Plotting Mr. Perfect

by S. E. Babin

  * * * *

  Piper, Mel, Candace and Sherry all stood in Katie’s living room wearing their bridesmaid dresses. The wedding was tomorrow evening, but her nerves were already wrapped in a tight bundle. Everything made her want to scream, but now standing there looking at all of her friends, she realized how beautiful they all looked and how lucky she was to have them as her friends.

  The atmosphere was strangely silent, something Katie wondered about since they’d had such a good time at her party—what she remembered of it. How could anyone forget about Albert? Katie hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. In fact, after the wedding and honeymoon were over, she’d probably stop by Mel’s work to say hello to him before he left the country again.

  “Turn around,” Katie said. All the ladies obliged her, except for Sherry. “Sherry?” she inquired, confusion in her tone.

  Sherry looked down at her bare feet. “Do I have to?”

  Mel, Piper and Candace had turned around, but they couldn’t hide their snorts of laughter. “Shut up,” Sherry hissed.

  Katie moved her finger in a turn-around motion. “Seriously. I don’t understand what the problem is.”

  Sherry bowed her head and shuffled around. Katie exhaled a sound of shock. Balls to the Wall was emblazoned across Sherry’s left shoulder. A woman wearing only a brilliant smile rode a wrecking ball, one of her arms thrown back in ecstasy. It was the most hideously beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

  “Holy shit,” Katie said with awe. “That is so much cooler than mine.”

  Mel’s shoulders shook with laughter and she threw her head back. Piper reached over and patted Sherry on the back, but she was still grinning.

  “You are a terrible influence, Katie Walker,” Sherry said as she faced the wall.

  “No, Sherry,” Katie said. “Vodka is a terrible influence. We should put blame where it really belongs.”

  Sherry turned back around. “I’m so sorry. I obviously wasn’t thinking when I got this.”

  Katie shrugged and pointed to her own bare ankle—the permanent reminder of Will seared there for eternity. “Shawls fix everything, Sherry.” She told everyone to turn around. “Is anyone opposed to wearing a shawl?”

  Wide grins all around, mostly at Sherry’s expense, and everyone raised their hands. “Shawls are the worst,” Mel said and winked at Katie.

  “Mel, you’re in charge of shawl duty, then,” Katie said. Mel groaned, but pulled out her phone and made a note.

  “Everyone looks gorgeous.” And they did. The deep red of their bridesmaid’s gowns did wonders for everyone’s color and matched the season. Winter had blown through their city in the last few days, dropping the mercury faster than normal. It still wasn’t snowing, but it was only a matter of time. Katie just hoped it didn’t snow on her wedding day. If it did, she prayed for white, fluffy snow instead of the yucky gray sleety mix that sometimes fell right when the weather changed.

  Almost everything was finished. Even though it wasn’t a big wedding, the planning had consumed Katie, mostly because it was a way to take her mind off everything. Especially Will. She hadn’t seen him in over six months, but something was nagging her. Something she felt like she couldn’t remember. The only thing was that no one was talking. Mel was the worst culprit, so Katie could only imagine the vodka had loosened her tongue and Katie had spilled all of her feelings about Will. And that meant Piper, Candace and Sherry all knew as well. She was embarrassed, but also relieved about it. It meant they no longer had any secrets between them.

  Leo was making himself scarce over the last couple of days as well. He claimed he had extra wedding things to attend to, but since Katie had commandeered all of the planning, she wasn’t sure exactly what he had left to do. She assumed it had something to do with the honeymoon, but considering his mood lately, she didn’t ask him. Ever since the tattoo was discovered, Leo had been withdrawn but filled with a frenetic energy like he was hiding something huge. She just hoped he wasn’t planning on leaving her at the altar in retaliation. Her heart couldn’t take it after everything it had gone through.

  Once she’d woken up from that booze-induced haze a few nights ago and saw the damage she’d done to her ankle, she decided to stop wallowing and throw herself into this marriage. Leo had done nothing wrong—well, scratch that, but Katie had to give him some credit. For someone who was literally born around a year ago, he’d done a remarkable job of catching on to everything. And he seemed to be making friends and fitting in. The tension between he and Mel had dwindled to almost nothing, but Katie still saw it sometimes, though she did her best to ignore it.

  Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Katie jokingly told everyone to lay off the carbs tonight so they could fit into their dresses tomorrow. They responded with witty remarks about Katie getting another tattoo with some other poor bastard’s name on it, and let themselves out the door. Everyone except Mel. She came out of the restroom, her dress tucked in her arm, and then hung it up. She turned to Katie and crossed her arms. “Sit down. This will be our last opportunity to talk before tomorrow.”

  Katie obliged, curling her feet under her while she huddled into the couch. Mel sat down on the recliner, her favorite seat, and mussed her hair up. She looked thoughtful. “Tomorrow is the big day, huh? How are you feeling about it?”

  Katie shrugged. “Nervous. A little excited. Scared.” She bit the side of the cuticle on her thumb, a nervous habit she’d taken up more of the faster the wedding approached.

  “Does Leo know about the tattoo?” Mel motioned to Katie’s ankle, tucked underneath her lap.

  She groaned. “How could I hide that? I need to get it covered up.” She pulled her leg out, twisting it to the left and right. “It’s so pretty, though. I wished it said something else.”

  Mel pinched her nose. “I tried to stop you.”

  Katie laughed. “Oh, Mel. The vodka is strong with this one.” She pointed to herself. “I don’t remember much about that night, but it seems like we had tons and tons of fun.”

  Mel smiled, but it looked like her heart wasn’t in it. “We did.”

  “Mel?” Katie asked, perplexed at her mood. “What’s going on?”

  Mel got up and came to sit down beside her. She enveloped Katie’s hands in her own. “I’m overstepping here. I know it. But I want you to be one thousand percent sure you are ready to walk down the aisle tomorrow. With Leo. I want you to be one thousand percent sure your heart doesn’t belong to a certain man with the lawn mowing fetish and the bad habit of wearing a baseball cap everywhere he goes.”

  Katie pulled her hands back. “Why are you even saying this? Of course I’m sure.” But she wasn’t, and by the sympathy flickering through Mel’s eyes, she could see right through the lies Katie was telling herself. “Everyone has the one that got away, Mel.”

  Mel nodded. “True. I need to tell you something, Katie.”

  Katie felt her lip quiver. “Please don’t tell me if you did anything with Leo, Mel. I couldn’t take it.”

  Mel’s eyes widened. “No, you idiot! I promised you, and I always keep my promises. It’s about Will.”

  Katie looked at Mel, bewildered. “Will? What about him?” Mel fluffed a pillow and said nothing for so long Katie longed to reach over and pull her hair out. “Mel,” she said in a warning tone.

  “Fine,” she huffed out. “We ran into him during your bachelorette party.”

  Katie laughed. “No, we didn’t. I would have remembered that.”

  “Uh-huh. Just like you remembered the tattoo, the bottle of vodka you stole from a homeless person and the wheelbarrow we had to push you around in because you couldn’t walk in a straight line.”

  “A wheelbarrow?” Katie echoed.

  “Yes,” Mel said. “And by the way, you owe me twenty bucks because I had to pay the homeless man before he shanked us.”

  Katie’s body felt numb. Will was there. Dear God, what did she say to him? Did she profess undying love? In front of everyone? Did she t
hrow up on his shoes? “What happened?” she asked flatly.

  Mel patted her leg. “Once it got too weird, Will’s sister took all of us to a restaurant next door.”

  “Will’s sister?” Katie groaned. “Better and better.”

  “Relax. We’re all your friends and we all love you. Charlie seemed super cool, too. Just concerned because she’d never even heard of you. Once we got to talking though, it seemed like the puzzle pieces fell into place for her. She liked you.”

  “Charlie?” Of course Will would have a sister with a cool name. “What did I say?”

  Mel’s eyes shone with sympathy. “We left right after you told him you would have married him.”

  Katie screeched in embarrassment. “Why must I always be such an idiot? Does Leo know?”

