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“Excited,” she says dreamily. “Maxim, Camille, and my mom have been so amazing. When I was planning my wedding to Nick, it felt like something was missing all along. I definitely don’t feel that way this time. Everything is falling into place perfectly. I just… wish the day would get here now.”
“Soon enough.” I laugh, taking a sip of my water and wondering if she’ll think I’m weird if I take out my notebook to make a to-do list for her wedding. “Speaking of which, what can I do? Has Camille and your mom started on your bridal shower and bachelorette party yet? Also, who are the other bridesmaids? I should’ve led with that.”
“Mia is my maid of honor,” she says, referring to her best friend back home. “You and Isabella are my bridesmaids. Vincent is the best man, obviously, and James and Adrian are standing with him. We wanted to include everybody, but considering that we’re keeping it small, we couldn’t have half our guests as part of the bridal party.”
She sighs happily before she continues. “Mia has been getting started on the arrangements for the bachelorette party, but I doubt she’s done anything for the shower. We don’t have to have one by the way.”
“Oh, we’re having one. I’ll take care of it.” Excitement surges through me. Although everything around us has been pretty much all wedding when we haven’t been working, I wasn’t sure I’d be included. It means more to me than I can ever say that I am. “Isabella and I will leave the bachelorette party to Mia, but we’ll be in touch to see if we can help her. We’ll organize the shower.”
Obviously, I haven’t spoken to Izzy about it, but I’m pretty sure she’ll be onboard. Deciding that Emma won’t think I’m weird for pulling out a notebook, I rummage around in my purse and come back with one. When I look up again, Emma has done the same.
She laughs. “We’re practically the same person sometimes, but I’m glad. You’re like the younger sister I never had.”
“You’re like the older sister I never had.” I agree. Then it occurs to me that I never thanked her. “If it wasn’t for you, I don’t think I would’ve gone to speak to Vincent that day in Spain. Thank you for encouraging me.”
She winks. “I only told you what I wish someone would’ve told me earlier. You guys are really good together. If he fucks it up, I’ll have his balls, but he already knows that.”
I tilt my head. “Can I be honest with you?”
“Of course,” she says, a frown drawing her brows together. “What’s up?”
“We should get to making our lists for your wedding, but now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m just going to ask.”
“Anything.”
“Maxim was never in a serious relationship before you, right?”
She nods. “Right. Why?”
“How do you know he’s not going to fuck it up? I’ve never been in a serious relationship before either, but I’m not as nervous that I’m going to do something to fuck it up as Vincent seems to be. He seems to think that because he’s got no experience with this, he’s going to do something that’s going to make it all blow up in our faces.”
For a long minute, she doesn’t respond. Eventually, her chest rises on a deep breath, and she shrugs. “Honestly? I don’t know that he’s not going to fuck it up. I don’t know that I’m not going to fuck it up either. Just like you don’t know if you or Vincent is going to do something to fuck it up. We’re all human, and we can all make mistakes. I guess I just choose to think that whatever happens, we’ll be able to work through it.”
She shakes her head. “Just because I’ve been in a serious relationship before doesn’t mean I’ve ever been inthisrelationship before. Nobody’s perfect, and because of that, no relationship ever is either. I don’t think the solution lies in trying not to make any mistakes. I think it lies in working hard to overcome whatever mistakes were made. We’d drive ourselves crazy if we constantly had to worry about not making any.”
“I suppose that’s a good way of looking at it,” I say after thinking it over for a few seconds. Then I glance back down at my notebook. “Okay, to the wedding planning. What can I do?”
Emma clears her throat and looks at the notes she’s made. Then she starts explaining what she needs from me both before and on the day of the wedding. We’re so similar that we work our way through her list systematically but effectively, and we’re barely done eating when I know everything that’s going to be expected of me.
She tells me more about her new book while we finish our drinks, and by the time we’ve both got to get back to work, I’m still tired, but I’ve got a new spring in my step. The rest of the day drags a little, but I’m beaming again when Vincent walks into our room later.
“Guess what?” I ask in a singsong voice as I look up from the folder I brought back from the office to work on while I waited for him. Standing up as I close it, I walk over to him and straight into his open arms. “Emma asked me to be a bridesmaid today.”
He chuckles. “I thought she might. Welcome to hell.”
“Hell?” I pull back to look up at him. “What do you mean?”
“As lowkey as the whole thing started, there’s a lot to be done when we get home next week and not a lot of time to do it. We’re really cutting it close despite having done everything we could for the wedding from the road.”
“We’ll get it done,” I say confidently. “I’m up for the challenge. Have you been coordinating the date for the bachelor party with Mia to have the bachelorette on the same day? I’d like to have the shower in the morning.”
“Mia’s been emailing, but I haven’t really had time to read everything yet. I can forward it all to you,” he offers as he lets go of me and heads to the minibar. “Drink?”
“Yes, please.” We talk about the wedding while having our drink and eating the food I ordered from room service, but eventually, we get distracted.
He’s got his head buried between my legs when a wave of nausea rolls through me. Clapping my hand over my mouth, I sit bolt upright and feel the blood draining from my face. “Oh God. I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Uh, that’s not what I was expecting to hear,” he says, smiling until he looks back up at me. Before he can say anything else, another wave of nausea hits, and I almost kick him in the head as I scramble off the bed, making it to the toilet just in time.
