"Her apartment is a small space," Kate said. "I think you two would be fine if you can convince her to move in somewhere larger."
"But you do need to pick up your stuff," Grant added, pointing to a laundry basket on the table. "That’s what the cleaner picked up of yours when she came by today."
Carter grimaced.
"I'm sure she'll stop being so irritable after this wedding is over," Kate said.
"At least it's not a dry wedding," Grant commented.
"Oof," Kate said.
"Yeah, I went to one military wedding that was dry," Carter said. "The bride's family was very religious, and so there was no alcohol."
"Was it as bad as it sounds?"
"Worse."
"This wedding will be fine," Grant said with a yawn. "It will all be over in a couple of days. There will be slight drama but nothing serious. Then when you get married, you can rail around and be a groomzilla and pay everyone back."
Carter shook his head. "I don't think Allie would go for that."
"Are you actually thinking of marriage with her?"
"I don't know. I guess so. Maybe."
"Allie would be a great wife," Kate said. "She's competent, independent, and doesn't freak out over nonsense. She's also trustworthy, and you can rely on her. I regularly ask her to help me with various tasks, and she always delivers."
Carter frowned. "I don't know. She's never that effusive."
"You mean like Stacy?" Grant asked.
Carter shuddered. "I guess I'd rather not have that extreme."
Carter gave it serious thought as he packed his clothes the next morning before they left for the wedding rehearsal. What would it be like to be married to Allie? He didn't know if they were in a good place for marriage now, but maybe in the future. He thought about settling down with her.
Maybe Kate was right, and Allie was just stressed with the wedding. Brandy could turn anyone into a gremlin, Carter thought. He actually kind of liked weddings, but Brandy was so off-putting that he was not looking forward to the ordeal.
Carter's tux was steamed and waiting for him on the door of the wardrobe. Brandy didn't want them in their uniforms. Which was fine by Carter—it was too warm to have to wear the heavy wool uniform.
They were a bit late to the rehearsal because of traffic. As soon as Carter stepped out of the car and hurried after Grant and Kate into the historic church in New Cardiff, he heard yelling.
Fernando silently handed him a flask of scotch when he saw Carter, and they watched as Brandy ran around, screaming at the bridesmaids and cursing at the wedding planner.
"I quit!" the wedding planner exploded, throwing down her clipboard.
"You can't quit!" Brandy screamed. "My wedding is tomorrow!"
"You are spoiled and ungrateful," the wedding planner yelled over her shoulder as she stormed out of the church.
Carter winced as Brandy let out a primal scream of pure rage. Everyone froze. No one knew what to do. Even her parents and sister looked shell-shocked.
"Brandy," Allie said quietly, picking up the clipboard, "we only have the church for another forty-five minutes." Brandy glared at her but stopped screaming.
"Please, let's run through this," Allie said to the priest. He cleared his throat, and the wedding party took their places.
"That was… something else," Kate said on the way over to the Holbrook estate for the rehearsal dinner.
The guests seemed subdued as they all headed up to the ballroom, where there were several round tables set with fancy place settings.
