“Well that’swonderful.” Her mother’s voice warmed. “Who is it?”
Names raced through her mind, but only one made any kind of sense. “His name’s Xavier. He’s a really nice guy, and we’ve been taking it slow while dating.”
I’m going to hell for this.
“Does Xavier have a last name?”
Her mind raced. “Hanover.”
“Xavier Hanover. Perfect. Does he have any dietary restrictions?”
“Huh?”
“For the meal, Justine. We have to get the meals settled by tomorrow. Though I’m sure we can fiddle a bit with the catering with the prices we’re paying,” Jeanine muttered.
“Uh, what I had. The steak, I think.”
“Okay. He will be dressed appropriately, I assume.”
“A suit and tie is fine, Mom. He doesn’t need a tux.”
“He’s not in the wedding party, so no. But I don’t want him to be outshone too much by my beautiful girl.”
Justine wanted to embrace the compliment, but it felt more like a warning. She could never be sure Jeanine meant to make Justine feel good or to make herself feel good for having given birth to such beauty.
“Okay, honey. That’s all I needed. Have a nice weekend! I’ll call if we need you to do anything else.”
The call disconnected, and Justine lay in bed, aware she’d just made a colossal mistake. She went through the motions of showering and cleaning up, the mint of her toothpaste barely there as she realized the impact of what she’d done.
Now she’d have to drag Xavier into her family drama... That was if he’d even go.
So nervous, she had no idea what to do about Xavier as she dressed in the first thing she dragged out of her closet, a paleblue tee-shirt dress, perfect to run a few errands. She worked on getting her head on straight while she dithered over how to break the news to Xavier.
Or to renege and just go with Cal.
She could always make some excuse to her mom that Xavier couldn’t attend. Why did it feel like such a big deal to have her mother choose her companion for the wedding, anyway? Losing control of her life for just one day shouldn’t be a big deal.
Yet that one day loomed like an eternity of hell on earth. Xavier seemed like the cure to all her problems. Her friend that she’d just thrown under the bus.
Too sick at her lie to eat, she threw on her sandals and grabbed her purse before realizing she hadn’t put on any makeup. But did it matter?
Of course, because if she went without, she’d no doubt run into a bazillion people she knew. And if she put it on, she’d end up seeing no one.
With a sigh, she decided on a quick swipe of mascara and eye liner just as someone knocked.
Startled, she hurried to the front door and looked through the peephole to seeXavier.
Her heart raced, and nerves flooded her.
The universe had apparently decided she should confront the victim of her ugly lies.
She opened the door to see him holding coffee and pastries, like the last time he’d come to visit.
With a groan, she welcomed him inside. “Hey, Xavier.”
“Oh boy. You sound terrible. But you’re up and dressed. What happened?”
She plunked herself at her kitchen table and sunk her head into her hands. “I have to apologize for something, and I’m so sorry. I just need you to hear me out.”
