I rolled my eyes. “And you’re crying over what she thinks? Come on, how miserable does she have to be that she’s living in a free house and is picking on yours?”
“It’s not just that. She’s so down on everything we do for the wedding too. She told me she’ll only be in the wedding if she gets to pick her own dress. Like what am I supposed to say to that? It’s my wedding. So I either have to let her decide what the bridesmaids wear, or else tell Tim his sister can’t be in the wedding. What a horrible thing to do to someone.”
I thought about what I had seen in my recent forays onto Caryn’s Pinterest boards. “What if you give her a couple of options? Like where all the bridesmaids wear the same color but can pick from a few styles?”
Megan nodded. “I guess. It’s not how I pictured it, but it’s better than just having insane mismatched dresses everywhere. But what if she won’t even agree to the colors?”
I planted my hands behind me and hopped up onto the bathroom counter to sit. “Then it’s her choice to not be in the wedding. Not yours.”
“But the numbers won’t match.”
“She’s going to wear the color you pick. I promise. She’s not going to pass up the chance to be in the wedding so she can say something rude to you on your actual wedding day too.”
“If she makes me cry on my wedding day—”
“I’ll trip her and then, oops, I stepped on her face. So sorry. Must have been the dress she picked that made her fall.”
Megan laughed finally. “You can’t step on my sister-in-law’s face.”
“If she makes you cry on your wedding day, watch me.”
Megan looked in the mirror and gave her eyes a final pat with the tissue. “We should get back out there.”
I nodded. “Claire’s probably spreading rumors about your kitchen floor.”
“She would,” Megan said conspiratorially. “Thanks, Lil.”
“What are maids of honor for?” I jumped off the counter, linked arms with her, and pulled the powder room door open.
“Do you want to sleep over tonight? So you can actually drink? We have the guest room all made up.”
“I can’t.” Nor did I want to, with Justin lurking about. “I’m going dress shopping with my mother and Amy tomorrow.”
Megan laughed, all trace of her earlier misery gone. “That’s so cute! They’re looking for a dress like she’s actually getting married?”
I groaned. “It’s like a toddler playing dress-up.”
Megan nodded distractedly, then saw someone near the front door and called out, “Maria!” Untangling my arm from hers, she rushed off to greet her newest guest.
I looked around. I could stick to Megan’s side all night, but with her running around in manic hostess mode, that didn’t seem particularly appealing, even though it was the safest option. Better to mingle a bit and then make an early escape. I had a sip of my drink left. Justin wouldn’t still be in the kitchen, right? I drank the last drops and decided to risk it for a second and final drink.
The room was more crowded, but I didn’t see Justin, so I mixed myself a new martini. I speared as many olives as I could and walked toward the living room to see who else I knew.
Then an arm dropped heavily around my shoulder, and I looked up in revulsion at the one person whose arm I truly did not want around me. “Um,” I said uncomfortably, moving out from under it. “What’s up? How are you?”
“How are you?” Justin asked. “Really? That’s all I get?”
“Do you want an olive?” I held up the pick from my drink.
He bent down and bit one of them, sliding it off the spear, looking up at me as he did it. I felt nauseous. That was the opposite of sexy. “It’s a start. I was surprised I didn’t hear from you after the engagement party.”
“Oh. Uh. You were?”
He nodded, leaning in way too close. “After you just left like that without saying goodbye. We have unfinished business. And you owe me for my shirt.”
Why did Amy have to get engaged on a night when I was around a guy who makes my skin crawl?
I laughed nervously. “Oh. Yeah. That. I was—I was a little drunk. I’d just gotten a call from my sister and—”
He leaned closer still, his breath sour from the beer in his hand. “I don’t need excuses. I just want to know how you’re going to make it up to me.”
“I—um—I—” I slipped my phone out of my purse, unlocked it quickly, and hit “Send” on the message to Becca.
My phone rang seconds later.
“I—oh, wait, I have to take this,” I said. “Hello?”
“Hey, Lily,” Becca trilled cheerfully. “It’s an emergency.”
“An emergency?” I repeated for Justin’s benefit. “Uh-oh. What kind of emergency?”
“Jesus. I don’t know what kind. A camel bit me? How’s that?”
I choked back a desperate laugh. “Oh—wow. That sounds—serious.” I looked up at Justin. “Excuse me. Sorry!” Holding the phone to my ear, I weaved my way through the crowd and onto the deck just outside the kitchen. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” I breathed heavily into the phone.
“That didn’t take long. What happened?”
“Do you have the wedding website up?” She didn’t, but she typed in the address. “It was Justin. As soon as I walked in, he made some dirty comment and then he just grabbed me and asked how I was going to make it up to him for leaving without saying goodbye the morning after the engagement party. And oh my God, Bec, it was the skeeviest thing ever.”
“He’s not bad looking.”
I made a gagging noise. “Sure. If you like date rapists. Blackout drunk doesn’t equate to consent. And he made it sound like I owed him something.” I shuddered.
“From his perspective, you did steal his shirt.”
“He got that back.”
“True. So what are you going to do? Is it too soon to leave?”
I looked at my watch. “Yeah, Megan would be upset.”
“Can you say you’re sick? Or that I had an emergency?”
“I doubt she’d buy that your camel bit you.”
Becca laughed. “The Mummy was on TV. It was the best I could come up with under pressure.”
I rolled my eyes. “No,” I said eventually. “I’ll be a big girl. I’ll just do everything I can to avoid him.”
“On the bright side, at least you know who you’re avoiding now!”
“True. Thanks, Bec.”
“Anytime. Call me back if you need another emergency because the mummy might attack me next.”
I laughed and told her to stay out of his tomb. She said she made no promises and went back to her movie. Taking a sip of my martini, I leaned against the railing of the deck, trying to make out the features of Megan and Tim’s new backyard through the darkness.
“Justin still giving you trouble?” a voice asked out of the darkness.
I jumped and dropped my glass, a tinkling sound echoing below me where it shattered on the patio.
“Shit!” I exclaimed, and the owner of the voice rushed over and into focus.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”
“You didn’t scare me. But Megan’s going to be upset I broke a glass.”
He shrugged. “Eh, it gives her an excuse to register for new ones.”
I squinted at him, backlit against the kitchen windows. “Alex?” I asked. He was the groomsman who had been checking out the bookcase when I arrived at the party.
He nodded. “I am sorry though. I wasn’t eavesdropping. At least I wasn’t trying to. I was already here when you came out.”
I was still startled, but my heartbeat was starting to regulate again. “It’s okay. What were you doing out here? It’s cold.”
He looked down. “I had an emergency of my own.”
“Did your friend get bitten by a camel to save you from a total sketch ball too?”
“Um, not exactly.” He hesitated. “My dad had a heart attack a few weeks ago and he was having chest pains today.”
“Oh no. I’m so sorry. Is he okay?”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, but when I got a call from my sister, it freaked me out, so I came out here to take it. He’s fine, but I needed a minute before I went back in. When I saw her name on the caller ID, I just thought—you know.” He smiled at me tightly. “And then your poor friend was suffering from a severe camel bite, and I didn’t want to interrupt.”
I laughed. “I’m such an ass.”
“Nah, I get it. Justin was all over you at the engagement party too.”