by K. T. Castle
Josh walked behind me to my door. I knew exactly what he was doing back there; he could admire as much as he wanted, because that was as far as he was going to get.
Enjoy the view, babe.
When we finally reached my door I said, “This is me. Thanks.”
“How about a thank you kiss?” His eyes sparkled, the dimples showing on his cheeks as he smiled at me. It was really cute.
Just for kicks, I kissed him on one of those dimples. They were nice. I’d forgotten about them.
“That just made my day,” Josh said. Then he kissed me back, too close to my mouth to be honest, but he kept it light and natural. When he smiled again, those dimples I’d recently rediscovered framed his cheeks.
How could they suddenly make me feel that he was too cute to believe?
He grabbed a curl which had fallen from my bun and placed it behind my ear. “I’ll call you later,” he said, softly exhaling.
“You don’t have my number,” I told him. I have never, ever given him my number.
“Sure I do,” he said with a mischievous grin on his face. I stared at him. “Take it easy, Kass,” he interrupted, taking me completely by surprise. “It’s going to be a long wedding.”
Kass. No one calls me Kass.
But somehow, it sounded nice coming from him.
Chapter 6
After moving some stuff around in everyone’s agenda, we managed to get a time and day to get together for dress-hunting. Of course, Laura had to have in mind the most exclusive (and expensive) wedding boutique.
I talked to all our friends before our shopping spree, especially to Denise, since I knew she was going to be the one complaining the most.
Like I expected, I had to be the one to get there on time, and little by little, the rest started to arrive. Everyone but Laura. It was no surprise that she wanted to make a dramatic entrance. Or, at least, I believed that was the reason behind her lateness.
Regardless of the reason, it gave us time to take a look at some of the bridesmaid dresses. Surprisingly, we found some beautiful pieces at pretty affordable prices. It was a matter of convincing Laura that she wanted them..
“I have a cousin, Maria Fernanda, who’s a seamstress. Do you girls remember her? She did another cousin’s sweet sixteen dress. I bet she could do our dresses for half this price,” Sol commented. I thought it was wonderful that Marisol’s family had always mastered a certain trade. Jewelry, shoemaking, tailor…you name it, a member of her family probably knew how to do it. I learned a lot about her family and all their businesses and trades during Marisol’s wedding. It wasn’t that convenient back then, but it turned out to be convenient for planning Laura’s.
“That’ll be wonderful, Sol. Kassie, do you think we can have our dresses made with her?” Denise excitedly said, speaking for the first time.
“I don’t see why not. It’s a matter of picking the color, fabric, and style.”
Natalie seemed a little doubtful. “No offense, Sol, but is she good? She’s just a girl.” That was a real concern, right there. “I don’t want my dress to fall apart after an hour of wearing it.” Maria Fernanda was a few years younger than us, and we honestly hadn’t heard from her in the last three years.
“Oh, no. The girl’s good, I assure you.” She told us about the dress Marisol wore to her child’s birthday party, which the girls loved, and how inexpensive it had been. We decided that after we finished here with Laura, we’d go pick up Sol’s precious toddler and visit the wonderful sewing cousin of hers. Hopefully we could share our ideas with her while checking out her creations.
“Hello, girls! You’re all here. How wonderful!” Laura finally arrived at the store, and as I assumed, with a dramatic entrance. “Get together, please. I need you all to meet Eddie, my future husband.”
All my best friends fell under Edward’s spell and went to congratulate the happy couple. I, on the other hand, tried to keep my distance as casually as possible.
Then I saw Natalie’s face change from excited, to confused, and then to disgusted. Her big blue eyes went wide with emotion. She remembered him…and I’d forgotten that.
Natalie had met Edward before.
Six years ago, when I planned Natalie’s wedding, Edward came to visit L.A. with me and met her. Natalie knew about him, and I saw only that acknowledgement on her face.
I rapidly went to her and pulled her to a chaise a little far from the crowd. Hopefully, everyone would think she just got sick and I was helping her out.
“Is he… Is he…” Natalie tried to make sense between heavy pants. “It can’t be him, Kassie, can it?”
“It’s him, Nat. It’s okay,” I told her as I soothed her light, short hair.
“But him…he broke…he did….” Natalie continued.
“Don’t worry, Natalie. He’s crazy about Laura,” I reassured her as much as I could. “I would never allow this if I didn’t know that.”
“But you…what about you? Are you fine?”
“I’m over him, if that’s what you want to know.” I didn’t want Natalie to worry about all of this. It probably wasn’t good for the baby.
With all the commotion, a beautiful saleswoman approached our group. “I see the bride-to-be is finally here. Should we start looking at some wedding gowns?”
“Sure!” everyone said.
Another cute and perky saleswoman came to take a look at Natalie and me, asking Natalie, “Are you okay, ma’am? Can I get you anything?”
“She’s fine,” I said. “She just got a little dizzy, but she’s fine. Some water would be nice, thank you.”
Natalie looked at me with those blue eyes. “Have you told her?” Apparently, she’d missed the whole conversation with the attentive blonde next to us.
“She doesn’t need to know.” I wanted nothing at the moment but to end Natalie’s mortification right then. “Please, Natalie, be happy for Laura. I am.”
