Page 12 of Not Just Gal Pals

I looked up as Amanda removed her sunglasses to examine the menu, and did a double-take. Amanda’s eyes were red and puffy.

Shit.

This wasn’t how Amanda usually looked when she was hungover.

It was how she looked when she’d been crying. Not that Amanda often cried, which was why this was all the more alarming.

“Is everything okay?” I asked gently, possible scenarios racing through my mind. Had she hated the bachelorette party? Or had something happened to her family, or Peter at his bachelor party last night? Images of Peter’s night devolving into chaos à la The Hangover movies flashed through my mind. Sensible, kind Peter missing after a night of debauchery. Don’t be ridiculous, Jenny. Quashing my overactive imagination, I focused my attention on Amanda.

Her bottom lip quivered, and my chest tightened. I bounded over to crouch next to her chair, putting my arm around her.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“The wedding…” Amanda’s voice trailed off.

What the hell could it be? Peter couldn’t have called the wedding off. He absolutely adored Amanda. Had the venue burned down?

I rubbed Amanda’s back and looked at her with my best sympathetic expression. She took in a deep, shaky breath.

“My wedding planner, Miriam, has had pregnancy complications, and she can’t attend the wedding. The doctors have put her on bedrest.”

“Shit, is she going to be okay?” I didn’t know a lot about pregnancy, but bedrest didn’t sound good.

Amanda nodded. “Apparently, if she rests up, they think she and the baby will be fine, thank god.”

The tension in my chest released. Okay, the situation obviously wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. We could deal with an MIA wedding planner. An MIA groom or venue would have been more challenging.

Amanda rubbed her forehead, her frown lines deep. “Miriam sounded super stressed about the wedding. She can still send emails and make calls, but I’m sure stress is the last thing she needs right now, so I told her not to worry about it. That we’d handle it. She’s going to email me all the information and said she’d be available if we had any questions. But I’m not sure I will be able to handle it. I stupidly committed to work right up until Friday. Crap!” Amanda’s bottom lip quivered again, and she grabbed a napkin and blew her nose.

A tiny flame of excitement sparked in my chest as I had an idea.

“Look, I’ve got plenty of free time at the moment, and I love this stuff. I did Chris and Sophie’s wedding, remember? Let me handle it.”

I actually felt energized at the prospect of taking over Amanda’s wedding, throwing myself into something tangible, helping my closest friend celebrate her special day. But Amanda didn’t look convinced.

“Seriously, I would love to do it. Pleeeease!” I gave her a pleading grin and fluttered my eyelashes.

“If you’re really sure?” Amanda’s worried face softened slightly.

“Yes, I’m positive,” I stated with conviction.

Amanda stared at me for a few seconds before breaking into a relieved smile. “Thank you so much. You’re incredible. I’ll email you everything as soon as Miriam sends it to me.”

I leaned forward on the table. “Great! So, why don’t you tell me about your vision for the wedding? I’m excited to dive in.”

“First, let’s order.” Amanda managed a weak grin, looking slightly more like her usual self. “Do you think it’s bad if I order cake for brunch? George’s blueberry-lemon cake is amazing.”

“Not at all. I’m getting the breakfast burrito, so no judgment here.” A waiter came up and took our orders. As soon as he left, Amanda bent forward.

“Before we get into all the wedding stuff, I also want to catch up properly. I feel like we’ve barely gotten to talk yet. So, what’s new with you?”

The excited buzz in my body vanished. Now was my opportunity to tell Amanda about the scandal. I opened my mouth, about to tell her everything, and then snapped it shut. Amanda had enough to deal with at the moment. I didn’t want her to worry about me as well.

“Nothing much. It’s so nice to get away from LA for a while, have a break from the scene there.” At least the last part was the truth. It had only been a few days, but I hadn’t been missing it one bit.

Amanda smiled and squeezed my hand. “I’m so glad you could come.” She paused for a second. “Any news on the romantic front?”

I shook my head. “I’ve gone on some dates, but nothing serious. Which, as you know, seems to be the story of my life.” I grinned ruefully.