Oliver sauntered up the driveway and I was left with no choice but to follow, Harrison trailing closely behind me.
“They said no gifts.” Harrison pointed to the pink and white striped present clutched to my chest.
“Oh, um. It’s for Charlie.”
“Nathan can just buy her anything she wants. What’s the point?” he asked, tactlessly pointing out that Nathan had more money than the rest of us could even fathom. Being a tech genius and starting a successful dating app in your twenties was apparently a fantastic way to never have to want for anything ever again. Harrison reached out to touch the ribbon I’d carefully tied into an ornate bow, but I jerked the package away before he could make contact.
“Money can’t buy everything.” I didn’t bother to keep my tone polite.
“Let me guess. A collage? Or a painting of the two of you, perhaps?”
“No,” I said, quickening my pace to reach the door and get into the house where I could hopefully avoid Harrison’s negative attitude for the rest of the evening. The most irritating part was that, once again, he wasn’t far off.
Like the cheesy person I was, I’d made Charlie a scrapbook full of our memories together, one that told our whole story. It held the first picture we’d ever taken together, at an office happy hour when we’d started working at the same company. It also held the picture we’d taken a few months ago in our new, modest office, where we ran our successful meetup app, ConnectHer, designed to connect like-minded women. I thought it’d be a sweet way to commemorate that phase of her life as she catapulted into the next one with Nathan. But now, holding it, it felt a little childish.
I launched myself up the front steps just in time to reach Oliver as Charlie swung open the door.
“Yay, you’re all here.” She practically glowed as she pulled Oliver in for a hug before throwing her arms around me.
“You look beautiful,” I said into her ear.
“Positively radiant,” Oliver agreed, grinning. He was right. Charlie’s skin popped against her chiffon dress, one that was just as much a soft gray as it was white. Her wild hair had been pulled half up into a braid, while the rest flowed loosely down her back. The smile she wore was positively infectious, and I felt my nerves from earlier slowly start to disintegrate as excitement took over.
“Harrison. Thanks for coming.” Charlie gave a small wave in his direction.
He nodded. “Thanks for having me.”
I wanted to shoot him a glare, irritated that he was apparently capable of having civil interactions with every person except me.
“I can’t believe we’re months away from making this official.” Oliver sighed and grabbed Charlie’s shoulders.
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “It’s not like it’ll be that different.”
We all filed into the foyer of their stunning vintage craftsman, with a large front porch and a completely remodeled interior that still paid homage to the original architectural detailing. While one might think it was modest, considering the amount of money Nathan had, a house like this one in this area of Denver wasnotcheap. Even more so when you realized, despite the wall-to-wall maple floors that appeared to be original, there wasn’t a single squeaky plank. That was a sign of wealth if I ever saw one.
“Keep your shoes on. Nathan is on the back patio with Ben and Skylar, and we’ve got everything set up there,” Charlie instructed us.
“Oh, they’re already here?” I asked, trying to sound disinterested.
“Yeah, they had the babysitter all evening, so they stopped by the restaurant to pick up the takeout order for me.”
“I could have done that for you,” I offered as we padded through the formal living room that Charlie had turned into a room for her cat Edward. I’d laughed when I’d first seen it; only Charlie would take what was supposed to be a classy sitting room and line it with every cat tower and scratching post she could find.
“It was just easier this way. Besides, I’m sure I’ll have more tasks for you to do as my maid of honor.” She nudged my arm and grinned.
“Right, of course. Anything you need,” I said.
“Suck up.” Harrison ducked his head and whispered so that only I could hear.
He was right. I was sucking up. Which was ridiculous and unnecessary, considering Charlie was my best friend, but what no one tells you is that when your best friend gets engaged, they also get a whole new set of extended family and friends. Ben was Nathan’s college roommate and business partner, and Skylar was his wife. Charlie and Skylar had been spending more and more time together lately, and I felt like the ugliest soul alive for being a little jealous of that. I was terrified of waking up one day and realizing I had become a stranger to someone I once called a close friend.
Oliver slung an easy arm around my shoulder as he led us out the back door.
“You okay?” he asked. And just like that I felt ridiculous about my intrusive thoughts. I fit into this group just fine.
When we passed the kitchen, I set my present on the island. The last thing I wanted was for her to open it in front of the group so I could get even more grief from Harrison.
“I’m great.” I squeezed Oliver’s waist and gave him my brightest smile.
