My stomach churns with my exhale. “It’s password protected.”
Kaylee’s fierce eyes harden. “What’s the passcode for his main phone?”
“I don’t know,” I admit, my voice turning squeaky.
All three of my best friends scoff and exchange concerned looks.
Harper, my maid of honor for tomorrow and my bestie since childhood, mutters, “Gee, that’s not a red flag or anything, Iris.”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions here,” Brandon’s sister interjects. But it’s clear from my friends’ facial expressions that horse has already left the barn.
“Does Brandon haveyourpasscode?” Harper asks.
I nod. “But mine is easy—my birthday. And I don’t have any confidential client information on myphone, the way Brandon does.” That’s the reason Brandon has always kept hisphone confidential—because of some insurance regulation that requires all agents to ...
Oh my God.
Am I the most gullible person alive? I’ve never thought of myself that way before this moment, but suddenly, it seems entirely possible.
Tatiana, the more reserved of my two college besties, wags her finger at the phone in my hands. “Try his birthday.”
I input her suggestion, but no dice.
Harper and Kaylee both offer additional ideas, but again, nothing works.
I’m panting now. Officially freaking out. “I’ve only got two more guesses before it locks me out, ladies,” I say, my voice tight. “And I’m out of ideas.” I look at Brandon’s sister, Delilah, since she’s the only one who hasn’t offered a suggestion yet. She grew up in the same household with my future husband, after all, so she’s got to have at leastonenew idea. “Delilah?” I choke out. “Got any ideas for the passcode?”
Delilah swallows hard. “I think you should call my big brother and ask him about the phone.” When everyone pushes back, she shouts, “You’re marrying him tomorrow, Iris! Don’t you thinkyou should trust him enough to give him the benefit of the doubt, instead of sneaking around behind his back?”
As Delilah says those last words, I feel a lot of things in a torrent. Deflated. Appalled. Offended. But not the least bit surprised. Delilah’s always idolized her charming, charismatic big brother, the same way everyone does—only more so, since Brandon is her blood and has always been her family’s golden child. What’s that old saying?Blood is thicker than water.Apparently, Delilah Gladstone is going to prove that maxim today in spades.
Kaylee grits out, “Delilah, the only person sneaking around here is Brandon.”
“I agree,” Harper offers quickly. “No offense, Delilah, but you’re giving Iris some terrible advice.”
Nodding furiously, Tatiana pipes in to say, “If that phone really is work related, then fantastic; Iris will find that out when she gets into it. But if not, then why give Brandon the chance to gaslight her about it before—”
“Gaslighther?” Delilah booms, shocking me with both her volume and intensity. “My brother would neverdo that, any more than he would do whatever you all think he’s doing with that damned phone.”
The poor girl looks like she’s having an existential crisis, and I can’t blame her. Before this moment, I never would have believed, not in a million years, that Brandon would be capable of owning a secret phone—one he tucked away in the toiletry bag he’s taking on our honeymoon. And yet, over the past several minutes, as my brain has furiously connected dots that were there all along, I’m suddenly feeling extremely suspicious my soon-to-be-husband might be capable of doing a lot of things I never would have believed. Is Brandon even hosting a poker night tonight, like he told me? Surely, my father and brotherwould have told me if not.Right?My head is spinning with possibilities—all of them terrible.
“Delilah, please think about this rationally,” Kaylee interjects, an indignant hand on her hip. “What’s the harm in Iris getting into that phone, if it’s only going to prove your brother’s innocence?”
“It’s about trust,” Delilah insists.
“Trust?” Tatiana booms, making me flinch. Normally, Tatiana is the more soft-spoken of my two college besties, but that particular retort was delivered in an ear-piercing shout. “Sorry, Delilah, but trust flew out the window when Brandon hid that phone from Iris in a pocket of his toiletry bag!”
“We don’t know that he hid it,” Delilah screams back. “He put it there—ifthat’s his phone at all.”
Trembling, I raise my palms to the group. “Everyone, calm down. Please. This isn’t productive.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a deep breath, trying to wrangle my racing thoughts and hammering heart. “Maybe Delilah is right. Maybe I should bring the phone to the hotel and ask Brandon—”
“So he can deny it’s his?” Harper yells. “No, Iris.”
Kaylee adds, “Or delete everything on it before handing it over to you?”
“Exactly,” Tatiana agrees. “Don’t you dare do that, Iris.”
Delilah visibly bristles. “Wow, you all don’t like my big brother very much, do you?”
