Liz wiped her face. Her lip was still trembling. Allie felt bad about snapping at Liz. The speech was really almost for her own benefit, a splash of cold water to wake her up from her dreams about Carter.
"I guess you’re right," Liz said finally. "I was just envisioning our wedding and finally not being the only person in my friend group not to even have had a real boyfriend."
Allie patted Liz's hair back in place.
"Men are overrated," Allie said.
"And so are weddings to be honest. Brandy is giving me a headache. Look," she said, pulling out her phone.
Allie scrolled through the scores of messages Brandy had sent just that morning. "Goodness," she said. "She needs a wedding planner, no?"
"She has already had two of them quit."
Allie didn't know what to say to that. She was glad it wasn't her.
"Do you seriously live in a dump?" Liz asked after a moment.
Allie nodded.
"I'd say come live with me, but I have a studio, so I’m not sure it will help you."
"Don’t worry about it," Allie said. "It's only temporary. Plus I’m saving a fortune on rent."
"I have to meet with Brandy today," Liz told her as she fixed her makeup in the mirror. "Why don't you come and help? You could meet some more people and keep me from tearing out my hair."
Allie didn't want to, but she felt bad about Carter and about blowing up at Liz. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt just to help. "Okay," she said, relenting.
Liz beamed. "Also, I need to plan a bachelorette weekend," she told Allie.
Allie mentally calculated how much money that would be. She told herself she didn't really have to go anywhere, since she certainly wasn’t going to be asked to be a bridesmaid.
When Liz took her to meet Brandy, Allie thought the woman looked like a spider or a Disney villain—her gaze was piercing, her nails were long and sharp, and her hair was glossy and swung dangerously around her.
Allie stood in front of Brandy, and the bride-to-be clicked her nails on the table as she inspected Allie.
"Who is this, Liz?" she asked finally with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"This is Allie," Liz said nervously. "She's going to help me plan your wedding."
"Allie." Brandy carefully looked her up and down.
Allie felt inadequate in her thrift-store professional wear. She wondered if this was how Carter and his family truly looked at her. Maybe they were just better at hiding their derision.
"Where did you find her?" Brandy asked, turning up her nose.
"We, um—"
"We work together," Allie interjected. "I've had quite a lot of experience planning parties and large events."
"This is a wedding," Brandy interrupted.
"I’m sure you have an excellent wedding planner," Allie said snidely.
Brandy sniffed. "The woman is useless. That is why I need my bridesmaids, none of whom seem to be available to assist me in this most important event of my life."
"How shocking," Allie said.
"Since no one else seems to be willing to step up, especially notKate," she spat the name, "I suppose you will have to do. Goodness knows Liz can't handle it on her own."
