“I’m fine because I already have a date,” she blurted out without thinking it through. “I think you’ll like him.”
Kristine squealed. “Oh, I’m so glad! Who is it? Anyone I know?”
What had she done? Holly tried to figure out a way to backpedal but nothing came to her. She didn’t want to lie or make up a name so she quickly improvised.
“Um, he’s still not sure if he can make it so I would rather not name any names. It’s early days yet.”
“Is he nice? What am I saying? Of course he’s nice. You wouldn’t be going out with him if he wasn’t great.”
Holly didn’t bother pointing out that she had not only dated Kristine’s brother but she had been married to him. And look how great that had turned out.
“I can’t wait to meet him! I’m so glad. I was worried everything would be awkward with Troy and Brittany coming with their new baby. But if you have someone too, it won’t be weird at all.”
Oh, she was so stupid. What had she gotten herself into? And where was she going to find a date willing to go with her—and her daughter, since she couldn’t very well leave Lydia home—to a wedding five days before Christmas?
She should blurt out the truth now, before she dug a deeper hole for herself.
Instead, words spilled out as if on their own accord.
“It won’t be weird at all,” she lied. “Everything will be great. I totally have someone, too. You’re going to love him.”
“I can’t wait!” Kristine hugged her again, any trace of wedding nerves gone, at least for now.
Holly was still trying to figure out how to extricate herself from the ridiculous lie when her former mother-in-law returned with Lydia and Audrey.
“Thank you for showing me your picture, my dear,” Susan said to Lydia.
Lydia beamed. “You can have it, Grandma,” she said. “It’s for you.”
Susan looked touched as she hugged her granddaughter. “Thank you. I will hang it right on my fridge.”
When she released Lydia, Susan rose and hugged Holly in turn. “Thank you for putting up with me,” she said. “I know I’m a mess. I’ve been all over the place with this wedding.”
“It’s totally fine. Don’t worry. Everything will be perfect, I promise. I’ll see you both at the shower.”
“Great. Until then.”
At least she would have a few days to come up with a plan to avoid any more questions about her nonexistent date.
SHE WAS STILLasking herself how she could have created such a mess for herself an hour later as she loaded the last of the wedding flowers into the back of her SUV.
Her sister’s shock when she told her what she had done didn’t help anything.
“What were you thinking?” Hannah asked, incredulous.
“I lied, okay? I don’t know why I did it, the words spilled out before I had a chance to think them through. Kris was so worried that things would be awkward with Troy and Brittany and was trying to set me up with one of Matt’s friends and before I knew it, I was telling her I had a date. So now I have to figure out who that is.”
Hannah grinned. “The fake-relationship trope is my absolute favorite.”
She made a face. “Only in all those romance novels, the fake relationship always morphs into a real one. That’s not going to happen to me.”
“You never know. We just have to find the perfect guy willing to pretend he’s crazy about you.”
“Any suggestions?”
“What about Justin Sanchez, the new soccer coach at the high school? He’s super cute. He has a longtime girlfriend but Troy’s family members don’t have to know that. I’m sure he would be willing to help us out.”
“I don’t think that would work. It’s a small community. What if somebody at the wedding knows Justin or his girlfriend?”
