The Bridal Squad

by Samantha Chase

  They all agreed and, after confirming that Julianne was coming back the following week to try on more bridal gowns, they left. The temperatures were fairly cool for October but it felt good after a marathon of clothing changes for the last two hours. They opted to walk to the cafe and the conversation was primarily about the dresses. Kayla let them talk. The dress was already ordered and as far as she was concerned, she didn’t need to think about it again until it was time for fittings.

  The leaves were all changing colors and looked so vibrant that she wished she had one of her good cameras with her. Instead, she whipped out her phone and took a couple of shots as they walked along.

  Julianne looked over her shoulder at Kayla and smiled. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

  Why deny it? “What can I say? It must be in my blood or something. I know this isn’t anything unusual – leaves change color every year – but this all looked too good not to capture.” She shrugged. “Sometimes it’s fun to take pictures for pleasure rather than for work.”

  “Any word on your next assignment?” Harper asked.

  “I have a meeting with Adam on Monday to talk about that. I need to give him my availability for the next six months so we can try to avoid any conflicts with wedding stuff.” She looked at Julianne. “You can help me with that, right?”

  “I have a calendar all set up,” Natalie said excitedly. “It’s on Google so I can easily share it with everyone and it has all the pertinent information like dress fittings and going with Julianne to find her dress. I blocked off several Saturdays just in case she needed them. And…” She paused for a moment. “Although we do need to finalize our bachelorette weekend – when we want to do it and where we want to go – and then there’s Julianne’s shower…but she can’t know about that!” Then she laughed and Kayla had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Natalie reminded her of a needy little Chihuahua dancing at your feet to get attention.

  Very needy.

  And, if she really thought about it, she was kind of small too. Petite. Soft waves of shoulder-length dark brown hair, huge dark eyes to match and the kind of classic features that made her an attractive woman overall.

  Until she started to speak.

  Then Natalie had a tendency to go on and on and normally, it was about herself. And her wedding. And how happily married she was since her wedding.

  Yeah, she was exhausting.

  Kayla had no patience for that sort of thing. She wasn’t one who obsessed about hair or makeup and she supposed by now she should be thinking about the possibility of getting married and having kids but…how could she keep traveling and doing the things she loved if she had a husband and kids waiting for her at home?

  Oh right. She couldn’t.

  Well…okay. She could. But was that really a healthy relationship? Looking at Julianne and Gavin made it seem so easy – they were completely in sync with each other and they talked about everything without being overly dependent on each other. They both worked and did things on their own. They just bought their first house together and really, they were just…well, they were the perfect couple. It was a long-running joke in the group and that’s what everyone called them because it simply fit.

  Then there was Natalie and Jayce. Jayce was way more laid back than Natalie, since she had enough nervous energy for the both of them. Kayla had to imagine that it must work for them because they always seemed to be smiling and happy. They each had their careers but Natalie tended to lean more toward the more outdated traditional role where the wife came home before the husband and did the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry and all Jayce had to do was work and come home and be served.

  Yeah, that didn’t sound appealing at all.

  For starters, Kayla wasn’t a great cook. Sandwiches and salads and takeout were just fine. And as for cleaning? Well…she always made sure she had clean clothes. That counted, right? No one really came and hung out at her apartment but it was clean enough that she was okay with it; if anyone did want to come over, she could straighten it up relatively quickly. Whenever the topic of a girls’ night in came up, Kayla never volunteered her place – they usually went to Julianne’s. Come to think of it, the only one who’d been to her place recently was Adam.

  Adam. He was her boss, technically. He owned one of the magazines that Kayla freelanced for. He was an adrenaline junkie just like her and from the moment she met him, she liked him.

  Like a friend. Like a buddy.

  Except...they had kind of become more. Like friends with benefits more.

  And sadly, it was the healthiest relationship she’d ever had.

  They had so much in common and never seemed to run out of things to talk about and - like her - he didn’t seem to be interested in a serious relationship. She figured he dated other women. He never mentioned any to her but...come on. He was six feet of pure athletic yumminess. With dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, he was like some sort of Norse god. It always seemed odd that he was still single but hey, who was she to complain? It was definitely working in her favor.

  The thing was…lately things had seemed…off. She had a feeling that maybe that part of their relationship was coming to an end. Not that she wanted it to happen, but it seemed like maybe Adam did. He wasn’t giving her the really great assignments like he used to and he was growing a little distant. It was really hard for her to handle because she enjoyed their time together – and not just the times they spent in bed, but all of it.

  Oh, God. Maybe that was it. Maybe Adam sensed that and thought she was looking for something more. Something…exclusive. Well, she’d just have to talk to him on Monday and let him know that he had nothing to worry about. She wasn’t looking to change anything and unless he’d…gulp…met someone else, she really wanted to keep seeing him.

  She only hoped his change of attitude was that he was reading her wrong and not because of another woman. For some reason the thought of that really made her stomach churn in knots.

  The cafe was small and slightly crowded and they had to wait a few minutes for a booth. They were still talking about dresses - a topic that Natalie seemed to keep bringing up - and while Julianne and Harper were willing to go along with it, Kayla grabbed a menu and started looking at it.

