Always a Bridesmaid

by Lizzie Shane

  Whether she was about to be fired from Once Upon a Bride or not, she was relieved to have the reprieve, keeping her hands busy laying fondant on what would become a four-tier wedding cake.

  She tried to channel the Dalai Lama and think Zen thoughts, but she was still having a hard time getting past Sidney’s utter lack of anything resembling supportiveness when the chime over the shop door rang and she set aside the fondant she’d been rolling out, heading out front to greet the customer.

  But her greeting died on her lips when she saw that her visitor was Josh Pendleton—former host of Marrying Mister Perfect, current co-host of Sidney’s wedding planning show, and Sidney’s fiancé.

  He had a face for television and his charming smile had once been the primary reason Parvati tuned in to Marrying Mister Perfect every Tuesday night, but now she just glared at him as he stood in front of the cupcake display.

  “Parvati.”

  “Josh.” She didn’t say anything else, staring him down. He’d come to her. He could broach the awkwardness.

  “Sidney was awfully upset last night.”

  “That’s funny. So was I.”

  “She’s under a lot of pressure. The wedding—”

  “Josh,” Parvati interrupted. “I understand that Sidney is making herself nuts trying to have the perfect wedding—I’ve seen firsthand her anxiety over trying to be what she thinks she should more times than I can count over the last twenty-odd years. I get it. Her life is hard. But mine isn’t exactly peaches and cream right now. And friends are supposed to be there for each other. It goes both ways. You want me to cut her some slack? Why don’t you talk to her about doing the same for me? Now, unless you’re buying something, I’m going to have to ask you not to loiter.”

  Josh retreated without further argument.

  Half an hour later, the chime rang again and Parvati returned to the front—where Tori was waiting to tag in on the gang-up-on-Parvati team.

  Parvati folded her arms defensively. “I guess you heard what happened.”

  “Only that you had a fight.” Tori’s smooth brow pinched with concern. “What’s going on, Parv?”

  “I’m dating Max.”

  Tori didn’t blink. “I can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve wondered if you guys would ever get around to dating.”

  “Then maybe you can talk to Sidney. She seems to see me dating Max as a personal attack on her.”

  “I’m sure she doesn’t—”

  “I’m sorry, Tori, I really don’t want to listen to you defend her when you don’t know what she said. If you really want to help, maybe you should try telling Sidney to get her head out of her ass and be a friend for a change.”

  Tori blinked then, nodding slowly. “Okay.”

  “I’m sorry.” Parv swallowed, regretting snapping at the one person who had almost seemed to be onboard with the whole Max thing. “Do you still want me to come in this afternoon for my shift at Once Upon a Bride? I’ll understand if you don’t want the tension in your shop.”

  “Are you still going to be able to do your job?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then I don’t see a problem. Sidney’s only there a few hours a week these days anyway. And neither of you is the type to make scenes in front of clients.”

  “No,” Parv agreed.

  Tori nodded. “Okay then. I’ll see you at two.”

  Parv hoped that would be it, but the Universe wasn’t done piling on just yet.

  Lacey arrived at one-thirty to take over manning the bakery for the afternoon—and she was already wearing her most disapproving glower.

  She’s found out about the sex in the storeroom, Parvati’s guilty conscience immediately supplied as an explanation for the glower. But then Lacey spoke.

  “What’s this I hear about you feuding with Sidney Dewitt?”

  Her stomach dropped. “We aren’t feuding.” Not exactly. “Where did you hear that?”

  “It’s all over town.” Lacey’s frown grew even more ominous. “I can’t afford a Hatfields and McCoys feud with the premiere wedding planner in town, Parvati. You’re a good worker, but I’m going to have to let you go if you threaten the bakery’s relationship with Once Upon a Bride.”

  Parvati’s irritation that Sidney was apparently spreading their personal business all over town was drowned in the nervous awareness that Lacey could fire her on the spot.

  Sure, Lacey was almost universally grumpy and she tended to micromanage everything Parvati did and examine her timecard as if she was suspicious that Parvati was trying to bill her for extra seconds, but Parv liked working at Lacey’s Cakes. She found the work inherently therapeutic, baking the one thing that could always sap away her stress, and she was actually learning a surprising amount from her grouchy boss. Lacey didn’t like to stray from the way she’d always done things, but often the way she’d always done things was classic and delicious. There was a reason she was the go-to baker in Eden.

  “I’m still working at Once Upon a Bride—I’m on my way there now,” Parv explained. “Everything’s fine.”

  Lacey frowned. “Just as long as it stays that way.”

  Nothing like the threat of unemployment to encourage her to make up with Sidney. But somehow she felt even more stubbornly reluctant to bridge the gap than she had been when she woke up that morning.

  She wasn’t going to apologize for being with Max. Sidney needed to apologize to her. Until that happened she would just wait it out. Sidney would come to her senses. This entire mess would be a memory by the weekend.

  But Sidney didn’t call. She didn’t apologize.

  The weekend came and went without a word passing between them. As the second week of the Cold War stretched on, she began to suspect that Sidney was checking her schedule and intentionally avoiding her during her hours at Once Upon a Bride.

