AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t think I’ve ever been there,” Gigi says.
That’s something, because Gigi’s kind of a barfly. She likes to party, and she’s very popular with men. She’s gorgeous, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a shapely booty that the guys really like.
“What kind of party is it?” Isabella asks. “I mean other than a masquerade?”
“You know as much as I know. I don’t know whether it’s by invitation only or not. All he said was it’s masquerade night.” I take a drink of my coffee.
Gigi and Isabella always have mimosas when we have our Sunday brunch, but I stopped that last year. I like to drink as much as the next person, but when I drink early, I’m not very effective for the rest of the day.
“Whose turn is it to pay this time?” I ask.
“Mine,” Isabella says.
“Okay. Thanks, Izzy.” I glance at my watch. “I need to go. I’m meeting Mandy at her place.”
“After what she did to you?” Gigi asks.
“Yeah. She should’ve remembered what yesterday was, but this is my family. I can’t be mad at them forever.”
Neither of them replies in any meaningful way as I take off.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m outgrowing Isabella and Gigi. They’re awesome people, and I love them, but they’re still so much into the party scene. I enjoy a good party, but I haven’t been up for much since Penn and I called it quits. The last couple of times Isabella and Gigi invited me out, I’ve blown them off, which isn’t cool.
I grab an Uber to Mandy’s place, walk to her door, and knock.
She opens the door, wearing black yoga pants and a pink cotton tank, her hair pulled up in a messy bun. Classic Mandy garb. She shoos her yapping dog, Roger, away from me. “Hey.”
I walk in. “Hey.” I look around. Most of her stuff is boxed up. “What’s going on here?”
“I’m moving in with Jack. I wanted to wait until my lease is up, which is next week.”
“You didn’t mention that last night.”
“I did, actually.” Mandy looks down. “After you left.”
Well, that didn’t take long. I gulp, trying not to feel like I’m swallowing my pride. “I’m sorry I left so abruptly.”
“Oh, Frank, you don’t need to be sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what any of us were thinking, choosing to announce our engagement on that date.”
“When you called me and invited me to dinner,” I say, “my first thought was that you wanted to get my mind off of it.”
“I’m so sorry,” she says again. “Mom and Dad feel awful.”
Yeah, they should.
But I don’t say it.
“I shouldn’t have run out like a toddler,” I say.
“You had every right to.”
“No, I didn’t. While your choice of date was not the greatest, I’m a grown-up. I should’ve been able to handle it.”
“Will you still be my maid of honor?”
I force a smile. “Of course. I’m your sister, Mandy. Who else would be your maid of honor?”
She drops her gaze.
Honestly, I didn’t mean that as a burn. Mandy has only had one best friend her entire life, and she’s marrying him.
“Anyway, I just dropped by to apologize,” I say.
Mandy grabs my arm. “Will you stay? I’ve been looking at wedding venues, dresses, everything. It’s just so overwhelming.”
Mandy’s a virtual assistant for a romance author, so she works at home. She hardly ever goes anywhere, so this whole wedding thing is probably freaking her out.
“What does Jackson think?” I ask.
“He wants whatever I want. The problem is that I’m not exactly sure what I want.”
I pull out my phone and scroll through some photos of dresses. “I was planning a fairly extravagant affair, but that’s because I had Penn’s sprawling estate available. Mom and Dad were going to pay for what they could, and the fact that I already had a venue really helped.”
“Right.” She sighs. “Would it be ridiculous if I just told Jack I want to go to city hall?”
“Mandy, he said he wants what you want.”
“I know. But Mom would hate that.”
I can’t help laughing then. “When you’re right you’re right. She will hate it. But Mandy, it’s not her wedding.”
Mandy sighs again. “I know. I hate to disappoint her, though.”
“You don’t have to have a big wedding. If you’re just going to have one attendant each, maid of honor and a best man, it can be a small affair. What about going to the Poconos? Or better yet, renting a small place upstate? It won’t cost that much, and it can just be family.”
“Mom might go for that,” Mandy says.
“Yeah. She gets her wedding. You get your small affair. Everybody’s happy.”
“Maybe.” Mandy crosses her arms. “I don’t know how Jackson’s mother will feel.”
“Who cares?”
“Well, Jack will, for one.”
“But Jack said to do whatever you want.”
“I know. But you know Noreen. She can be a little…”
