audience looking at me, too. I didn’t dare try to see if I was right.

  Stephanie reached Anthony and they came the rest of the way together. As she spun to face her groom, I bent down and rearranged her train.

  The priest looked at the two of them, a smile on his face. “We are here to celebrate the union of Stephanie and Anthony. These two people are here to commit to spending the rest of their lives together…”

  I was working on reforming my opinion of forever relationships and all, but those words still made my stomach clench. But then I happened to glance out at the audience. My eyes went to Jake as if they knew he was there before I did. He smiled at me and I turned into a bit of a mushy twitterpated mess despite myself.

  …

  Searching the reception hall for Jake, I ran into Karl. “Hey, have you seen Jake?” I asked. Karl had officially met him last night at the rehearsal dinner.

  “No, but I’ve been busy talking to Erin,” Karl said, a love-struck smile curving his lips.

  I followed his gaze to the blonde, the same girl he’d met at Shots. “It seems like that’s going well.”

  His smile widened. “She’s never told me that my profession was a farce or gotten me into a bar brawl, so yeah, it’s going pretty well.”

  “Man, you’re so picky about that stuff.”

  He laughed, and I smiled, enjoying that we could joke like this. Then I spotted Jake. Talking to Mrs. Hildabrand.

  Oh no. Anyone but her.

  “Good luck with Erin. I’ll catch you later,” I said, already moving toward Jake and Mrs. Hildabrand.

  Mrs. Hildabrand smiled at me as I approached. “Darby, I just met your beau. He’s very nice and very handsome.” She grabbed my hand and patted it. “And you wanted to give up. I told you he was out there.” She twisted to face Jake. “Can you believe she tried to tell everyone she was happy on her own?”

  Jake shook his head in mock disbelief. “I can’t. I guess it’s lucky I got to her.”

  “Oh, such a gentleman. You don’t let her get away.” She smiled at me again, and I knew whatever she was about to say was going to be bad. “You know, after you two get married, you’re going to have to start your family right away. After a certain age, it gets a lot harder.”

  I grabbed Jake’s hand. “Excuse us, Mrs. Hildabrand. I’ve got to go introduce Jake to some other people.” I led him away from the woman as fast as I could.

  Before I could say a word to Jake about what had just happened, Mrs. Taylor came up to me. “We’re going to do the toasts after people have had some time to eat. Just go on up after Karl.”

  She eyed Jake.

  “Mrs. Taylor, this is my boyfriend, Jake. Jake, this is Stephanie’s mom.”

  Jake extended his hand to her. “Nice to meet you.”

  Mrs. Taylor shook his hand. “You two aren’t going to get in a fight, are you?”

  “Not planning on it,” I said.

  Mrs. Taylor shot me a look. I’d been at her house enough she didn’t mind putting me in my place.

  “Sorry, Mrs. Taylor. No fighting. I promise.”

  Jeez. You make a scene at one wedding and you’re marked for life.

  I led Jake over to the table where my family was seated. It really was nice to not have to worry they didn’t like each other or have to take control of the conversation, but simply sit back and enjoy being around so many people I loved.

  As dinner was wrapping up, I noticed Mrs. Taylor walk over to Karl and tap him on the shoulder. His toast was first, which meant I’d be going next. My stomach churned as I thought of standing up in front of everyone and giving my toast. When I first started putting my speech together, I’d searched online for help. Total waste of time. How was I supposed to read something aloud that made me gag?

  There was one quote that said, “Love is when you look into someone’s eyes, and see everything you need.” Seems like a lot of pressure to put on someone. And everything? Really? Like, do you have a cheeseburger in there, because at some point, someone’s going to get hungry.

  The best one I’d read, the one I’d been thinking about, said, “A great marriage is not when the ‘perfect couple’ comes together. It’s when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences.” I’d use it, but Steph might interpret it as me saying she and Anthony weren’t the perfect couple.

  Karl took the microphone out of its stand and cleared his throat. “Hello, everyone. I’m Karl, the best man, and it’s my privilege to toast this happy couple. Earlier today, I witnessed one of my best friends marry the woman he loves. I’ve known Anthony for several years now, and he’s always been a kind, generous person. In Stephanie, he’s found someone who has those traits and complements him perfectly.

