I bend lower to get my face nice and close to his and see him back up a bit. “You think that was flirting? I’ve known Tony for ten years; he’s like a brother to me. But if I did want to flirt with him, it wouldn’t be any of your goddamned business, now would it?” My tone is clipped and I’m fuming, feeling Ian move quickly out of his seat.
“Okay. Wow, that didn’t take long. Umm, Dylan, why don’t you go over to your seat, and, Reese, just calm the fuck down, man.” Ian ushers me past Juls. I quickly pull out my chair and plant myself down in it, glaring over in his direction as Reese narrows his eyes at me.
“Jesus, what the hell was that?” Juls asks as Joey leans in.
“Actually, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. I had money on you kicking him in the nuts at the church,” he adds. I wave my hands at both of them to back them off me.
“Nothing. He accused me of flirting with Tony. Fucking prick,” I say through clenched teeth. I was definitely not flirting with him. I’ve never seen Tony as anything other than an acquaintance, even though he’s asked me out more times than I can count. My eyes glance down the table and I see Ian leaning in and talking to a tense looking Reese. Ugh. Stupid men.
“You and Tony? That’s fucking hilarious,” Juls says and continues cutting up her chicken. “And even if you were, he has no right to act like that.”
“I know,” I agree loudly and get quickly shushed. “Acting all holier than thou. I’m sure he waited a whole five seconds before he threw another girl into his bed after I left it.” I shove a piece of chicken in my mouth and start chewing as Brooke leans across Joey’s lap.
“I heard him tell you that you looked beautiful. That was really sweet,” she whispers and earns herself the evil eye from all three of us.
“Shut up, Brooke,” we all say in unison as we continue eating our meals. I don’t look down the table again for the rest of the night and keep my conversations with anyone other than Juls and Joey to a minimum. This evening has been exhausting. I’m emotionally drained and unsure how the hell I’m going to handle tomorrow. I’m reassured that I’ll only really have to deal with Reese during the ceremony, and once we’re at the reception, I can stay as far away from him as I’d like. But it’s the mere fact that we’ll once again be at a wedding together, where this whole fucked up situation started that is going to have me in knots. I need to focus on making sure everything runs smoothly for Juls, so that’s what I’ll do. It’s my job as her maid of honor and it will keep my mind off unwanted memories of falling into laps and bathroom sex romps. Speaking of bathrooms, I plan on avoiding the ones tomorrow at all costs.
Juls and Ian’s big day has finally arrived and miraculously, everything is running smoothly. I got up early and delivered the cake with Joey to the reception hall before we headed over to the bridal suite where we are all currently getting ready. Juls is glowing, Joey is routinely sneaking out to get a peek at the men who are dressing at the other end of the church, and Brooke is completely sober and has her wits about her. After slipping into my stunning chocolate brown floor length strapless dress, I help Juls into hers, along with her mother.
“Oh, sweetheart. This dress,” Mrs. Wicks says, tears filling her freshly painted eyes as I try to hold mine back. My makeup is looking pristine and fabulous and I have no desire to ruin it with unwanted tears. We finish buttoning her up and step back. She’s stunning, absolutely gorgeous in her wedding gown and I bite my lip to hold my emotions in.
“Damn, Juls. I have money on Ian losing his mind when he sees you at the end of the aisle,” Brooke says as she smoothes out her dress. Joey comes bustling back into the suite and drops his jaw on the floor.
“Holy fuck. You look amazing.”
“Joseph! You’re in a church,” Mrs. Wicks sternly informs him, both hands flying up to her hips. “Easy on the language today please, and that goes for all four of you. Especially you, Dylan.” She flicks her daggers at me.
“Me? Please, I’m such a lady.” I shrug and catch a wink from Juls in the mirror as the suite door swings open again, this time revealing a very handsome and slightly nervous looking Mr. Wicks.
“Oh my. Darling, you look so beautiful.” He moves and stands in front of Juls, grabbing both of her hands in his and pulling her off her stool. “That’s it, wedding’s off. You’re too pretty for that man.”