He nodded.But he was still pissed.
“What happened to staying on the same page?Knowing exactly what was going on?”his brother asked.“Did you throw that out with the knish water?”
“I didn’t.I thought she did.”
His brother shook his head.“You will not bail on the bachelor party or the wedding.You do that, and it’s my ass on the line.Not yours.Got it?”
Because of course if he pulled out now, he would look like the irresponsible asshole that everybody thought he was.“Right.”
“You stick to my side during the bachelor party, and you say nothing.Not a thing.”
“Because that bachelor party is going to be full of the least sympathetic audience on the planet?”
His brother shook his head.“No.Because those guys give good advice, and you’re not ready for it.You might get punched by at least three of them, and you’re definitely not ready for that either.”
Which, his brother was right about.Jason was neither ready for advice, nor was he willing to discuss anything.He was done and he didn’t want to be reminded about any of it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Bachelor/bachelorette party weekend
Wedding minus five days
Saturday, May 10th
The bachelorette partyLiv had planned was the perfect getaway; of course, Charlotte had supplied cake after teaching the group how to make one of Judith’s favorite pastries.
There was wine, which Naomi did her best not to drink too much of, and gossip.
But of course, Saturday night, while Naomi was still raw from the events the day before, was game time.
The truth or dare game was turned into advice or dare, where each of the attendees had to either take a dare, or take the opportunity to give Judith advice on relationships, life, and love.
Which was a nice twist on the traditional concept.
But when it became Naomi’s turn at the end of the first round, she made an alcohol-fueled mistake.“Advice,” she said.
Judith nodded.“Ready.”
“Don’t sleep with your best friend.And especially don’t intertwine your personal and professional lives with one person.”
The silence that followed reminded Naomi of a few different things.
First, how horrible a choice it had been to play this game, fueled by alcohol along with her cousins, her sister, and a few of her cousin’s friends.
Second, how awful it had been to choose advice instead of a dare when her lips were loose anyway.Because even though Leah had promised to be quiet, the words out of her mouth had intrigued everybody.And the last thing Naomi wanted to do was to be the object of intrigue in the middle of a bachelorette party.
“What?!”Liv asked.
“What the hell is going on?”Judith asked.“Someone tell me in very clear syllables, before I charter a plane to Michigan myself, so I can get some answers.”
“I don’t need the cavalry rushing to my rescue,” she said, not even bothering to correct Judith’s assumption as to where the source of her problem was at the moment.She was done hiding the former situationship as it was.“Please.I’m okay.”
Liv was the one who laughed.“Anybody with eyes can see you’re not.”
Naomi then turned to her sister.“Can you respect my wishes and not turn this into a circus?”
Liv nodded, and Leah came over from the other side of the room.“We’re here for you,” Liv said.
