He shrugs. “I’ll have to look into it and get back to you.”
Sienna narrows her eyes. “Leave that detail out of the stories.”
I roll my eyes at her. “Can you please provide me with a script for what to say if your fiancé asks for additional details about the bachelorette party I threw for you?” I hold up a palm. “Wait. Let me give it a shot. First, we drank a glass of champagne while we discussed your flight and lamented the status of air travel these days. Next, we moved on to dinner, where we dined on salad and the collective air of superiority around the table.” I know I should stop talking, but I’m offended andworried. Why doesn’t Sienna feel comfortable telling her future husband the truth?
She sniffs. “I don’t know what your problem is, but you’re being really mean to the bride.”
I know what my problem is from a high-level, but I also don’t know what it is in this precise moment. Overwhelm, I think, and indignation. Repressed feelings.Suspicion toward Sienna’s editing of her bachelorette party. Not a great combination.
Unsurprisingly, Shane chooses the worst time to stride into the room. Sienna swipes under her eyes quickly, blinking twice and plastering on her face a smile faker than my relationship.
“Pais,” Shane calls, frat boy style, like I’m his bro. We haven’t seen each other in three years, and this is how he chooses to greet me?
Crooking one arm around my shoulders, he pulls me in for an awkward side hug while also shaking me. “Hey, Shane,” I say quickly, stepping out of his embrace.
Klein reaches for my hand, pulling me until my back meets his chest. Shane looks over my shoulder at Klein, recognition lighting up his eyes.
“I know you from somewhere,” he says, pointing at Klein. His finger taps the air like he’s hitting a piano key.
Klein puts us all out of our misery by saying, “We were in the same creative writing class in college.” His arm snakes around me possessively. “Paisley, too.”
Shane’s eyes dart from Klein to me, then he snaps his fingers. “That’s right. You made Paisley cry. Not an easy task.” He pretends to punch my arm. “There might as well be a force field around this one.”
I stiffen.
Klein chuckles, but the sound is lessthat was funnyand morekeep saying things like that and see what happens.“Interesting thing about force fields is that they’re effective at keeping out the bad. But the good? That penetrates.”
Shane’s forehead wrinkles with his struggle to makesense of Klein’s words. “Right,” he says slowly. “Anyway, thanks for coming to our wedding. Wasn’t sure Paisley had it in her.”
My foot lifts, and I have every intention of stomping on his toes, but Klein hauls me in closer. He nuzzles my hair. The stream of air across my skin as he breathes, his nearness, his damn scent, it combines to distract me. Soothe me.
Then he says, “Paisley and I debated about coming this week, but she reminded me the beach is still on our list of places we want to have sex. So”—I feel his shrug—“here we are.”
Normally a comment like that would mortify me, but the look on Shane’s face? The mortification is worth it.
Shane’s head rears back. It actually, measurably moves. He recovers by grabbing my sister by the waist and kissing her temple. “Did you hear that, babe? They’re in that new relationship infatuation stage. It took us forever to finally get through that, remember?”
“Mm hmm,” Sienna says, nodding along.
“I think you put us back into it with this ‘no sex the week leading up to the wedding’ nonsense.”
Irritation flickers over Sienna’s expression, but she quickly stows it. “I just thought it would be fun and romantic.”
Shane frowns. “It is neither.”
Silence settles over us. Somewhere else in the house are the sounds of a television, a low buzz of conversation, but here in this kitchen it’s only awkward air, thick and sliceable.
“Oh!” Sienna throws up her hands. She looks gratefulto have remembered something, to have a reason to rush to her oversized bag slung on a kitchen chair. “I have your itinerary for the week.”
She presses an ivory sheet of textured 8.5 x 11 paper into my hand. It matches the stationary her wedding invitation was printed on.
Wedding Week Itinerary:
Sunday - Travel & Beach/Bonfire
Monday - Dad arrives; Dinner
Tuesday - Assemble ‘thank you’ gifts; Mixer at Shane’s house.
