Mostly.
I haven’t actively avoided Theo since I got home from college, but I haven’t been sad that our paths have rarely crossed.
She sags in relief while Chandler swings the tennis racket at something.
“What—” I start but stop myself whenhereyelid starts twitching.
“The bugs here really like Chandler,” she whispers. “This is maybe not his ideal wedding spot.”
“That’s…?”
“An electrified tennis racket bug zapper. Theo got it for him and he was super annoyed at first, but now he’s using it all the time. So. You ready?”
Right.
Ready.
For my job. Theone thingthat will make my best friend happiest during her wedding week.
Theo’s circling the pool closer to the groom’s table. His shaggy light brown hair lifts in the breeze as he holds a tray with a final pineapple drink in one hand and the flamingo reins in his other. His hair isn’tlong. More due for a haircut, which is a big change from the days that he kept it buzzed close to his scalp, which was a direct result of an incident with a match and fermented apple juice in the middle school cafeteria. And if he wasn’tTheo, I might be gawking at his tattooed chest too, like Claire is.
But it’s Theo.
And he’s definitely headed toward Chandler, which is the one thing I’ve been asked to make sure doesn’t happen.
“I’m on it,” I say.
Didnotsee this coming, but I probably should’ve.
Why would Theo be anyone but himself even here in paradise? And who else can Emma trust to make him behave beyond her biggest wet blanket of a friend?
I stifle a sigh. When doIget to have fun?
Not when your best friend needs you to make sure she gets the wedding of her dreams.
“I swear, I’ll get you another room before your parents get here,” she says. “Them too if we can’t get another bungalow.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of that too.” We’ve been besties for alongtime. It’s pretty normal for her to know I don’t want my parents knowing I’ll be spending a lot of time with Theo.
Just like I can tell you she’s having nerves but knows this is what she wants, and once she gets through making sure her wedding week goes great, everything will be amazing and they’ll start a family soon and she’ll be the happiest Emma to ever Emma in the history of Emmas.
Theo pauses next to Chandler’s table and offers the table a pineapple with the paper umbrella.
And then it happens.
As he’s standing there extending the tray of drinks, Theo sneezes.
And I don’t actually meansneezes.
Normal people?
Normal people sneeze.
Theo, however, has a full-body, full-lung, full-nose, full-vocal-cord seizure that sounds like a freight train slamming its brakes and honking its horn at full speed.
He is one ofthosesneeezers.
It’s sudden.