She nodded as she took the water the blonde saleswoman offered and stood up to join our friends. I’d probably have to have another conversation with her later about all this. I didn’t want her to worry.
After I got up, I turned to Edward, who stood closer to me now because he didn’t follow the ladies. I asked, “Are you staying here for the wedding dress selection?”
“Of course not, babe. It’s bad luck, after all.” Josh’s voice came out of nowhere. I followed its sound and found him quietly hanging near the entrance of the boutique, looking like a dream in a pair of tight black jeans, leather jacket, and boots.
I believed my heart skipped a beat.
But I had to stay under control. He was trouble I didn’t want.
As the girls went around the store and looked at the different dresses, Edward stepped closer to me and said, “No, Kassandra. I won’t stay. I believe Laura has everything under control.”
His approaching me had me all nervous and jumpy. I didn’t want him to get closer to me, especially with Natalie and Laura so close. I had to find a way to talk to Laura about her fiancé and my past. Our past.
I’d stopped breathing. Seconds later, I felt someone’s arm going around my waist and a soft, wet kiss placed near my mouth. It wasn’t Edward, because I could still see him. I turned and found Josh’s sweet smile. I relaxed against his arms and was particularly thankful for his interfering. And suddenly, I didn’t feel as angry about Edward being here.
“We’re going to some pub to have a beer,” Josh informed me. “If you need anything, let us know, Kass. We’ll be close enough to come by if you need us.”
“Sure we will,” Edward reaffirmed with that bored expression on his face, rolling his baby blue eyes. “I need a favor from you, Kassandra.”
He didn’t wait to hear my response to his demand.
“I’ll buy Laura’s dress as a gift.” This wasn’t a surprise—some grooms did that as a custom. “However, I would like the price to be under…” and he whispered a supremely handsome amount of money.
“I don’t th
ink that’ll be a problem,” I said to him. “I believe it’s a really reasonable budget.”
“I believe so myself, but you know Laura better than I do, and I’m sure she’ll manage to find something surpassing it.” Edward apparently knew Laura well enough to know that, if it was her decision, she’d pick the most expensive dress in the place.
“Ed, man, shouldn’t you be sayin’ that to Laura instead of Kass?” Josh seemed to be voicing some of the thoughts in my own head. “This is between you and that woman of yours.”
“I can’t deprive Laura of her happiness,” Edward simply answered. “Besides, I’m certain Kassandra can manage.”
This is the Eddie I knew—always challenging me.
I didn’t want to talk to either of them anymore. I needed to get away.
“It’s all right, Josh. I’ll see what I can do.”
I left, not before mentally adding the second entry of my Bridezilla Checklist:
Bridezilla Checklist
☑ Enslaved bridesmaids
☑ Money woes
With all of Denise’s complaints and now Edward’s restriction regarding money, I had to add it to the list.
To be really honest, Edward was rather splendid with the amount of money he was considering for the wedding dress. Unfortunately, knowing Laura, she was going to make it more than challenging to stay under the budget. Josh had been completely right by pointing out that it wasn’t really of any concern of mine to moderate Laura’s expenses. However, he’d also presented a bait to me, and I’d bitten it forcefully. It pissed me off that he still could affect me like that.
All this made me wonder—why was Edward paying for most of the wedding expenses?
As much as I’d looked up weddings, it wasn’t really in the groom’s responsibilities to cover everything. That could only mean that Laura’s parents weren’t happy about the wedding. Yet another concern.
After all the weddings I’d helped put together, all the reading on wedding advice and how to pull off the perfect wedding, I’d figured out a general breakdown of the payment responsibilities.
After four weddings, I knew this list by heart. However, it shouldn't have mattered to me who paid for what. My only business was making this wedding perfect for my best friend.
~*~
Two hours later, we narrowed down the dresses Laura liked to three. Of course, two of them were a little over the budget Edward had established.
Laura tried on the first one; apparently, she was obsessed with strapless dresses. It was a silk wedding dress, white as white could get, elegant, and timeless. It also had an exquisite beading embellishment under the breast that emphasized her waist.
“Oh my God! You look like a princess in a fairytale.” Natalie was the first one to make a compliment.
Marisol wasn’t far behind. “You look so classy and graceful. You definitely need to choose that one.”
Denise just smiled and probably thought of all the things she could buy with the money invested in the dress.
“It’s beautiful, Laura,” I happily said. “I only have one observation. Do you want people looking at your feet?”
“Why would people look at my feet?” she asked in disbelief.
“Well, I thought that since you’ll marry on the beach, you’ll go barefoot. Or are you planning on wearing heels in the sand?” I could see in her face that she hadn’t considered that.
“I guess not. But I don’t like the idea of people looking at my feet. I need a longer dress,” she said.
“Or a different train,” Natalie added.
“You’re right, Natalie,” Laura agreed. “Let me go try the next one.”
The following dress was made of white satin. It had one shoulder strap that imitated flowers, reaching from her shoulder to under her breasts and once more emphasizing her tiny waist. Its full-length skirt covered her feet with a modified train. It was also the only dress right on budget.
