Angelica hesitates. “I’m not sure how she would take that. She told her little brother not to tell you she was home.”
“Oh,” my heart falls. She’s still avoiding me.
“But in my semi-professional opinion, you should definitely see her. Whatever was between you two needs to be resolved before she can move on.”
“If I can’t just show up at her house, how do I see her?”
Angelica looks thoughtful. “She’ll be at a wedding all day tomorrow. I could tell you where it is if you wanted to crash it.”
fifty-six
Crashing
Isneak into the last pew in the chapel and keep my head down. I’ve never crashed a wedding before. I keep waiting for someone to ask me who I am and what I’m doing here, but so far no one has. Once I’m sitting down, I scan the benches ahead of me, searching for a familiar face, or at least a familiar back.
I don’t see her.
She must have decided not to come, or maybe she saw me and ran. Sounds about the way my luck has gone. I get up to leave, but the music starts and I’m trapped. The tall blond groom takes his place at the front of the room with the minister. A little girl skips down the aisle, scattering flowers. A long line of bridesmaids, arm in arm with groomsmen, walk down the aisle. It looks like this is going to be a long ceremony. I wonder if I can sneak out as soon as the procession is over.
My breath catches as the last bridesmaid walks through the door. It’s her. I’m immediately jealous of the guy walking her down the aisle.At least she isn’t with him. Stephens is in Korea. His turn to be in a foreign country and my turn to have her to myself.
I wish life were that fair.
I can’t take my eyes off Jess. She’s wearing a dress that’s shiny and clingy and emphasizes her curves. The neckline reaches her throat and crosses in the back, leaving her shoulders bare. An oval cut in the back of the dress shows the delicate curve of her lower back—probably the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
The person beside me taps my shoulder, and I realize everyone is standing. The bride walks in. I don’t recognize her. She’s pretty enough, but completely overshadowed by the bridesmaid at the end of the long line.
I watch Jess the entire time, but she doesn’t look at me once. When the ceremony is over, she keeps her eyes straight ahead as she walks out. I’m not sure if she hasn’t noticed me or if she’s pointedly ignoring me.
I stand around awkwardly during the cocktail hour. Jess and the rest of the wedding party are somewhere taking pictures. A few people try to make small talk with me, asking how I know the bride and groom. I answer truthfully, “I’m a friend of a friend of the bride.”
“You got dragged into the plus-one thing too,” a guy who looks like he’s already a couple of drinks into the open bar says. “Too bad. A couple of those bridesmaids are hot. Hard to hit on someone at a wedding when you’ve got a date, right?”
“Right,” I bristle as I think of him staring at Jess. I grab a drink for myself. I’m going to need the extra courage to get through the part where she sees me. Even if she throws me out, watching her in that dress for the whole ceremony was worth it.
Someone announces the transition to the dinner part of the evening. I follow the crowd, taking another drink with me. As soon as I see the dining room, I know I’m in trouble. There’s a map by the doorand little silver frames at each place setting to show who’s supposed to sit there.
“Can I help you find your seat?” The woman standing at the door with a clipboard must be the table guard. She’s smiling, short with fluffy white hair, but the set of her jaw reminds me of my first drill sergeant. I scan the map, seriously considering using someone else’s name, whoever they put next to Jess, but I can’t find her card. Everyone behind me is waiting. My tie feels too tight, and I’m sweating under my suit.
I clear my throat. “I don’t—”
“He’s with me,” her voice comes from behind me. “My plus one.”
I turn to face Jess. She shakes her head, but she looks more amused than annoyed that I’m here.
“And you are?”
“Jess Roberts.” She steps next to me.
The woman consults her notes. “I don’t see that your RSVP came with a plus one.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was going to be here until just now.” She gives me a meaningful look before studying the table map. “Can he take Kendra’s place? She wasn’t able to come.”
The table guard looks annoyed at the breach of protocol, but she nods.
“Thank you.” Jess hooks her arm through mine and leads me to one of the head tables. On the way there she whispers, “Are you so desperate for a good meal that you’ve resorted to wedding crashing?”
“Something like that.” We stop at the table, and I pull out her chair so she can sit down. We’re the first ones here, so I ask, “Who’s wedding is this anyway?”