  Things were good with Max, but it was hard to ignore the deep freeze from Sidney hanging over them. The awareness of the friction with Sidney added a constant hum of tension, like static in the back of her mind every time she was with Max.

  She didn’t ask if they were still speaking, but she got the sense from stray comments from Max that he had seen his sister though they didn’t discuss it.

  The wedding was approaching—a fact that was reinforced when the bridal boutique called to inform her that her bridesmaid dress had arrived and to schedule her fitting. It felt wrong, somehow, to be fitted for a dress for Sidney’s wedding when she wasn’t even sure she was still invited. She didn’t know if she should even have the dress, but she went in and stood for the seamstress, letting her poke and pin.

  The bachelorette party was only a week away and Parvati wasn’t even sure she was going. She’d scraped together enough to pay for her share of the vacation rental, but would Sidney even want her there? Every day that went by without the two of them speaking to one another only made the gulf between them seem even more impassable until it seemed like an impossible breach.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Max pulled up in front of the modest ranch in Culver City.

  He was just here to talk. He wasn’t going to kick the living shit out of the man who’d appeared on the surveillance feeds, lurking around Lacey’s Cakes. Parvati wouldn’t thank him if he was brought up on assault charges and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to convince her to file a restraining order, so he was going to talk.

  No matter how much he wanted to put his fist through Perfect Parker’s face.

  Parvati had plans that didn’t involve him tonight—her niece was back from her honeymoon and Parv had promised she’d have dinner with the newlyweds—so Max was on his own, a sensation that felt surprisingly foreign. Especially considering he’d been solo his entire life.

  He’d stayed late at the office, catching up on a few things and reviewing the feeds he’d set up around Lacey’s Cakes. That was when he’d noticed the man testing the locks he’d installed on the storeroom window.

  Perfect Parker. Apparently even less per
fect than they’d suspected.

  Max let some of his anger out on the front door, pounding his fist against the wood until it shook in the frame. Max would have hesitated if someone that pissed had rattled his door, but Parker apparently lacked self-preservation instincts. As soon as the door opened, Max threw his first question, not giving Parker a chance to take control of the interaction.

  “Hi, Parker. Would you care to explain why you’re stalking Parvati?”

  He expected a guilty flush, an attempt to run—what he got was a petulant scowl and a stubborn set of Parker’s jaw. “I’m not.”

  “So you’re claiming you didn’t try to break into Lacey’s Cakes while she was alone there? And before you answer you might want to keep in mind that we have you on the surveillance feed.”

  Now Parker did flush, but he didn’t look away—the man didn’t look guilty, which was really starting to piss Max off.

  “I wasn’t trying to break in,” he insisted. “I just wanted to make sure she was all right. I knew they were closed, but I knew she was alone there sometimes and I was in the area so I thought I’d make sure everything was secure.”

  “So you climbed through the storeroom window?”

  “I didn’t! I was just testing to make sure it was locked, but then it came open all of a sudden and I knocked over some tin or something. It clattered and I freaked because I didn’t think Parv would understand what I was doing there—”

  “Gee, I wonder why.”

  “So I closed the window and ran, but that was it. I haven’t gone back.”

  “Now I know you’re lying. I have you on camera, dumbass. And running when you think you’re going to be discovered isn’t exactly the behavior of an innocent man.”

  “I’m not stalking her, okay?” Parker snapped, more irritable than defensive—which had the annoying effect of convincing Max that he might be telling the truth. “I went back one more time, just to make sure things were secure, and the window was locked that time. But I swear I’m only trying to look out for her. We had a fight and she overreacted, but she needs me.”

  “No, she doesn’t. Looking out for her isn’t your job anymore. I’ve got that covered.”

  “Sure you do.” Parker snorted. “But for how long? You think you’re hot shit, but I know guys like you. Girls come easy to you, but you tire of your toys quickly. Parvati told me all about you. You’ll dump her soon enough and I’m going to be right there, ready and waiting when you do. She’ll realize that I’m the kind of guy she wants forever. You’re just a distraction.”

  Max marveled at Parker’s complete lack of survival instincts, though he managed not to put his fist through his face, thanks to years of discipline.

  “Let’s get something straight,” he bit out. “Regardless of what happens between Parvati and me, you’re going to stay the fuck away from her. She’s made her choice and that was to leave you.” This asshole obviously thought Parvati still belonged to him—an idea which made Max see red. “She isn’t yours to watch over and she isn’t going to be. Not ever again. Understand?”

  “You just keep telling yourself that, buddy,” Parker sneered. “You may be flashy, but I’m the good guy here. And nice guys don’t always finish last. Not if we’re patient. Assholes like you break girls’ hearts and then they realize they need guys like me. You could never be what she needs. You don’t know how.”

  Max ignored the flicker of unease stirred up by the words. “Just stay away from Parvati. Stay away from Lacey’s Cakes. Stay out of her life.” He didn’t bother to add an or else. It wasn’t necessary.

  He pointed his car north, driving too aggressively, but he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Parker’s last words. The man was an ass and an idiot. He’d never deserved Parvati—but was he right about that one thing? Did Max not deserve her either?

