Page 26 of The Other Plan

“Are you the only one from the bridal party who made it?” I asked Carter, looking around.

He chuckled. “Yeah. Turns out everyone needed a little downtime after today. I didn’t go too heavy on the wine, so I’m okay, but most of the bridal party is apparently passed out in their rooms. Eric and Valentina made it, of course, and the rest of the family is here.”

Oh, great. So now our dinner had gotten smaller, meaning more attention would end up on me and Evan.

“Jenna! Over here!” Aunt Tilly waved from the bar where she sat next to Linus. Lydia and Alfred sat beside them, with Eric and Valentina on their other side.

I led Evan over for the predinner cocktails they always insisted on and stood by his side while they grilled him for details on our romance. I was shocked at how easily the lies came out of his mouth, and he had everyone oohing and aahing over our non-existent love all the way through dinner.

Everyone but Carter.

His scowl only deepened with every story Evan told, and I had to force my eyes forward so I didn’t stare at him every moment of our dinner. Of course he’d been seated beside me when Aunt Tilly had insisted Evan sit next to her. I had to endure almost two hours of being right up against him while Evan, my fake boyfriend, sat across from me. With my head about to explode, my level of awkwardness had reached its highest point.

As I reached for my glass of wine, my napkin slipped off my lap and fluttered to the floor. I reached down for it, but not before Carter made the grab too. Our heads bumped together as we leaned down, and we came up rubbing our foreheads.

“Sorry,” he said.

“No, my fault,” I answered back.

He handed me the napkin, and his hand brushed against mine when he did. The gentle touch of his skin on mine sent familiar sparks shooting down my spine. Every cell in my body jumped to life and begged for more.

“Hey, do you remember that night in Hawaii when you dropped your coconut, and it rolled under that couple’s table, and when she stood up, she stepped on it and wiped out?”

Carter started laughing, and the memory, as well as his contagious laugh, caused me to shake off my nerves and join him.

“Oh my God, I do!” I laughed harder.

“We had to haul ass out of there so fast, so they didn’t know where that damn coconut came from. You sure do have a knack for dropping stuff.”

We slipped back in time into our own little world for a moment as we sat laughing together at the table. It wasn’t until I looked up and realized everyone was watching us that I choked down the last of my laughter.

“Wait. You two know each other?” Valentina asked.

“Um...” I paused, looking to Carter for direction.

“Uh, yeah, actually. Jenna and I met on spring break back in college one year.”

“What a small world!” Aunt Tilly smiled. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

I stammered as I shrugged. “I guess it just slipped my mind to mention it.”

“Wait a minute,” Eric said as he set his drink down. “Is this the Jenna? Jenna Jenna?”

Carter sucked his cheek and gave a quick nod.

Eric sat back in his chair, and his bulging eyes locked with mine. “No. Way! Dude! Why didn’t you say something?”

“This week is about you, man. I didn’t want to do or say anything to stress you out.”

“Dude! How could you not say something? This is the girl who crushed you into an unrecognizable pulp!” He quickly looked back at me. “No offense, Jenna.”

“None taken.” I groaned.

“What’s happening?” Lydia asked between sips of wine.

“It’s nothing,” Carter said quickly, but Eric, still a little deep in his cups, sat forward and lifted his hands while he spoke.

“When we were in college, Carter went on spring break without me. I had mono. And he came back talking about this girl he’d fallen for hard, and then she just ghosted him. Literally left without a phone number, email, or even last name! I could barely get him off the couch for a month. Dude! Do you remember when we tried to find her at UW-Madison? I can’t believe this is her!”