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I open the package and hold it out to her. “Like you keep telling me—stop apologizing. You’ve been looking forward to this day for a while, and it’s not turning out how you pictured it would.”
“I’d like to catch a break. Just one. Something has to work out.” She bites down on an Oreo and looks at me. “Maybe that something will be you and Riley.”
“Ha.” I pop a cookie into my mouth.
“You’re scared,” she says softly.
I nod. “Very.”
“Have you thought about how you’re going to leave it? Like, are y’all going to casually keep in touch, or . . .”
“I’m not sure we’re capable of doing anything casually.”
“You did bone him, like, five seconds after you saw him.” She picks up another Oreo. “And he did offer to help make all your super-secret, super-cute dreams come true with his millions of dollars after confessing he fucked up and swore to undo all his wrongs so you’d see he never really got over you.”
I shake my head, simultaneously feeling like I’m going to cry and smile. “What if the timing’s not right, though?”
“What if the timing’s perfect?”
“This is your wedding day. Let’s stay on topic and talk about you, okay?” I wipe my hands. “Still think you’re going to wear your hair down?”
Goldie searches my face for a beat. “We can move on to wedding stuff. But you know running away from your problems—your feelings—isn’t going to solve them, right?”
“What kind of idiot runs away from their problems?” I ask, not meeting her eyes. “And I like feelings.”
“Then talk about those feelings with Riley! Only seems fair when you think about the considerable pants feelings he gives you.”
“He knows how great I think the pants feelings are.”
She nudges me with her toe. “Don’t let this guy slip through your fingers, Lu.”
“I won’t.” I get quiet. “I just need to figure out . . . a lot of things first.”
“That’s fair.”
“Can we talk about you now?”
“You know I love talking about me.”
“You sure you’re okay without me today?”
“I mean, I’ll miss you.” Goldie smiles. “But it’s not like we can tie one on anyway. I’ll put my feet up and hang with my mom and cousins. I’ll reserve the last hair and makeup slots for you if you want?”
“Sounds like a plan.” I grab her knee. “As for the wedding—y’all are in good hands. It’s going to be beautiful.”
“Or a total dumpster fire. Either way, it’ll make for a great story.”
I laugh. “Because having a shotgun wedding after the guy you met less than a year before knocks you up isn’t enough of a great story as it is.”
“I am a good time, aren’t I?” Goldie laughs too.
I wrap her in a tight hug, promising I’ll be back to see her get dressed. Then I get up, my breath catching. I am sore in a way I’ve never been before.
“Oh my God.” Goldie looks me up and down. “Y’all did butt stuff last night, didn’t you?”
Of course Goldie’s mom walks into the house at that exact moment. “Butt stuff? Don’t tell me you girls came down with a stomach bug!”
My face goes up in flames. Goldie laughs so hard she cries.
There’s a line of golf carts and trucks parked outside 12 Row Boat Row. Despite the rain, men wearing T-shirts and tool belts ferry between the trucks and the house. I glimpse Marianne directing traffic from the front porch.
The house itself is a cedar-shake stunner. It’s enormous, with three stories, deep porches, and ocean views for days.
The front yard, however, is a muddy, sand-strewn mess. A dumpster, overflowing with building material, sits front and center; there are tire tracks everywhere, not to mention the port-a-potty blocking the sidewalk.
My gut seizes. I know Riley is a talented guy with lots of connections. But even he might not be able to turn this mess into a dream wedding venue by five P.M.
Lady approaches from the other end of the street, a box on her hip. From the way the box rattles, she’s carrying the mason jars I asked her to bring. Mom is hustling beside her, her head covered by the hood of a bright yellow slicker she’s stuffed with the fairy lights Granny and Pa would use to decorate the house at Christmas.
“Well, if what they say is true about weddings and rain,” Mom pants, “Cooper and Goldie are going to have the best luck ever as a married couple.”
I grab the box from Lady and head for the front door. “Thank y’all so much for coming. We have our work cut out for us. I know Riley’s called some people—”
“Lots of people.” Mom glances at the trucks. “Let’s see what we’re working with inside. I’ve been wanting to check this place out.”
Marianne greets us with a tired smile. “Thank goodness you’re here. Riley’s in the kitchen—he’s been looking for you.”