  “As a marriage counselor, I’ve seen lots of couples in every stage of their relationships, and I can tell you that Stephanie and Anthony are a great couple. They communicate well, which everyone knows is a key to having a good relationship.” Karl glanced at me and smiled. “Someone recen
tly informed me, though, that communication isn’t the key to a good relationship. It’s realizing that we all communicate differently. She might’ve been onto something. I guess it’s about figuring out how to communicate with someone different from you. So, may you learn to understand each other, even when you don’t.”

  He raised his glass. “To the happy couple. I wish you a lifetime of happiness together.”

  Drew nudged me. “Go knock ’em dead.” He leaned closer and whispered, “And if you see anyone who needs put in his place, you know what to do.” He made a slapping motion.

  I shot him a dirty look before making my way up front to give my toast.

  “Hope I didn’t steal your speech,” Karl whispered as he handed me the mic.

  “I just want credit when all your counseling sessions go better,” I said with a smile. But the second I raised the microphone and looked out at all the people, my knees started shaking and I felt light-headed and queasy.

  “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Darby, and the beautiful bride is my very best friend. She and I have gone through a lot of ups and downs together, and I’m so honored to be with her on one of the happiest days of her life.” My throat went completely dry. I eyed the glasses on the table, wishing I’d brought mine with me. I cleared my throat and licked my lips. “Those of you who do know me know I’ve been skeptical about the whole happily-ever-after thing.”

  I could see the fear in Steph’s eyes, so I charged on with the rest of it before she passed out. “But because I’ve known Stephanie for so long, I can see when she’s truly happy. Being with Anthony has made her happier than I’ve ever seen her. I’ve watched their relationship from the beginning. Watched the way they’ve changed each other’s lives. And I can say, without any hesitation, that these two have what it takes to make it. So today, I feel not like I’m losing a friend, but like I’m gaining one…” I twisted to Anthony. “That’s right, Anthony, you should’ve read the fine print. You’re stuck with me, too.”

  Laughter sounded through the crowd.

  “I guess what I’m saying is that they’re a great example of what love is and how amazing it can be when you find the right person.” I raised my glass, happy to have the hard part out of the way. “To Anthony and Stephanie. May their union be filled with love and laughter.”

  Stephanie put her hand over her heart and mouthed, “Love you.”

  “You, too,” I mouthed back.

  …

  Stephanie’s dress crinkled as she threw her arms around me, and her veil pressed against my cheek. Moments ago, she and Anthony had taken their first spin around the dance floor as husband and wife. “I’m married, and your curse is broken. I knew we’d find the right guys someday.”

  “Hey!” I said. “I wasn’t cursed.”

  “Yeah, you kinda were. And it’s my wedding, so that means you have to listen to everything I say.” She pulled back and pinned me with a serious glare. “Now that you’ve found him, let go of all that old crap, okay? Just let yourself be happy.”

  “I am really happy,” I said, unable to keep a silly grin off my face—no doubt I looked like she did whenever she talked about Anthony.

  “Speaking of your awesome boyfriend…”

  Jake stepped up next to me and put his hand on my back. “Congratulations,” he said to Stephanie.

  “Thanks.” Steph motioned to the dance floor. “You two should go dance. I’ll say good-bye before we leave.” She glanced behind me. “Mrs. Hildabrand’s coming. You better go before she gives you the talk about children and being too old, like she gave me earlier.”

  “Yeah, we already heard it.” I took Jake’s hand. “But I don’t really want to hear it again.”

  He and I stepped onto the dance floor. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me in close. I locked my hands behind his neck.

  “You sounded like you really meant that toast,” Jake said. “That you actually think two people can make it.”

  I smiled up at him. “I guess that maybe—just maybe—if you do find the right person and you’re both willing to work at it, the odds get a little better.”

  He hugged me to him. “It’s okay to say I was right, you know. I’ll only hang it over your head for a month or two. A year at most.”

  I shook my head, moving with him as he glided us across the floor. All around us, people were dancing, laughing, and talking. Mom and Dwight were sitting at our table, big smiles on their faces; Drew and Lisa were dancing to the left of me and Jake, laughing as they spun around the floor; Devin and Anne were dancing, too, obviously enjoying their childless evening together. Stephanie and Anthony stepped onto the floor, huge grins on their faces as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

  I was surrounded by happy, in-love couples, and surprise, surprise, I was one of them.

