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I laugh. “Mom, I’m not going to do a pro and con list on whether I should marry Noah. Besides, even if I weigh both sides, I never regret it when I go with my gut.”
Noah chuckles. “I do love Mandi’s decision-making skills. Especially when they work in my favor.” He smiles at me and I tightly grin back.
“Well, should we get to the plans then?” My mom stops her line of questioning that I thought for sure would last the entire dinner. As if we’d be on the quiz show or something while she pummeled us with questions to prove how well we know each other. She pulls out a notebook that says “Our Wedding” on the front.
“What is that, Mom?”
“It’s for us to make sure we don’t miss a single detail. I figure we only have two months. We need to get a jump on things, stay organized. First of all, how many bridesmaids are you having? Don’t worry, Noah, our sons will fill in for you if you don’t have enough groomsmen.” She puts her pen on the paper. “Nikki, Posey, Chevelle… do you want the sisters-in-law included as well? How about Trina? Anyone from the inn?”
“Mom, we decided that we aren’t going to have bridesmaids or groomsmen.”
Her pen drops to the table, and she studies us for a moment. “Why not?”
I shrug. “We just want a small affair, here at the inn. Francois can cook the meal.”
She frowns. “Oh. Your sisters will be disappointed. What’s three bridesmaids and three groomsmen? That’s nothing. And—”
“Didn’t you two have a small wedding?” I bring it up so maybe she’ll let this go. But I always knew she’d want to be überinvolved in my wedding because, unlike Nikki and Posey, I’ll allow her free rein. And Chevelle always says she’s miles away from wanting to get married. Ever since Hank’s illness, my mom acts as though we’re all living on borrowed time.
Mom gives me that look from across the table. The one I always give in to. Then Noah looks at me, silently pleading with me not to falter in our decision. But she’s my mom and she’s the one person on earth I never want to disappoint. And the fact that I’m lying to her only makes me feel worse.
So I cave. “Yeah, I’m sure three on each side would be fine.”
“It would?” Noah asks.
I smile at him and nod. “Yeah, it’s not so bad.”
To my surprise, he smiles and squeezes my hand. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Mom beams. “On to the next order of business, how many people are you inviting?”
And just like that, I realize my mom’s excitement to plan this wedding has put her on cloud nine. God, it’s going to suck if she ever finds out this was all make-believe.
