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“You think this is normal for me?” I bristled slightly.
Andy held up his hands. “No, but of course you’re the center of attention around here. People flock to you, like moths to a flame.”
“I’m just a sideshow.” I winced at my assessment.
“That’s also not true.” Andy’s hand found its way to my elbow, pulling me under the awning of the coffee shop. He ducked his head, so I had to look him in the eyes. My breath caught as he traced his hand down my arm and held my hand. “This town is crazy about you, just like I—”
The door to the coffee shop slammed into Andy, the small bell above the door tinkling as it smacked the small of his back.
“Sorry. I didn’t see you standing there,” Tammy said. “I’m glad you are, though. Nora, can you take Mags for a quick walk?”
“Moths to a flame,” he murmured under his breath.
* * *
I didn’t remember much about my life before Bunny. I was barely out of diapers when my mom fled town and had only just graduated from third grade when my dad went to jail. The only memory I carried was a smell.
Stale cigarettes.
I’d never taken up smoking. The scent brought back a rush of bad feelings that I could never quite attach to a memory. But, on the morning of my wedding, for the first time in my life, I wished I had a cigarette.
With seven marriages under her belt, I shouldn’t have doubted Bunny’s ability to whip up something special. Sure, it wasn’t in Las Vegas (wedding number four) or on top of Mount Pierce (wedding number seven). She hadn’t secured a sixteen-piece jazz band (wedding number two) or lined the aisle with calla lilies in the dead of winter (wedding number one). However, in only a few days, she had slapped together a wedding worth remembering.
And I felt absolutely sick about it.
“They’re going to know,” I said, twisting the delicate lace on the dress Thea had made me.
A simple sheath dress with an open back and details so intricate I was certain Thea had spent the entire week sewing it for me.
For me.
“There are too many people,” I said, looking out over the square, counting the guests to my wedding. At least fifty. “I can’t keep this up.”
Thea stood from the small, dingy loveseat in my apartment living room. Myformerapartment. Despite Andy insisting he’d pay out the lease, Bunny jollied the rental manager into cutting it short instead. I had until the end of the week to clear out the apartment and, so far, I had packed… nothing.
Thea brushed the lace out of my hand and rubbed my exposed back. “It’s going to be fine. You’re going on some fancy business getaway this week and you’ve got surgery next week. Freak out about those things. This? This is just a party.”
Outside, people I’d known since birth milled about, decorating the gazebo in the middle of the green and moving tables and chairs. I could make out Bunny’s bleached blonde hair under the gazebo, directing a gaggle of guests dressed in their Wednesday best muscling chairs out of the bar. Tammy carried cupcakes and treats from the coffee shop. Even Becca had flown up last minute, determined to see me wed.
“They all think it’s real,” I muttered.
“Of course it’s real, Nor. You’re signing paperwork.”
“Oh, no.” My heartbeat raced as Becca looked up at my apartment with a wave and a questioning look.
Do you need me?
I pulled away from the window. “Why don’t you get out there? Before someone else comes up. Just say… I don’t know. Tell them I need a couple of minutes to myself.”
With my makeup and hair done, I had nothing to do but panic about the car crash happening right outside my window— a disaster I set into motion.
Thea frowned. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”
I didn’t want that. I didn’t want any of this, but I’d made it happen. I nodded to Thea. She slipped out of the apartment, leaving me alone.
I yanked the curtains shut and paced the tiny living room, my stomach churning, until a knock interrupted my panicking.
“It’s me,” Andy called from the other side of the door. “Thea said you might want to see me.”