  His agitation chased him up the coast, getting worse with every mile instead of better. He couldn’t imagine tiring of Parvati, but what if he did? How badly would he hurt her? Was it better to end things now before they got too serious? They’d said they were all in for as long as it lasted, but how long was that?

  He’d never had a long term relationship. What if he wasn’t capable of it? Was the best thing for her for him to get out of her life? Did she really belong with someone else? Not Parker. That was not happening, but someone who would treat her like a goddess and give her everything she’d ever dreamed of?

  A tiny voice inside Max insisted he could be that guy, he could do that, but what if he failed? What if he hurt her instead?

  He didn’t know what to do. He’d always been good at trusting his instincts, but they were pulling him in two different directions this time. The only thing he knew was that there was one situation he refused to let stand. He punched a button to activate his car’s voice feature.

  “Call Sidney.”

  Two rings later, his sister picked up. “Max?”

  “You have to talk to Parvati.”

  “And here I thought you were calling to tell me you’d finally talked to Dad about the wedding crap.”

  Max muttered a curse and checked the clock on his dash as he zipped through traffic. Almost eight at night put it at not quite five in the morning in Switzerland. “The time zones have been killing me. What’s your excuse?”

  “Butt out, Max.” Sidney’s voice came through his speakers, loud and clear. Max kept his answer just as clear.

  “No.” He braked hard as a bus cut him off, then swerved around it. “This is ridiculous. It’s been weeks. You’re upsetting her and that isn’t okay with me. I don’t like being pissed at you. It upsets the natural order of things.” The order in which Max kept things copacetic and breezed through life without drama.

  And tired of his toys quickly? Was he really that guy? Did he have to be?

  “See? This is why you shouldn’t be dating her. It complicates everything. You’re messing with the separation of church and state.”

  “This isn’t about you, Sidney.”

  “If you were serious about her, it would be different.”

  Everyone was so freaking sure he was going to hurt her. It was starting to piss him off. “What makes you so sure I’m not?”

  “Years of experience,” came the dry response.

  He couldn’t argue with his history. “If it’s me you have a problem with, why is it Parvati you won’t talk to?”

  Sidney sighed. “Look, I hate it too, okay?

  “So talk to her.”

  “You think she’d actually listen? I know I shouldn’t have freaked about you two dating, but when I did she made her opinions very clear. Apparently, I’ve been disappointing her ever since I was picked to go on Marrying Mister Perfect instead of her.”

  He jolted to a stop at a red light. “That isn’t fair.”

  “I’ll talk to her, okay?”

  “When?”

  “We’ll see each other at the bachelorette party this weekend.”

  “Will you? You might want to confirm that with her. She isn’t sure you still want her there.”

  “Of course I do.” Sidney went on before Max could argue his point. “I’ll make sure she knows. I’ve just been dreading talking to her. I know I put my foot in my mouth, but I still think you’re both being idiots and I’m afraid I’m going to make things worse by trying to make them better.”

  “I’m not going to hurt her, Sidney. That’s the last thing I want.”

  “You don’t have to set out to hurt someone for it to happen.”

  “Maybe you can give us the benefit of the doubt that we know what we’re doing? And I’ll call Dad for you again when I get home. He’ll probably be waking up soon anyway.”

  “Thanks. And Max?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Please don’t break her heart.”

  “I won’t,” he promised—and wondered if it was a promise he could keep. He didn’t want to hurt her, but was he really capable of protecting her heart?

  She was still out when he go
t home, dining with the newlyweds. Max tossed his keys in the dish and pulled out his phone, dialing the string of numbers for the call to Switzerland on his father’s private line.

  His father picked up immediately, startling him with the crisp, alert response so early in the morning. “Halo?”

  “Dad. It’s Max.”

  “Maximus. Your timing is excellent. I was just about to call you.”

  “You were?” Max could count on one hand the number of times his father had called him in the last five years.

  “I have a proposition for you. An opportunity.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Parvati came home to the sound of OneRepublic blasting from the master bedroom. “Max?”

  She followed the sound, finding the bedroom empty, but the bed strewn with threadbare screen t-shirts, ratty cargo shorts, hiking boots, and a battered green backpack that looked like it had been around the world three times and dragged through at least six muddy rivers.

  “Parv. Hey. I didn’t hear you come home.”

  “I’m not surprised,” she shouted over the music declaring I lived in a power anthem.

  Max took the hint and turned the music down en route to the bed with another armful of clothing from his run-away-to-Thailand phase, his movements brisk.

  “Are you going somewhere?”

  “Hmm?” Max chucked a poncho that had long since ceased being waterproof onto a pile that looked to be trash and glanced at her, his expression barely shifting as his gaze traced her face. “Oh. No. I just hadn’t looked at this stuff in a while. Spring cleaning.”

  “Uh huh.” Except it didn’t look like spring cleaning. It looked like Max was having some kind of nervous fit that somehow involved all of his old backpacking gear. “Are you okay?”

  “Great. Talked to my father. Sidney wanted me to confront him about his dickishness regarding her wedding.”