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“Ohhh, sorry I didn’t get that. You are the man, though.” He holds his fist out for me to bump it, but I stare at him.
“Don’t patronise me.”
Liam laughs and takes his hand away. “Was Louisa there? I heard she’s going to be an assistant to one of Tony’s managers.”
“She was there. She had these awful long witches’ talons and I swear she could’ve slit my throat with them. Woman terrifies me.” We both share a shudder this time.
“Well, good job anyway, man. Mind if I join you at the gym?”
Liam never joins me at the gym, he prefers running outside, plus it’s not even 3pm yet. “Uh-oh trouble in paradise?”
“No,” he says a little too fast to be convincing, so I glare at him, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Fine. Yes, but no. Jess is going a little crazy with the wedding planning. Her and Nora have spreadsheets and folders and magazines and Pinterest boards and it’s quite possibly the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. I didn’t even know what a Pinterest board was, but you bet your arse I do now.” I scowl. I don’t know what a Pinterest board is either. I’m about to ask, but I sense Liam isn’t finished. “Then once she and Nora spend all evening planning and ordering things, she’s too tired for sex and that is the worst bit of it all, man.”
I stifle a laugh. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him this stressed over Jess before. The last time was maybe when she had stuff going on last year, but he was mostly grumpy because he wasn’t with her all the time. Now he’s a man who needs sex and is not getting it. It’s arguably worse.
“I have zero advice for you, man, except maybe make the sex more interesting than the Pinterest shit. Whatever the fuck that is.”
Liam nods. “Yeah, you’re right. I just need to…”
I cover my ears. “Lalala I still have to look at Jess when I see her. Please don’t tell me what you’re doing in the bedroom.”
Liam looks at me sheepishly. “Sorry, dude.”
“Get your shit. Boss is letting us off early. We’re going to the gym.” I slap our palms together and help him up from the chair so we can head out.
Chapter 11
Nora
It’sofficial.I’minhell. I’m surrounded by glitter, card, glue, scissors, every type of ribbon you could possibly imagine, and a very highly strung Jess. My planned evening of opening my new crossword book and drinking a glass of wine has been officially sabotaged.
Thankfully, I managed to persuade Jess to order her wedding invites online a few weeks ago, but she insisted that we hand make the menus, and it's actual hell.
“I’m getting you a shot,” I announce as Jess continues to glare at the two pieces of card that she can’t decide between. Hint: they’re the same colour, but at this point, tequila is the only answer.
I return with the bottle and two glasses, smiling because I’m convinced this will be more fun with alcohol. I pass one to Jess, but she doesn’t tear her gaze from the card. “Jessica, they’re the same. Have a shot and maybe you’ll see that too.”
“Fine,” she mumbles and downs it like a pro.
Four shots and twenty minutes later, things are starting to look up. Jess’ mood has improved, as has mine.
“My brain hurts. I didn’t know there were 700 shades of cream,” I whinge.
“I know, right, and in reality, which of my guests are going to fucking judge me for choosing shade 432 over shade 890?”
“That’s the spirit. No one gives a fuck, Jess. Cream is cream. Pick one.”
Jess sways a little from the tequila buzz I know she’s feeling right now. She squints her eyes and points to the cream on the left, which I snatch out of her hand and immediately order a hundred more before she can change her mind.
“Good job. This card will be here in five days. Considering we have less than three months until the wedding, we need to get these menus done.” I pick up the glittered ribbon of gold, silver, and rose gold. “Pick one of these, too.”
Jess grunts next to me and points to the gold one and I order more of that too. “I’m not usually this hung up about fucking everything. Maybe getting married so fast was a bad idea.”
“I know organising a wedding is stressful, but you know what will make it worth it? The hen party. Oh, and I guess a hot as hell husband too, who you’ve wanted to marry for bloody years,” I say, smiling at her.
Jess chuckles and I realise it’s the first time today she’s done that. I suddenly feel bad for hating this process. The truth is, I love spending time with her. We’ve always been like two halves of one whole. Although she feels like my sister, technically, my dad is her uncle. Her mum had some health issues when we were sixteen and disappeared on her. My parents took her in without hesitation and the rest is history. When we were kids, we used to spend every spare moment together. It’s only now Liam is back in her life that things are changing, and I think change is probably why she’s stressing over which colour cream. Jess deserves all the happiness though, because I’ve seen her go through some pretty dark times. It’s built a bond between us that’s deeper than blood.
