Even if we had to catch a killer to do it.
Chapter 37
Julia
All the save-the-date cards I'd received over the years usually came about a year before the wedding. Invitations typically arrive six to twelve weeks before the date.
So people have time to plan, and are less likely to have scheduling conflicts.
But since we had to do this fast, I had to blame someone for having the wedding so quickly. That meant Quentin would have to be the fall guy. I’d make it up to him later.
"Quentin gave me three weeks!" I practically shouted into the phone. "Well, three weeks for therealwedding. We already did the courthouse thing two days ago."
Chiara Moretti-Bianchi laughed. "Wait, you're already married?"
"Legally, yes. But you know how it is—we wanted to make it official for practical reasons, but we need a real wedding. For the families. For tradition."
"So you eloped and now you're having a do-over in three weeks?" She paused. "Are you pregnant?"
"No!" I fumed. "I'm not pregnant. It's just—we're in love—and there were some legal and business reasons to get marriedquickly. But we want to do it right. You know, Church, families, the whole thing."
"Very romantic."
I couldn't tell Chiara the real reason behind the ludicrous schedule. She was still a Moretti—and while I trusted her and believed our friendship was genuine—there were bigger issues at play. Life and death issues. Namely, that her family may have tried to kill me. So, I had to withhold as much about the secret as I could without outright lying to her. I hoped—long term—we could remain besties.
"I guess you'd better send out invitations soon?" Chiara asked.
She sounded sincere but I wanted to see her face. "Can we switch to video?"
"I'm a mess."
"I don't care."
"Hold on."
I could hear the sounds of things being thrown.
"I'm back. Sorry. Clothes. Toys. The room's a mess. You're sure you're not pregnant?" She appeared made-up in the video, as if in the ten seconds she was throwing things around the house, she'd also put on makeup, and had pulled her hair into a bun.
"I'm not. The courthouse wedding was just paperwork—we barely had witnesses. This one is the real thing. The one that counts."
"You don't have to explain." She smiled and wiggled her eyebrows. "Lots of couples do the legal stuff first these days. It's actually pretty smart. And now you get to have the big celebration without worrying about the boring parts. It's cute and romantic. Okay, how can I help?"
I summoned my courage for the big ask that was coming. "Will you be my matron-of-honor?"
"Of course!"
Her answer sent a wave of relief through me. "Great, thank you. I'm going to owe you big time when this is done. I need to make a list—"
"Let me make the list. I'll cut and paste from Emma's wedding. And Elena's. I've got this, I've been a bride's maid six times, you know?" Chiara raised her arms in a this-will-be-a-breeze gesture of confidence.
"No?" I tried to remember all the weddings, but drew a blank after Emma and Elena. "Six?"
"And matron-of-honor twice. That's eight weddings. This'll be a piece of cake."
"You ever plan a wedding in three weeks?" I asked.
"This will be my first, love." She held up an index finger. "But trust me. I can get this done."
