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I opened the door to find Caroline. “Hi,” I said with a little confusion. I knew her but not all that well. The first thing I thought of was Luke. “Is everything okay? Luke?”
I couldn’t imagine what she was doing at my door unless it was bad and involved Luke. My mind immediately went to the dark side, imagining Luke and Leo attacked and beaten again. I was ready to jump into action.
“They’re fine,” she said. “Nothing like that. I was just wondering if we could talk for a minute. I have a huge favor to ask of you.”
Caroline was in a bit of a panic. When Leo had been beaten nearly to death, Caroline had been a rock. To see her frazzled was concerning.
“Sure, come in,” I said and stepped back. “This is my cousin, Izzy. Izzy, this is Caroline, Leo’s fiancée.”
Izzy knew Leo from our childhood. “Hi.” Izzy smiled.
“What’s up?” I asked Caroline. “Can I get you a cappuccino?”
“No, thank you,” she replied. “Caffeine is about the last thing I need.”
“As you know, I’m getting married,” she started. “I’ve been planning this wedding for months and everything was finally coming together perfectly. But disaster has struck. One of my bridesmaids is moving and she can’t be here. She had to drop out of the wedding. I was just going to let it go, but I can’t imagine getting married without the right number of bridesmaids. It just throws everything off. I would have to kick out one of Leo’s groomsmen and that would just make a big mess.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“I’ve been wracking my brain, trying to think of someone who could step in at the last minute. And then, it hit me—you.”
“Me?” I questioned.
“I know we don’t know each other all that well, but I know you, Luke, and Leo grew up together,” she said. “We’ve only known each other for a few months, but there is something about you that made me feel like we had known each other for years. It would mean a lot to me and Leo if you were a part of our wedding. I know this is sudden, and you don’t have to say yes, but I would love it if you would step in.”
I thought about it and knew I couldn’t say no. I cared about Leo. He was a good friend. “I would be honored,” I said with a smile. “Thank you for asking me.”
Caroline breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much,” she breathed. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but I promise it will be worth it. We’ll have so much fun together.”
I nodded, my smile growing wider. “I’m sure we will.”
“Thank you! I have your number. I’ll text you details. We’ll have to get you a dress right away. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have to run, but I’ll text!”
I closed the door behind her and turned to look at Izzy, who was laughing. “You just got roped in to being a bridesmaid.”
I groaned. “And considering it’s Leo, this isn’t going to be a cheap wedding. This is going to be expensive. I don’t know how I’m going to afford it, but I guess I better figure it out.”
“You could have said no,” she said.
Yes, but I love Leo like a brother. I don’t want his wedding ruined or his wife upset because her wedding party is off. It’s just a couple hours of my life. I want Leo to have the perfect wedding. And Caroline. I like her. She’s spunky.”
“Maybe Leo will pay for your dress,” she suggested.
“I would never ask him to do that,” I said. “I’ll figure it out. I can take on a couple of quick jobs.”
“I can lend you some money,” she offered.
“No. You just moved across the country. You don’t have the money to loan. I have to figure these things out. I wanted my freedom and independence. This is how I’m going to get it. I can’t whip out a credit card anymore. The dress can’t be more than a few hundred dollars, right?”
“Hopefully not,” she said. Then, she gave me a knowing smile. “You’ll see Luke.”
“I see Luke all the time,” I corrected.
“But you’ll be walking down the aisle and things will be romantic,” she said dreamily. “Isn’t that going to be hard to ignore?”
“It will be fine,” I insisted. “It’s not a big deal. We’re still friends. He doesn’t know I’m crushing on him. I’m not going to make it weird. Besides, this is Leo’s wedding. Weddings are always crazy and hectic. There’s not going to be time to feel weird.”
“You’re going to be drinking and dancing, and because you guys are friends, you will end up dancing with him,” she said. “I think it’s a dangerous recipe.”
