Already one of Jason’s groomsmen are proving to be exactly as helpful as I expected they would all be.
“Does Oliver know that when he’s on call he can still leave the house and do things?”
“Yeah, but he uses that as an excuse to get out of things he doesn’t want to do.”
“You think I want to be here? I have a ton of things I’d rather do than sit here with you.”
He smirks. “Oh yeah, like what?”
“Pour lemon juice into paper cuts.”
Reid rolls his eyes. “Where’s Charlie? Isn’t he supposed to be here?”
“Probably taking care of his sick wife, who will also not be here,” I supply.
“I’m not sure where Ricky is, but he’s notoriously flaky.”
“Same with Jessica.”
I’m still surprised Kate keeps in touch with her college roommate, especially considering how catty she always said Jessica was, but apparently they’re close enough that she’s in the wedding and willing to travel to Positano with us. Which I was not very thrilled about, but it’s not my wedding.
“They’ll make a great bridal party pair,” Reid muses. “Lydia?”
I shrug. “Something with Brad. So I guess it’s just you and me,” I say, my voice carrying a solemnity like I’m preparing to plan a funeral and not a couples’ wedding shower.
“It appears that way.” His voice holds something I can’t quite decipher. A cross between irritation and frustration and impatience I think.
“Well I’m going to need a vat of caffeine to deal with this,” I say, turning to look at the chalkboard menu above the coffee counter as if I ever order anything besides a caramel latte.
“Here’s your coffee, Reid,” a sweet voice says from next to the table. We both look at the barista, curly dark hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and a bright, intoxicating smile that even makes me want to stare at her. When neither of us says anything, she sets a paper cup on the table in front of him, her wide smile completely unperturbed by our silence. He arches his brow as he studies it.
“I didn’t order this.”
She lifts a delicate shoulder, a blush creeping along her high cheekbones. “Yeah, but I remembered what you got last time you were here.”
He looks up from the cup to her in disbelief. “I’ve only been here twice.”
“You’re hard to forget.” She winks at him. “I wrote my number on the cuff again. Please use it this time.”
He lifts the cup and twists it until he finds the phone number scrawled across it. “Maybe,” he mutters.
Somehow seeming to take this as a promise, the barista smiles at him before strutting off. I watch her walk away, glancing back at him twice before getting back to her post behind the espresso machine. When I turn back to Reid, he’s sipping his drink like nothing even happened.
“Does that happen to you often?”
He looks up at me. “What?”
“That.” I gesture to the girl twirling her hair as she looks his way. “People delivering you free food and gifts as they fawn over you.”
“I’m going to pay for this.”
I roll my eyes. “Besides the point.”
He sets the cup down and sighs. “More than I’d like for it to happen.”
I finally toss my bag on the table and take the wooden chair across from him. “Wow, I’m in the presence of greatness. How did I ever get so lucky to spend my days off with you?”
“Your sister,” he deadpans. Then he gestures to the notebooks and pens and Kate’s thorough checklist I’ve started unpacking on the table in front of us. “And her wedding.”