  “Of course he doesn’t know. None of us would ever do that to you. But this is why I’m sitting here with you now. I love you, Katie. Leo loves you. We all love you. But you know what’s the most important here? Will. Because Will loves you, too. Probably more than anyone else.”

  “Shut up, Mel,” Katie hissed. “Of course Leo loves me more.”

  Mel’s lips thinned. “I’m sorry, Katie. It’s a hard truth. Will loves you more than anyone I’ve ever seen love another person. And I know that you have trouble getting along, but have you ever stopped to think that if maybe both of you weren’t so focused on denying each other out of sheer stubbornness and bad timing that maybe you’d find what you’ve always been searching for?”

  Katie’s eyes burned. “I know you’re in love with Leo,” she said flatly.

  Mel didn’t deny it. “I love you more.”

  “How can you do this to me the night before my wedding?” Katie’s voice choked.

  “How could I not?” Mel stood up, stroked Katie’s hair once and showed herself out the door.

  Chapter 16

  Will sat the manuscript down on his coffee table. It couldn’t be. There was just no way Katie’s tale was true. The leather-bound book looked so innocent sitting on his table. It had no idea of the amount of turmoil it stirred inside his heart. His thoughts spiraled back to that day so long ago when he walked out of his home and saw Katie and Mel hovering over Leo’s prone body.

  He remembered how tight-lipped she always was of him, how protective. She never explained where he came from or why she allowed a perfect stranger to move into her home. Her story seemed to be the only plausible, yet completely insane, explanation. It boggled the mind. Will was a man of cold, hard facts. He was rarely swayed by that which seemed unbelievable, but he wasn’t completely closed-minded to the things he couldn’t see around him.

  After all, love was one of the most intangible things in existence. And no one doubted it. But could he really believe Leo was a product sent from somewhere solely to make Katie happy? Will snorted. Of course he couldn’t. That was just…insane. Out of this world looney tunes.

  Yet wouldn’t he struggle if someone supposedly made for him showed up? Would he struggle with his feelings for Katie if everything he ever wanted in a woman showed up on his porch? Of course he would. He’d be an idiot not to. People are drawn to the things they find attractive, never realizing that what they really needed might not be wrapped up in such a neat and tidy package. He just wished Katie had realized it sooner.

  His sneaky sister had kept in touch with Mel. She had informed him in an oh-so casual voice that Katie was getting married tomorrow. He immediately wanted to throw her out of his house for telling him because now he was being tortured with thoughts of her being taken away from him forever. It had already happened, but tomorrow would be the day when there would be no turning back.

  A knock on the door startled him. He looked through the peephole and groaned out loud.

  “We hear you, Will,” a husky voice said from outside. “Let us in or we’re going to stand out here and annoy your neighbors all night with bad Christmas carols.”

  Resigned to his fate, Will opened the door and glared at all four of his sisters, Charlie leading the pack. Shawna strode in afterward, her cat-eyed gaze taking in Will’s disheveled figure. Following her came Vicki, the only redhead in their family and the one with the most volatile temper. The last one to come in was Kim, a broad grin spread over her freckled face. She stood on her tiptoes and pecked Will on the cheek. “You’ve done it now, Will, haven’t you?”

  They all settled themselves into his living room—a house of hens in Will’s private solitude. He made no move to sit down. It would be the kiss of death if he did and just give them the opportunity to lecture him until his ears bled.

  Charlie started. “I’ve told them all about your little Katie problem.”

  Will rolled his eyes. “There won’t be a problem after tomorrow.”

  “You’ll be the problem after then. You’ve already been a real pain in the neck over the last several months. Can you imagine what would happen if she took another man’s name?” Charlie lifted one eyebrow, daring him to answer.

  Shawna chimed in. “First let me say how disappointed I was to find out about Katie from our sister. And then to find out you haven’t chased after her!” She made a disappointed clucking sound. “Haven’t we raised you better than that, Will? If you want something, by God, you go out and get it.”

  Will strode to the kitchen and opened a beer. He’d need it dealing with these four knuckleheads. “Shawna, we aren’t living in the caveman times. I can’t just go to her house and throw her over my shoulder. In most states I’m pretty sure that counts as kidnapping.”

