“Ma’am, you can have the puppy if you want.”
Brea chewed on her lip. “I live in a small room in an even smaller apartment.”
“I can’t take him,” Jack said. “My dog can’t handle it.” Milo was bouncing around Brea, trying to lick the puppy.
They all turned to look at me.
“I can’t take a dog.”
“Just keep him for tonight!” Brea pleaded. “Maybe Evan and Ivy will want him.”
“Great. All settled,” the captain said, waving his crew toward the door.
“What? No it’s not! You need to take this dog with you!”
But the firemen ignored me and filed out, carting their gear with them.
Jack waved at me as he followed them. “I called maintenance to come take care of the foam.”
Brea yawned. Then the puppy yawned.
“I need some coffee,” Brea said, blinking.
“Coffee?” I hissed at her. “My insurance better not go up because of you. Between you and this wedding, you’re costing me millions.”
“Me!” Brea sputtered.
The puppy looked up at me indignantly.
“You and your ‘helping’ are costingmemoney! I am supposed to be sewing, but instead I have to micromanage your website design.”
13
Brea
My alarm blared too early the next morning. I fumbled around in the dark to start my first in a long line of cups of coffee. Then I remembered that Mark’s office had ruined my coffeepot.
“Honestly,” I complained as I dressed, “I’ve had that pot for years, ever since I rescued it from a dumpster, and that man with his fancy-pants office ruins it in one go.”
There was a coffeepot in the Weddings in the City office. It would have to do. I yawned, trying to ignore the pounding caffeine-withdrawal headache as I stumbled around to wash my face in the tiny bathroom with the cracked mirror, pull on a somewhat professional outfit, and grab my overstuffed sewing bag.
My dads were awake. Beau was wearing a turban and a muumuu and sailing around out in the living room, lovingly waking up each Roomba.
“I think something’s wrong with Princess,” he said in concern, patting one Roomba wearing a leopard-print pink bow. “She’s a little slow to wake up.”
I need to move.
“You want some tea, Jellybean?” Todd offered, holding out a cup to me. I wrinkled my nose.
“I need coffee in the morning.”
“But coffee won’t tell you your fortune!” Beau exclaimed, swirling his tea around in his cup.
“Does the tea give winning lottery numbers?” I asked. “Because that’s the only kind of fortune I want.”
* * *
The train was pullingup right as I huffed into the station. My parents lived near the end of the line, so I was still able to get a seat.
