“Yeah? How am I going to do that with his girlfriend around?”
Callie asked me if it would be alright if she invited Loralei for the sake of being inclusive because of her relationship with Wes. I told her that was her decision, and I understood her wanting to make Loralei feel welcome in our group.
Would it be weird and awkward as hell? Yes. But it wasn’t about me.
“Well, about that…she’s not coming. She thanked me for inviting her but said she had something going on.”
“Oh…”
I know I shouldn’t have felt relieved…but I was.
I spent the last week planning Callie’s portion of our trip to Monaco. Since the girls would be doing their own thing for the first few days before we met up with the guys to celebrate the final two days together, I took the reins as maid of honor to ensure the bride-to-be was pampered the way she deserved.
I also spent the week playing out different scenarios in my head and working out ways I could approach Wes on this trip and ask if we could talk.
When my Uber pulled up to the tarmac where Lucas’schartered plane sat waiting, I spotted Blake and Gabe walking up the stairs of the aircraft. I suddenly felt more on edge than I already was, knowing Wes was likely already sitting on that plane.
I let out a breath and slipped out of the car just as two more vehicles pulled up. I watched Wes’s friend Chad get out of one and sling a small bag over his shoulder while pulling another behind him as he made his way to the plane.
Haley slipped out of the other car, grabbing her bag from the back. “Hey,” she said with a grin when she saw me.
“Hey.” I looked at Chad again just before he disappeared into the plane. “I thought he wasn’t coming?”
“I guess he reached out a couple of days ago and told them his schedule cleared up,” she told me with a shrug.
“Oh.” I grabbed my bag and fell into step beside her as we walked toward the plane. Callie appeared in the doorway at the top of the stairs, and I grinned. “Ready to get your bachelorette on?” She smiled as she descended the stairs and greeted Haley as they crossed paths on her way up. When Callie stopped in front of me, her expression told me something was amiss. “What’s wrong?”
“I tried calling you,” she said quietly.
My brow creased as I dipped my hand into my purse on my shoulder. When I pulled out my phone, I saw a few missed calls and message notifications. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I had it on silent.” I looked at her again. “Is everything okay?”
Callie smiled halfheartedly as she linked her arm through mine and guided me up the stairs of the plane. “Well…there was a last-minute addition…”
When we hit the top of the stairs and turned the corner into the cabin area, my gaze flickered around, and I froze.
I swallowed thickly, forcing a small smile when I saw Loralei sitting beside Wes.
Chapter 49
Laying on my stomach,I exhaled a sigh of contentment as a pair of strong hands slowly slid from my shoulders down my back. The sound of the ocean from outside the curtained cabana and the masseur’s skilled touch lulled me into a perfect state of tranquility.
It didn’t last long.
“I wonder what Wes and Lucas would think if they knew some hot beach boys had their hands all over us, Callie,” Loralei tittered.
My eyes snapped open and met the white shoes of my masseur through the opening of the face-down pillow. The tranquility all butvanished.
Callie, Grace, Haley, me, andLoraleiwere on the private beach outside of our hotel in Monte Carlo. We were secluded inside of a concealed cabana for massages I had scheduled for us.
Loralei’s impromptu addition to the trip had thrown me for more than one loop.
After originally declining Callie’s invitation, Loralei called Wes late the night before departure to let him know her plans had changed and she’d be attending after all. It threw everything into a frenzy. Lucas had to update the flight manifest at the last minute to include the extra passenger. The girls were staying in a different hotel the first few days, and we had to call to get an extra room. And everything I scheduled in advance had to be rearranged to add her on.
It also threw a wrench in my plans to try to talk to Wes. No, I had no intention of saying anything about my feelings, but talking to him about everythingelsewasn’t something I wanted to do with his girlfriend there.
We spent the last two days catering to Callie…well, Haley, Grace, and I did. Loralei, however, had spent the entire time on her damn phone or complaining.
The shopping we did was too boring for her.
