The Worst Wedding Date

The champagne is flowing in the limo as we pull up in front of the spa where we’re doing most of the pre-wedding prep. Hair. Makeup. Manicures. Pedicures.

Emma’s getting a full-body massage and wrap.

We’re all squealing that this is finally the day.

And I’m faking it.

Two weeks ago, I had no doubt this was what Emma was supposed to do with her life. Yes, Chandler took forever to propose. Yes, he’s sometimes an arrogant jerk.

But she’s said since they hooked back up after college that he’s the one.

That she knows it.

That they’re soulmates.

And she’s been so happy since college, I never doubted it.

Two weeks ago, if you’d told me Theo and Chandler didn’t get along great, I would’ve rolled my eyes and said of course they don’t, and I would’ve blamed Theo for it.

But now—now, I’m so conflicted that smiling hurts.

“What is wrong with you?” Sabrina whispers to me while Claire helps Emma pick out aromatherapy scents for her treatments in the spa lobby.

“Do you really think Chandler’s good for Emma?” I whisper back.

Her eye twitches.

My heart sinks. “That’s not a yes.”

“It’s not fair to make Emma suffer because her beloved is on my shit list.”

“If you’d tell me why—”

“Do you know what this week is missing?” she interrupts. “It’s missing the kind of guys you hook up with for hot one-night stands.”

I sigh at the obvious attempt at changing the subject. “Please tell me this wedding is a good idea.”

She nods to Emma. “Tell me it’s a bad idea. Look at her and tell me it’s a bad idea.”

I look.

I do.

I look at one of my best friends in the entire world, and I don’t know.

She’s smiling. But are those stress lines around her eyes or is it my imagination because I’m having doubts on Emma’s behalf?

“Did you know that time Theo went to jail over the Snaggletooth statue, it was Chandler’s fault?” I whisper.

Sabrina purses her lips together.

“Does Emma know?” I press.

She presses her lips tighter, making them go white at the edges.

“She doesn’t know?”

“Laney, Em’s been living for better or for worse, in good times and bad with Chandler for years. I know she says they don’t keep secrets, but I don’t know if she knows. If she does, I’m the last person she’d tell.”

I draw back. “I thought we were all best friends.”

“We are. But she has never put herself in a position to find out if I know the worst things Chandler’s ever done. I know she knows he cheated on every math test in high school. I know she knows he’s the one who stole the stuffed mink from her dad’s workshop not long after they started dating again after college. And I know she knows he’s the one who trashed Bean & Nugget after Grandma died.”

I gasp.

I gasp loudly enough that Em and Claire both look at us.

“Oh my god, whale penises are not that many times bigger than your dog,” I spit out.

Sabrina briefly squeezes her eyes shut but then beams brightly at me. “Surprise!”

Em and Claire giggle and go back to the aromatherapy.

I lower my voice and lean closer to Sabrina again. “I didn’t know that was him.”

“You didn’t need to. She was upset enough that I knew and made me swear I’d never tell a soul because he was sorry and he was never, ever, ever going to do anything like that again. He swore it to me too. It wasn’t just her sticking up for him. And that’s the only time I’ve really thought he hated the café, and Em was just upset because it was…well, it was something Theo would do, and much as she loves him, she doesn’t want to marry him, you know?”

“That’s when they almost broke up three years ago,” I whisper.

She nods. “There’s a line, Laney. There’s always been a line, and he’s told her so much of the crappy stuff he’s done that I think she probably knows. Did Theo tell you that jail stint turned his life around?”

“Yes, but it still wasn’t right.”

“And it was over a decade ago. To you, it’s a new injustice. To the rest of us…”

“Everything feels wrong though. Right now, everything feels wrong.”

She doesn’t argue. Not exactly. “So their wedding lines up with the bad times. All it does is make it official that she’ll never leave him, no matter what he does. She knows men do stupid stuff. She’d say she does stupid stuff too.”

I snort.

“I know, but you know that’s what she’d say.”

“Whoa, why so serious?” Emma asks as she and Claire turn to look at us.

We both jump.

“Laney was just making sure I have condoms on hand and I was giving her shit that she even had to ask,” Sabrina says smoothly.

“Were you doing an art project?” Emma asks.

Sabrina gasps.

I crack up.

Claire smiles at all of us. “Did you find someone at the bar last night?” she asks Sabrina.

“No, but I have high hopes for tonight.”

Claire and I giggle.

