The hair on the back of my neck stands up. “Sure.” I lower myself back down onto my chair.Crap. This is it—I know it is—the moment I’ve been dreading for the past two months: Kat’s about to tell me my services will no longer be required after the wedding. Yeah, yeah, I realize she’s been incredibly sweet to me these past two months, and, yes, I’m aware she’s taken to calling me Tessa—a habit she adopted when she heard her mom calling me that during a shopping excursion for Kat’s wedding dress with her mom, Sarah, and me—which she insisted I join because, she said, I know Josh’s taste better than she does. But, come on. I’m not a fool. A piece of me has always known Kat’s only been luring me into a false sense of security with all her crazy kindness, all in the name of cutting me off at the knees when she becomes Mrs. Faraday. And I can’t say I blame her. What sane woman would want another woman managing every aspect of her husband’s life the way I do for Josh? Surely, Kat is going to want to do everything for her new husband all by herself, as she should.
“Oh my gosh, Tessa,” Kat says sympathetically. “Don’t look so worried, honey. I just want to show you the last jersey in the box, that’s all.” Without further ado, she pulls the final jersey out and holds it up, revealing the nickname on its back:T-Rod.
Relief floods every cell in my body, all at once. “Wow. Thank you,” I say, taking the jersey from Kat. “That was so sweet of you to order this for me.” I try to smile broadly but my cheeks feel tight.“How’d you slip that sucker into the order? That was sneaky of you, Kat.”
Kat looks at Josh and smiles. “She doesn’t get it.”
“Well, then I guess you’d better explain it to her.”
Kat looks at me. “You don’t get it, do you?”
I stare at Kat blankly. “Get what?”
“Honey, this jersey isn’t a party favor, it’s aninvitation.”
I’m utterly confused and I’m sure my face shows it.
Josh chuckles. “Theresa, Kat and I want you to be our guest this week.”
“Huh?” I say stupidly.
Kat lays her cheek on Josh’s shoulder and her palm on his chest. “You’ve worked so incredibly hard for us to make this party amazing and now we want you to kick back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.” She points her index finger at me menacingly. “We want you to be our guest and we won’t take no for an answer, Tessa.”
“But...” I sputter. “There’s too much work to do.”
Josh scoffs. “If there’s still shit to do, hand it off to the dream team you hired. You do have a dream team, right? Because, otherwise, you’re fired for embezzling from me.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not embezzling from you, Josh.”
Josh laughs. “Yeah, come to think of it, you don’t seem to spend the truckloads of money I already pay you, so I don’t know why you’d steal even more.” He beams a huge smile at me. “What the hell do you do with all the money I pay you, by the way? I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
“I buy shoes,” I say. “Lots and lots of shoes.”
Josh chuckles.
“I love those sandals, by the way,” Kat says. “Adorbsicles.”
“What’s your size? I’ll order you a pair. Do you prefer this color or—”
“Nice deflection, T-Rod,” Josh says. “But I’m on to you.”
I sigh. “Look, guys. I really appreciate you thinking of me—it means more to me than I could ever express—but I can’t be a guest like everyone else. How could I possibly do that when there’s so much to oversee?”
Josh shrugs. “Easy. You just say ‘YOLO,’ knock back a few shots, have faith in the team you hired, and have the time of your life. Pretty simple, if you ask me.”
I argue the point for a bit, but it’s futile. Josh and Kat’s minds are clearly made up.
“You’re family, T-Rod,” Josh says, shocking the hell out of me—Josh has never said anything like that to me before. “It’d be weird to have you working all week—not to mention embarrassing to me. You want people thinking I’m a world-class douche for making you work this week? Come on, dude. Don’t make me look bad.”
“Tessa, we insist,” Kat says, and I’ll be damned, she looks completely sincere.
My chest is tight. This is a bit overwhelming, actually. Josh considers me family? And his bride is insisting I attend their weeklong celebration at this swanky resort as aguest? I swallow hard. “Thank you,” I say softly. “I accept your invitation. Once your guests have all arrived safely at the resort, I promise I’ll hand everything off to the activities director and her team and make myself available for emergencies only.”
“Perfect,” Josh says. “Beginning with the opening party tonight, I better see you drinking and letting loose. You got that, Miss Rodriguez?”
I sigh. “Yes, Mr. Faraday.”
“I’ll give you a bonus if you get shit-faced tonight, by the way.”
