“Hey!” Riley says cheerily as she senses Charlotte’s presence.
“Hey, how’s it going?” is her own curt greeting. She decides Riley’s answer is not worth listening to and practically throws herself at the fake wedding officiant by holding out her hand and offering her a beaming smile.
“Charlotte, meet Adriana,” Riley says before Charlotte can speak.
Charlotte’s smile doesn’t waver as Adriana shakes her hand. “And… Adriana can’t speak for herself?” she says, her tone deadly. She takes in the woman who will pretend to marry their friends tomorrow, and silently judges her jean shorts and perfect jaw.
“I can,” Adriana responds with a light chuckle. “It’s nice to meet you, Charlotte. Riley and I have been talking—”
“You two know each other?” Charlotte’s head whips to the side, shooting lasers through her eyes.
“No, we just met,” Riley answers. “Adriana lives here. She told me she often does weddings for—”
“Answering for her again?” Charlotte’s patience is running thin. “Let the woman speak, Riley.”
Riley’s jaw snaps shut, visibly taken aback by Charlotte’s sharpness.
“I’m sure the wedding stress has us all on edge today,” Adriana attempts to diffuse the situation with a warm smile.
Charlotte decides that she doesn’t need her to do that, and that she doesn’t like the dimple in her chin. “So let’s get to work,” she says, pointing around the garden. “Let’s marry these motherfuckers.”
As Adriana walks off to retrieve her bag, Riley leans in and whispers: “Are you okay?”
Charlotte flashes her widest smile. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“You seem… tense.”
“Oh do I?” Charlotte plucks her sunglasses from her hair and pointedly puts them on her nose. “Funny observation. Since you seem uninterested. In me, at least.”
Riley inhales sharply. “What do you mean?”
“No ‘good night Charlie’, no text...”
“I watched you run away! You looked like you needed space!” Riley interrupts her in a loud whisper.
“You didn’t exactly ask,” Charlotte accuses her, knowing full well she would’ve pushed Riley away even if she had.
“I called after you! I wanted to call you, but your phone was on Do Not Disturb!”
“It’s fine, Riley. I know I was just a project for you. You can stop sneaking around with Hannah now.”
“Hannah? Who is— wait, what does Hannah have to do with—”
“I’d just expected you to let me down a little more gently, or at least a little later. To be honest, I would’ve called it off after the wedding if you hadn’t.”
“A project?!” Riley is struggling to keep her voice down. “You think I would—”
“Alright ladies, where to begin?” Adriana interrupts their heated conversation as she approaches, either clueless of their bickering or pretending to be. “Lets assume the guests have just arrived. What happens next?”
“Yeah, rehearsal coordinator,” Riley sneers, crossing her arms and turning her upper body to Charlotte. “What happens next? Do you have your notes for us?”
Of course she doesn’t have notes. Riley knows as well as she does that they’ve been too busy doing… other things to properly prepare the rehearsal.
“Left them in my room,” Charlotte lies confidently. She winks at Adriana, taps her temple and says: “Got ‘em all up here.”
Riley scoffs audibly and Charlotte’s skin prickles at the realisation she has apparently struck a chord with her.
“So, Lou will get walked down the aisle by her mom first.” Charlotte makes it up on the spot, tracing a line with her finger from the hotel to the gazebo. “Gabi second, accompanied by her dad. You can tell the guests to take a seat—”