  Vicki, probably the craziest one of them all, spoke up. “Will, we love you. We’re ready to be aunties. Take her back and make her see how much you care about her.”

  He rolled his eyes and leaned against the fridge. “It’s not that easy.”

  Kim, the wisest of his sisters and his favorite, though he’d never tell anyone else, laughed. “Oh, Will. Nothing worth fighting for is ever easy. That’s what makes it worth it. If you love her, you need to tell her. If you don’t, you’ll always regret it.”

  His jaw tightened and his hands itched to throw them all out. Showing up on Katie’s doorstep and ruining her wedding was the last thing he planned to do. He wasn’t even angry at Leo anymore, now that he suspected what had happened. He blinked and shook his head, knowing he should not be buying into Katie’s crazy, but he couldn’t help himself. Her story…

  He straightened up abruptly. Katie’s story ended with her main character loving him. Was that what she wanted? Or did she complicate it for entertainment’s sake? Good gracious. Was he actually contemplating crashing a wedding? He pushed the beer away from him, planning on staying as sober as a judge. Nothing could screw up good cheer like a jilted not-even-ex-lover showing up on your doorstep.

  The doorbell rang. Will scoped the room and narrowed his gaze on Shawna. She was even sneakier than Charlie. “Shawna, if that’s Mother at the door, I will take great pleasure in wringing your pretty little neck.”

  Her plump plum-colored lips spread into a wide smile. “I’m innocent. But if I weren’t, I’d sure like to see you try.”

  Will shook his head and wondered who in the hell else could be at his door? He looked out the peephole fully expecting his mother to have had a psychic moment and be standing there with a casserole. Instead, it was even worse.

  Mel and Leo stood at his door.

  * * * *

  Katie’s hands were shaking, but she wasn’t cold. The day of her wedding had arrived. She glanced outside at the clear blue sky, marveling at how pretty it looked, but how deceptive it seemed. She’d be shivering in a single second if she stepped out there without a heavy coat on. She sat on the edge of the bed in her fancy hotel room, dressed in only her white pantyhose and frilly undergarments.

  She hadn’t seen Leo in over twenty-four hours. It was normal to not see the groom right before the wedding, but this situation was slightly different. She hadn’t even talked to him. Honestly, after the last few days, she was beginning to
think he might not even show up. The wedding was scheduled for six p.m. A quick glance at the clock showed her it was barely lunchtime. She picked up the phone, ordered room service, and sat back against the headboard.

  Piper and Sherry would be here soon. She hoped Mel would, too. Last night’s conversation haunted her. Mel was in love with her fiancé. She didn’t even deny it. But she didn’t seem concerned about it when she talked to Katie. Her concern was for her, which hurt in a palpable way. Mel cared about her so much she was willing to walk away from something that Katie might have fought for if the roles were reversed. Did that mean she was a horrible person?

  When she really thought it about it, though, Katie knew she was weak. Her heart belonged to a man she had no business being with. He both aggravated her and delighted her. His touch made her skin burn. She wanted to stare at his topaz eyes every day for the rest of her life. Instead, she was sitting there half-naked waiting for an order of fried cheese and a milkshake. She didn’t deserve Will, especially if she refused to fight for him. Leo’s amber eyes floated in her mind. He was kind, loving, and successful—everything she wanted in a man.

  But he wasn’t Will.

  The knock on the door of her room jostled her out of the morose thoughts she was experiencing. She threw on her white robe and opened the door to see Mel standing in front of her, haggard and worn.

  “Good Lord,” Katie said as she took in her friend’s appearance. “I’m pretty sure they don’t sell concealer by the truckload.”

  “Shut up.” Mel pushed her aside to walk into the room. “Did you order room service?”

  Katie nodded. “Call them back and order double of what you just did,” Mel said as she tossed her purse onto the chair.

  “Ummm, fried cheese and milkshakes?”

  Mel shook her head, her mouth twitching. “I swear to God. You’re twelve.”

  When Katie made no move to pick up the phone, Mel stared at her. “Well, what are you waiting for? Chop chop. And make sure they put double ranch on the tray.”