  The thing is, I thought I’d been in love before. I’d been sure of it. And while I did love those guys, this was something different. Just when you think you’ve kicked a bad habit is usually when it sneaks back up on you. I hadn’t just fallen off the men sobriety bandwagon this time; I’d tumbled off and couldn’t even see the wagon anymore.

  Over the past several days, I’d learned a lot about Jake. He blasted awful eighties metal first thing in the morning. He was beyond crazy about knowing the score of every baseball game, no matter what teams were playing, and often went to “just check the score” and ended up watching the rest of the game. He didn’t rinse his whiskers down the sink after shaving, so they crusted onto the porcelain and were almost impossible to get off. He also snored, which made it hard to fall asleep.

  Eventually, I might find those idiosyncrasies a little annoying. But I was willing to overlook them because I loved the way I felt whenever I was with him. I loved the way he kissed me. Loved that he would come over and help cook dinner. Loved cuddling up next to him and falling asleep. I loved that he somehow looked past all of my issues and loved me anyway.

  But mostly, because I just loved him.

  Like any relationship, we’d have ups and downs. But there would also be the part where we’d share our hopes, dreams, and disappointments. In each other, we’d find the support and understanding we needed to make it through another day.

  The truth is, fairy-tale beginnings are easy. It’s what comes after that’s hard. Life doesn’t have a clean-cut ending. My relationship with Jake was better than a fairy tale, though, because it was real. Real life love requires forgiving another person’s flaws and loving him or her anyway. And even though tacking the words “happily ever after” onto the end would be easier, there’s something pretty amazing about loving someone else, flaws and all.

  When the song came to a close, Jake lowered his lips to mine. As I kissed him back, I felt myself falling deeper. Found myself believing that the forever kind of love did exist.

  That’s when it hit me. I had to go through a lot of bad relationships first, but I’d finally found him. My very own Prince Charming. Turns out they do exist.

  Touché, Cinderella. Touché.

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  Chapter One

  The houseboat came into view and Addie’s excitement level went from its already high seven to a solid ten. An emergency meeting had been called, and all the guys were going to be in attendance. Every single one, including the guy she’d been dying to see for so long that she’d almost worried their sporadic phone calls, texts, and messages were the only way they’d ever communicate again.

  Addie pulled up next to the sleek compact car she’d have to make fun of later—right now it meant that Tucker Crawford was here in the flesh, and within a few minutes, the rest of the gang would be as well. She wasn’t sure
why Shep had called the meeting, but it took her back to high school, when so many of their evenings and weekends were spent here at the Crawfords’ houseboat. Lazy afternoons and countless poker games; impromptu parties that usually got them busted for one thing or another; and nights spent celebrating team wins or commiserating over losses, whether it was the high school team that the guys had all played for, War Eagle football, or the NFL, on which they were a house divided—it’d led to some of her and Tucker’s most heated exchanges.

  The scent of cypress trees, swampy lake water, and moss hit her as she climbed out of the beater truck she often drove, and since she was hoping for a minute or two with Tucker before everyone else showed up, she rushed down the pathway, her rapid steps echoing against the wood once she hit the plank leading to the boat. “Tucker?”

  “Addie?”

  She heard his voice but didn’t see him. Then she rounded the front of the boat, where the chairs and grill were set up, and there he was. Even taller and wider than she remembered, his copper-brown hair styled shorter than he wore it in high school, although the wave in it meant there were always a couple of strands that did their own thing, no matter how much gel he used.

  A laugh escaped as she took a few long strides and launched herself at him, her arms going around his neck. “I’ll be damned, you actually made it this time.”

  Using the arm he’d wrapped around her lower back, he lifted her off her feet and squeezed tight enough to send her breath out over his shoulder. “I’m sorry for accidentally standing you up a few times. It’s stupid how hard it’s been to get away this past year.”

  “That’s what happens when you go and become some big city lawyer.” She pulled back to get another look at one of her best and very oldest friends. She had so much to tell him that she didn’t know where to start. Thanks to his crazy schedule, even their calls and texts had slowed to a trickle. Despite working at the law firm for nearly two years, he was still one of the junior attorneys, which meant he ended up doing all the time-consuming research for the partners. Before that, law school had kept him plenty busy, and while she wasn’t usually the mushy hugger-type, she didn’t want to release him yet, just in case she had to go another five or six months without seeing him.