Emma wrinkles her nose. “But are you having enough fun?”

Sabrina mock gasps. “Emma. We’re all having loads of fun.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been so worried that people aren’t having enough fun this week. I just want everyone to be as happy as I am.”

Sabrina links her arm through Emma’s. “No one can be as happy as you. But we’re definitely a close second this week.”

We are not a close second.

Not by a long shot.

But it’s what Emma needs to hear, and the reassurance makes her smile go soft and happy again.

I’m with Theo on this. I don’t want to be the reason she doesn’t get married. Not when this is all she’s ever wanted.

And based on how quickly Sabrina’s smile drops away when Emma looks away, I think she feels the same.

A woman in all black with a clipboard approaches us. “Ms. Monroe? We’re ready for you and your party to get changed, and your massage therapist will be with you very, very soon.”

“I can’t believe it’s finally today.” Emma twirls with her robe, her smile bright and carefree.

“Worth the wait, hmm?” Claire says.

Emma smiles.

Sabrina forces a smile.

I force a smile.

She nudges me.

And rather than let myself get drawn into a scene that would make Emma ask what in the world is wrong with the two of us, I slip into one of the small dressing rooms. “Last one ready gets less-fancy tea and cookies in the serenity lounge,” I say.

But even once we’re in the serenity lounge—Sabrina, Claire, and I supposedly relaxing while Emma gets her massage—none of us are smiling.

Claire watches us mostly quietly.

Except for one small comment. “There’s no drama like small-town drama, is there?”

Sabrina grimaces.

I wince.

She’s not wrong.

And while part of me wishes I could’ve avoided it, the other part—

“So, you and Emma’s brother, hmm?” Claire adds.

Yeah.

That other part.

No regrets.

Getting to know Theo—to understand what makes him tick, to look past who I thought he was in high school to who he truly is today, to like him, to have fun with him—has been worth every worry and irritation.

“He’s a lot more than I ever gave him credit for,” I tell her. “I just hope I’m good enough for him.”

Sabrina smiles at me. “The very fact that you’d say you want to be good enough for Theo says everything you need to know about how much you two deserve each other.”

“I can’t believe I would’ve thought that was an insult two weeks ago.”

She laughs.

I do too.

No matter what happens with Emma’s wedding, Theo is the one part I will never regret.

“Did you know he’s modeling?” I ask her.

She pins me with a look I can’t interpret. “He…told you about that?”

“Not exactly. I figured it out. And then I dropped it. We’re not talking about jobs. I’m not being boring.”

She stares at me like I’ve grown a second head.

“What?” I ask. Creepy crawlies are dancing across my skin.

Something’s wrong.

“I’m just really, really glad that you’re finally finding the fun in your life, and really, really glad that you’re fully out of that box you’ve been living in. Open-mindedness looks good on you.”

“What aren’t you saying?”

She grabs my hand. “Laney, I freaking adore you. I’m a little mad at Theo right now, but I will get over it, and in the meantime, I need you to know that I know that if this is real between you two that he will be the very, very, very best thing to ever happen to you, no matter the hurdles you’re going to have to get over to get there.”

“That’s ominous,” Claire says.

Sabrina doesn’t flinch. “They’re very different people. But see this? This glow all over Laney? That doesn’t lie.”

Claire gives me the she’s being cryptic look while Sabrina gets up to refill her teacup.

“Your parents are gonna shit themselves when they find out you’ve been sleeping with Emma’s brother, aren’t they?” she finally says while Sabrina takes her time across the lounge.

I cringe. “Probably.”

“You gonna let that fuck up a good thing?”

“Things worth having are worth fighting for.”

She nods slowly. “Chandler’s never had to fight for Emma. She just takes him as he is, even when the rest of us wonder if he’s good enough for her. Everyone should have to fight a little for love. And everyone should be fought for.”

I stop short. “I…never considered that before.”

She grins. “You’re welcome.”

“I was really hoping at least one of us wasn’t nervous about today.”

“Emma made this choice a long time ago. But you—you’ve just found a good thing. Don’t let fear of a fight get in the way.”

“So your parents have unreasonably high expectations too?”

She laughs.

And then she cringes.

And then we’re both laughing all over again.

I lift my teacup. “To a very memorable destination wedding,” I say.

Claire clinks.

Sabrina lifts her own teacup across the room.

And when we all drink, I suspect we’re all wishing our cups were spiked.