  Less time wasted at the table that way.

  Burgers. Salads. Sandwiches. Standard cafe fare, she thought. And as much as she knew she was going to order an obnoxiously unhealthy burger, she also had to prepare herself for the lecture that was going to go along with it.

  Julianne would talk to her about how she was wasting the good workout from this morning. Natalie would remind her of how they had dresses to fit into and how the camera adds ten pounds, and Harper? Well…Harper would ask if she could have some of her fries because she’d cave to the pressure and order a salad.

  She knew this group well.

  When the hostess sat them, Kayla gave Harper a look that said she was clearly done with wedding talk. Or at the very least, dress talk.

  “Who’s hungry? How about we talk food for a while?” Harper suggested.

  Yes, thank God for Harper, Kayla thought. And – just as she had mentally predicted – Julianne cruised the salad selection along with Natalie. Harper talked about some of the sandwiches they had on special but soon caved to a salad after Julianne reminded her of all the calories she’d burned doing Zumba this morning.

  But Kayla held firm and when Julianne gave her the calorie-burning speech, she had the perfect comeback.

  “So, really, they cancel each other out and I’m good with that. I burned about 700 calories in class and this burger will replace them. That is just plain and simple math!”

  Yeah, she was a smartass and it was okay. Sometimes she knew it frustrated her friends but they couldn’t all be the same. And really? Who would want that? There was no way a foursome of the same person could be a good thing.

  Especially if it were four Natalie’s.

  She had to suppress the eye roll at the thought.


  As soon as they ordered, Natalie put her tablet on the table and pulled up her calendar. “While we’re waiting for our food, why don’t we take a look at the calendar and see what we all have available and how we can coordinate everything so that it’s easier for Julianne? Then Kayla can have it to give to her boss for future reference.”

  Oh, joy. Let the fun begin.

  Three

  Tuesday night, Julianne was finishing up her class when her sister walked up to her.

  “Great class tonight,” Harper said, wiping her face with her towel. “I think they’re going to need to add an extension onto this place because you can’t fit many more people in here.”

  Julianne smiled. “I know. And as much as I’d love to do classes back-to-back to accommodate everyone, I just can’t. It’s too much.”

  Harper nodded. “You want to go and grab some dinner?”

  “Oh, I can’t. I have plans.”

  The look on Harper’s face conveyed her shock. Most Tuesday nights they ate dinner together after class. And as much as they tended to share everything with each other, for some reason, Julianne had yet to mention her kickboxing lesson.

  “What’s up? You and Gavin going out?”

  She shook her head. “Um…no. I have some stuff here to do at the gym.”

  “Like what?”

  “It’s nothing. Just some extra stuff I’m working on,” Julianne murmured as she looked around the room and began collecting her stuff.

  “Why are you being so vague? What’s going on?”

  Straightening, Julianne’s shoulders sagged as she turned and faced Harper. “I’m going for a kickboxing lesson.” There. She’d said it.

  “Are you serious? You? And do you really need a lesson on that? You’re a personal trainer, for crying out loud! Why do you need a lesson?”

  Why hide it? If anything, maybe if Harper knew how frustrated she was lately, maybe she’d help her out by trying to get along with Natalie or with their mother or…just helping her keep her shit together while she was slowly starting to freak out over this whole wedding thing.

  “We need to clear out so the next class can come in,” she said instead. “But we’ll talk as we work, okay?”

  Harper rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll help you clean up, but start talking.”

  “I seem to have some…anger issues,” she began cautiously.

  Beside her, Harper froze. “You? You never get angry.”

  “I know. But something about all of this wedding planning is making me…” She paused. “I like being in control of things. And being that this is my wedding, I thought it wouldn’t be a problem, but it is. Everyone has something to say about everything! What kind of dress I want, what kind of dress the bridal party wants, what colors we’ll use, what kind of paper for the invitations…it’s endless, Harper! And on top of that, besides everyone giving an opinion, there’s a lot of…there’s a lot of snipping and arguing and snarky comments. It’s making me crazy!”

  Her sister at least had the good sense to look ashamed.

  “Okay, I’ll admit Kayla and I were a little hard on Natalie on Saturday and I’m sorry. We’ll tone it down. I promise.”

  “And what about the stuff between you and mom?”

  “That is totally not on me, Jules,” Harper said defensively. “I’m not the one who keeps bringing up my failed engagements. That’s all on mom. And the only way that’s going to stop, is if you tell her it’s making you crazy. Lord knows I’ve tried telling her and it doesn’t seem to register with her.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “And you think that and…kickboxing,” Harper said the word slowly, “is going to help you with this…anger?”

  “Maybe. I hope it does. I mean, I spend a lot of time wanting to punch something,” Julianne said with a small laugh. “So I was talking to Brady…”

  “Who’s Brady?”

  “He teaches the kickboxing class on Saturdays after our Zumba one.”

  “Ah.”

  “So I asked if it could help with anger and he suggested getting some time in with a bag.”

