Grace knocked on the suite door then entered with her camera equipment.
“Just here to take some getting-ready photos!”
The puppies, having chewed through the box, scrambled over to her.
“Are these the famous corgis?” Grace asked.
“Since they’re here,” I told her, “we should take some pictures of them with Imogen.”
Mika went to have her hair and makeup done first while I helped Grace set up the photos.
“Did you and Evan make up?” Grace asked as I tried to corral the puppies.
“As if!”
“But you’re back planning his sister’s wedding?”
“Did Amy tell you how much they’re paying us?”
“Oh, are we going to get an office?”
“Maybe a tiny one, like one of those rooms that are in someone’s attic space or something,” I told her.
“Boo. Well, are you going to give Evan another chance?” she cajoled as she directed me to rearrange the curtains.
“Doubtful. I threw a bag of marshmallows at him and told him I hated him,” I admitted.
“But if he apologizes…”
“He’s got baby momma drama.”
“I was at that wedding,” Grace reminded me, scooting one of the puppies back onto its pillow. “That baby could be anyone’s.”
“Including Evan’s.”
“You don’t want to throw him out before you even know. You’d basically be doing the same thing you accused him of doing, which was overreacting without having all the facts.”
“He evicted me from my home,” I protested.
Grace gave me a look that said “tough love incoming.” “The only reason that was able to happen was because you, against everyone’s advice—including Elsie, who used to be an accountant—decided to take out a second mortgage. That condo was a ticking time bomb.”
“Why are you so invested in this?” I shot at her then felt bad. Grace was just trying to be a good friend.
Grace lowered her camera. “Ever since I’ve known you, and that has been since freshman year of college, when you let me crash in your room while my slutty roommate was having a foursome in my dorm room, you’ve always been stressed out, worried, and uptight. Ever since you started dating Evan, you’ve been relaxed and happy and fun.”
“I’ve always been fun!” I countered.
“You’ve tried to have fun,” Grace said, “but you actually seemed happy around Evan.”
“He made me miserable,” I said. Grace raised an eyebrow. “And he and I were just hooking up.”
“Didn’t he take you urban picnicking and hang out with you and bring you dinner? That’s not hooking up; hooking up is insert tab A in slot B then GTFO. You were dating.”
“Ugh.” I laced my fingers in my hair and pulled, squeezing my eyes shut. I knew Grace was right. I did like Evan. But should I really give him another chance?
You should at least hear his side.
“Fine, I’ll think about maybe talking to him. But first I need to survive this wedding,” I said, quickly counting the puppies. “One, two, three, four… where’s number five?”