Laura looked completely unsatisfied, probably because the dress wasn’t completely strapless like her last selections. The rest of our friends wore equally disapproving expressions. “No,” they all said in unison.
At the same time, I said, “It’s beautiful.”
After several ‘are you crazy?’ looks from everyone, I explained myself. “I think she looks gorgeous. The dress has a beautiful silhouette, and its shape makes her waist almost non-existent. It has the same detail under the breast that she’s been looking for, plus, no one will be able to see her feet under its length.”
They all stared at me as if I spoke a foreign language.
Denise was the first one to oppose me. “But what about her hairstyle?”
“What about it?”
“She wants to wear her hair loose to show off her new bangs,” Natalie informed me. We’d had this conversation before. I knew she wanted to wear her hair down. I simply didn’t understand how that had any relationship with that dress.
“You’re completely clueless,” Marisol said to me. “The one shoulder will mess with that. For this kind of dress, it’s be better for her to wear a lopsided bun. We all agreed that her hairstyle should be manageable and yet relay the specialty associated with Laura.”
“Okay, sorry,” I said, clearly not understanding yet why the dress wouldn’t do.
Laura gave me her poor-clueless-girl smile and went into the dressing room to try another piece. This one was truly gorgeous. The simple wedding dress was perfect for a barefoot walk down the beach. It had a lasting beauty yet a casual feel that made it flawless for everything Laura wanted. Its crinkled white fabric had a gorgeous crisscross bustier which tightened up at the back, giving it a nice edge. The full-length skirt draped down to the floor in a beautiful silhouette, extended to a chapel train in the back.
Laura looked breathtaking.
Who cares if it went over the budget by a few hundred? Mouths were covered, tears were shed, and everyone had something to say.
“You look breathtaking.”
“This is the one.”
“You have to get this.”
We hugged her and compliment her, gushing all over ourselves.
“I agree,” she said. “This is the one.”
A few minutes later we were at the register, and Laura gave the saleswoman Eddie’s black credit card. “You’re glowing,” the woman said after handing her back the card. “You’re going to be the most beautiful bride.”
The comment made Laura smile, but not me. I’d heard that before. I knew everyone made a similar comment to brides-to-be. I also noticed that the woman’s big smile didn’t reach her eyes. I knew for a fact that every single wedding-related salesperson said the same.
Nevertheless, if it made Laura happy, I’d remain silent.
It had been a very productive day.
Chapter 7
“I thought I asked you to respect the budget, Kassandra,” Edward angrily barfed at the phone as soon as I answered it. It was easy to know who it was; his name didn’t appear on my iPhone’s screen, since I didn’t have his contact, and then he was the only person who liked calling me by my full name.
“How did you get my number?” I asked.
Edward didn’t even acknowledge my inquiry, just continued on his quest. “I trusted you to help me keep Laura under control.”
“I did everything I could, but it isn’t exactly easy.” By now, I would expect him to know that Laura liked spending money. She was the most spoiled of my friends. “Laura’s used to getting her way.”
“Well then, I overestimated you, Kassandra.” There it was—he still always found a way to make me feel like crap. I’d forgotten that. He usually presented me with a challenge, and when I was unable to meet his standards, he made sure I would never forget.
But I wasn’t the same girl anymore.
“Whatever, Edward. I just got home. I’d like to rest.” I’d had enough of this conversation. I was ready to end it and dedicate the rest of my long Friday night to relaxing.
“Next
time, please keep the budget in mind,” he reminded me.
I wasn’t about to keep my mouth shut. “Next time, stay and tell her yourself.”
I hung up.
He needed to grow some balls. So did I.
Why was he calling me at 10:00 p.m. after a long day of dress-shopping to grill me about not staying inside his budget? The worst part was that a tiny piece of me still felt the need to please the guy.
The bastard. I needed to learn to send him to hell.
I went inside my room and undressed. All I wanted was a bath and some rest. Sadly, I was interrupted in the middle of my relaxing wash. My phone rang again some minutes later, and since no name displayed on the screen, I was sure it was Edward again. I was going to let him have it this time.
“You can freaking go talk to someone else about your stupid budget. I’ve had it with you for the night. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“Well, hello to you too, babe,” a laughing voice said on the other line.
That wasn’t Edward.
“Who’s this?” I was done with those mysterious calls. Right there, I decided I wasn’t going to answer the damn phone if a name didn’t display on my screen.
“It’s Josh, gorgeous.” Now I connected the husky voice to the person on the line. “I heard Ed talking to you and completely agree that he acted like a dick. I wanted to check how you were doing.”
Wow, he was concerned for me. I definitely hadn’t expected this.
“Why?”
He laughed again. It was amazing how my body tingled with the sound of his laughter. Not good, really. I had to remind myself once more that he was up to nothing but trouble. “Haven’t I said it enough times, already? Because I happen to like you, Kass.”
“Well, I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” I was more annoyed than fine. It wasn’t Josh’s fault, but his friend’s. However, I just didn’t feel like talking about it. “Goodbye, Josh.”
“Hey, Kass, wait.” This time he sounded serious.
“What now?”
“Would you like to have a drink with me tonight?”