  Harper frowned as she picked up her bottle of water and the two began to walk toward the door. “Like a punching bag? But you just said you were kickboxing. I thought it was all…you know…bagless.”

  “Normally it is. But he’s training a boxer upstairs and said he can show me some moves and that being able to make contact with something and hit it might be more helpful than kicking and punching air. And I have to tell you, I totally agree. Just thinking about it makes me giddy.”

  They walked across the lobby toward the stairs and Harper stopped her before she could head up. “Wait…you’re giddy about punching something?”

  Julianne nodded. “Like you can’t even believe.” She glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was already five minutes after seven. “I really need to go because Brady’s doing me a favor and I don’t want to keep him waiting.”

  Rather than respond, Harper studied her for a moment. Julianne knew that look – her sister was thinking of something to say and as much as she didn’t want to be late, she also didn’t want to walk away in the middle of a conversation.

  “Harps?”

  But Harper shook her head. “I think this is a little crazy. You’re the least violent person I know. Does Gavin know you’re feeling this way? That you’re dealing with this?”

  Damn. Leave it to her sister to pull on that thread.

  “Actually…no. I didn’t mention it to him. He’s working late tonight and I just figured we’d get home at the same time and maybe I’d feel better after…hitting something for a little while.”

  “Somehow I don’t think this is a one-time thing, Jules. If anything, you’re probably going to be dealing with this until the wedding is over. Have you thought about that?”

  She hadn’t.

  Dammit.

  “I was just going to check it out tonight and see if it helped. Even just a little bit,” Julianne said with a huff. “It’s not like I have all the answers here. I’m looking for a solution to this anger – which is totally new for me – and all this conversation is doing is adding to it! Now can we stop with the interrogation and just…go?”

  Again, Harper just studied her and it made Julianne want to scream.

  “You know what?” Harper said after a minute. “I’d like to come up and watch and see if this works.”

  “What? Are you insane? Don’t you think having you – one of the people adding to my stress – is going to hinder any progress I may make?”

  “Or…you have a target right there,” Harper teased. “Think of it, maybe this guy will put us in the ring together and you could take a swing at me!”

  The idea wasn’t completely unappealing.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to punch you. That would just be wrong. I just need to channel this…negative energy into something. And hitting a bag is supposed to keep me from hitting people. Even you.”

  Harper laughed and climbed up the first two stairs. “Come on…I think you’d feel a lot better if you hit me. Maybe get some of that little sister aggression out for all the times I used to tease you…”

  Julianne couldn’t help but laugh too. “Yeah, you really were a pain when we were growing up. But unlike you, I can be the bigger person and just move on.”

  They continued up the stairs with Harper taunting her. “Obviously not or we wouldn’t be heading to boxing lessons.”

  “Kickboxing,” Julianne corrected. “I probably wouldn’t mind kicking you though.”

  “You’d have to catch me first!” Harper called out as she took off up the rest of the stairs. Julianne chased after her and the entire time Harper kept calling out how she couldn’t be caught.

  And then her sister ran right into Brady Bennett.

  A little breathless, Julianne walked over and gave her sister a smug smile as she poked her in the shoulder.

  “Guess you were wrong,” she said with a hi
nt of sarcasm. “I totally caught you.”

  ****

  That statement was completely wrong, Harper thought.

  Her sister didn’t catch her, this…giant of a man caught her.

  Slowly, she tilted her head back and looked up at the wall-shaped man and gulped.

  Sandy brown hair, clear blue eyes and a fierce look on his face.

  “Um…sorry,” Harper murmured as she took a step back. “That was totally my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

  “Not a problem,” he said as he grinned at her. “You okay?”

  She nodded, unable to speak, partly because she was winded from the sprint up the stairs and partly because she got the wind knocked out of her from the collision.

  “Hey, Brady,” Julianne called out, “any chance you’d let my sister and I get into the ring to duke things out?”

  “Not on your first night,” the giant man called back.

  Wait…this was Brady? This was the guy who was going to give private lessons to her sister? Oh, hell no. Harper took another step back and sized him up.

  Well over six feet tall, a ridiculous amount of muscles, and a Carolina Panthers t-shirt along with a pair of sweats.

  He had muscle-headed athlete written all over him and Harper had to suppress a shudder. Why would a guy like this want to teach Julianne how to box? Oh, sorry…not box. Kickbox. Either way, it seemed weird for her. Harper looked over at her sister in her tight little yoga pants and sports bra.

  Oh, that’s why.

  Julianne was a beautiful woman and this guy was probably going to hit on her. Well, not on Harper’s watch. She’d just hang out with them and make sure good ol’ Brady never got a chance to cop a feel or anything.

  Harper was protective of her little sister, even when they were taunting each other.

  “So, you’re Brady?” Harper asked.

  Turning his attention back to her, he nodded. “And you are?”

  “Harper. Julianne’s sister,” she said stiffly. “I’m going to hang out and watch this kickboxing lesson. You know, see what it’s all about.”

  Brady simply nodded and didn’t seem the least bit fazed by her being there.