“I’m not letting you get between me and my dream wedding!” she snaps.
Francine clears her throat. “She’s not the one getting between you and your dream wedding, Katrina.”
Silence falls between us. The most awkward kind. It’s heavy and it presses down on my shoulders, but I give Francine an appreciative nod before I try to talk some sense into Katrina.
“Listen,” I say, “I get that you don’t like me. Honestly, I don’t like you either.”
In spite of herself, Katrina laughs. “And yet, here we are.”
“Because I’m a damned good wedding planner, and you know it. So does Sheila. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here, trying so hard to do my job.” I sigh. “What happened between Terrence and me is in the past. I will never,everlet my company or my professional reputation suffer because of my feelings. I want my brides to be their happiest on their wedding day.
“That meanstheirchoices,theirdesigns,theirtastes to define the moment. Visually, musically, gastronomically, you name it. I point at her. I want you to have the dream weddingyouwant, not Sheila, so I’m going to ask you one more time, do you want the lilies for your bouquet?”
She thinks about it for a long, hard, almost excruciating second. Judging by the look on Francine’s face, she’s on the edge of her seat.
“Sheila will be mad,” Katrina sighs deeply.
“What is she going to do? Force you to cancel the wedding over a bouquet?” Francine can’t take it anymore. “I’ll bet itwas Sheila who told you that you needed to lose a few more pounds, too.”
Katrina nods slowly. “About ten, she said.”
“It’s not going to happen unless you get rid of one of your implants,” I mutter.
“Excuse me?” She spins around, ready to pull out one of those pins on her gown and shove it right in my eye.
I raise my hands in a defensive manner. “It’s the truth. You’re almost skin and bones. Sheila isn’t the one getting married, Katrina. And you’re even more insufferable when you’re hungry and miserable with the design choices for your own wedding. I mean, there’s only so much I can do unless you put your foot down.”
“What do you expect me to do?”
“Pick your own damn flowers!” I explode. “Take charge of your wedding, Katrina. Sheila had hers.Twice!”
Francine stifles a laugh as she pretends to go over her notes, but I see the glance Katrina steals at her. Deep down, she knows I’m right. With a dramatic eye roll, she gives me a slight nod.
“Go with the lilies.”
“Wonderful. Thank you.” I jot that down, one eye already on the next item that needs her approval. “What about the napkins and the napkin rings?”
“The white ones with the silver corners,” she says. “And the rings with the tiny little carvings, the little pretty holes, what are they called again?”
“Filigree,” I reply. “Duly noted, Katrina,thank you.”
She’s not unreasonable. I doubt I’d ever want to go out for coffee with her, but she’s not a bad person. Her circumstances and the people who exert their influence on her are what makes her difficult to work with. On the one hand, I can’t blame her for going out of her way to please Sheila. But if Katrina doesn’t set her boundaries early on, she’s going to end up marrying both Terrenceandhis mother.
“Okay, moving on. Are you set on the wedding cake? The bakery sent us three different models.”
Katrina shakes her head. “Sheila hasn’t gone over them yet. I mean, I know what I want, but she should at least get a chance to give her input.”
“Again, I don’t think?—”
“It’s my wedding, Willow!” She exhales sharply. Francine steps back to get some measuring tape. “Don’t push it.”
“Wow.”
“I get you helping me put my foot down or whatever, but I’m not going to make a wedding cake choice without at least asking Sheila for her opinion. Maybe that’s why it didn’t work out between you and Terrence. You never asked for her input”
“I assure you that wasn’t it.”
“Willow was too much woman for a weasel like Terrence,” Toby cuts in.
