Friday Night Brides (10 page)

“Why would you
want
to be a bitch?” Becca asked.

“Sweetie, we’re all bitches,” Angie said. “And sometimes we need to not suppress the urge and sit back and see what happens.” She took another sip of her wine and looked over at Hailey. “Which brings us to you.”

The frown was still in place. “What about me?”

“You’ve been awful quiet since you got here. You managed to talk about the weather, the traffic and the funny conversation you had with the cashier over at Panda Palace, and yet we haven’t heard a word about your big lunch date with Logan.”

Grabbing the bottle of wine, Hailey poured herself another glass.

“That can’t be a good sign,” Becca murmured.

“Uh-oh…did you let your inner bitch out?” Angie asked with a smile.

Without answering, Hailey took a drink.

“Okay, if she’s not ready to talk about it, then we shouldn’t push her,” Ella said softly as she reached for the plate of dumplings. “There’s two left, who wants the other one?”

Angie snagged the other one and put it on her plate and for several minutes, they all seemed focused on divvying up the last of the takeout. “Oh for crying out loud, Hails, just tell us! It can’t possibly be that bad!”

“Ange…” Ella started but noticed Hailey holding up her hand to stop her.

Looking at each of the girls, Hailey took hold of her wine glass and smiled weakly. “It was awful.”

“No!” The girls collectively cried out.

She nodded. “I cannot believe he’s just so…not what I thought he was!”

“What do you mean?” Ella asked.

“He was polite and personable like he always is but…that’s it. There’s nothing else there.”

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Angie argued.

“Trust me on this one. Logan is great and sweet and funny, but there’s no substance to him. No depth. He lives in the moment with no thought for tomorrow or next week or next month! He’s like a frat boy!”

“Please tell me he doesn’t still live at home,” Angie said, doing her best to hide her mirth.

Hailey glared at her. “I wish I could. In the room over the garage.”

The laughter that followed by all of them was brief. “So what are you going to do?” Becca asked. “I mean…is this it? Are you over him now?”

“I…I honestly don’t know,” Hailey admitted. “I look at him and I just think…what if?”

“But you’ve seen who he is,” Ella chimed in. “You can’t change him into someone or something else, Hails. That’s not right.”

“Or…” Angie said, placing her glass firmly down on the table.

“Or…?” Hailey responded.

“Or you can just accept that he is who he is…that it’s not going to go anywhere…and maybe have a fling with him.”

“I can’t just have a fling,” Hailey said primly.

“Why the hell not?” Angie snapped. “Everyone can have a fling and there’s nothing wrong with it. If anything, you more than anyone else I’ve ever known needs to have a fling!”

“What?” Hailey cried. “I do not!”

“Yeah, you do! You’re so uptight all the damn time that I think it would do you good to just go out and get laid just for the sake of doing it! And who better than the guy you’ve been lusting after but see no future with? It’s freaking perfect! It’s like having your cake and eating it too!”

They were all silent for a moment.

“I hate to say it,” Becca said, “but she kind of has a point. You can get Logan out of your system and then go back to looking for the perfect man.”

“But I thought Logan was the perfect man!” Hailey whined. “How the hell am I supposed to know what that even looks like anymore?”

“You don’t,” Angie said. “This is all sounding like what we talked to Ella about the other night. The dating world? It sucks. It’s a lot of work and it’s exhausting and sometimes it’s going to just let you down. You looked at Logan and only saw what you wanted to see. Next time you’ll know not to judge a book by its cover.”

Hailey put her hands over her face and sighed. “Oh God…my mom was right! I am such a snob!”

“Uh…yeah,” Angie said. “You are. We all know it and yet we still love you.”

She dropped her hands. “Seriously? You all think I’m a snob?”

Becca looked away as Ella jumped up and began clearing away the takeout containers and Angie took a slow sip of her wine.

“Great.
Great
! So…my mother was right. I’m a snob and everyone knows it,” she huffed. “Now what?”

Putting her glass down, Angie leveled her with a stare. “You have a fling and move on.”

“But…I don’t…how…?” Hailey sputtered helplessly.

“Use your words,” Angie teased.

Ella sat back down and smiled patiently. “I hate to say it, but you totally need to leave your comfort zone, Hails. Normally I don’t believe in the fling thing, but in this particular situation, I think it’s what you need to do.”

“If you don’t,” Becca began as she took her seat again, “you’re always going to wonder about it. For all you know, the sex could be really bad and then it will totally cure you of your feelings for him.”

“But what if the sex is good?” Hailey asked earnestly. “Like mind-blowingly good? Then what?”

“Then you keep flinging until you’re done,” Angie said matter-of-factly then shrugged. “Why are you overthinking this? You like this guy. You think he’s hot. And in this instance, you get to have sex with him without worrying about whether or not he’s going to be able to support you financially in the future. No strings. No hassles. No worries.”

“Isn’t that how you went into things with Sean?” Hailey asked with a hint of snarkiness.

“As a matter of fact it wasn’t,” Angie countered. “It was lust at first sight for the both of us. We were always on the same page from the get-go.”

“But it was all about no strings and worries and all that happy horseshit,” Hailey replied. “And now look where you are.”

“I don’t think we need to get pissy,” Becca interjected.

“Don’t worry,” Angie said, her eyes never leaving Hailey’s. “I don’t see it that way. Hailey actually has a point. So…yes. In the beginning Sean and I were just having fun and then my feelings changed. Apparently, so did his. We didn’t talk about it before. From this point forward, however, we will. I knew I liked Sean and I knew what he did for a living and I’ve met his family. Hailey—on the other hand—based all of her feelings simply on Logan’s looks. That’s the difference.”

“God,” Hailey huffed, “you really can be a bitch.” She stood and walked out of the kitchen.

With a sigh, Becca got up and went after her. She found Hailey by the front door putting her shoes on. “Don’t go,” she said. “You threw down the gauntlet. You can’t honestly say you’re surprised she came back at you.”

“Yeah, but…”

“And nothing either of you said was a lie. You did base your opinion of Logan on his looks without getting to know him and Angie went into her relationship with Sean as a fling. I think things got a little out of hand, but since when do we tiptoe around each other?”

Hailey’s shoulders dropped and she leaned against the front door. “You know what kills me more than anything?”

“What?”

“I’m really this shallow.”

“Hails, you’re not shallow. You’re disappointed Logan isn’t exactly who you built him up to be. It doesn’t make him any less of a good guy. But…we’re also at the age where we’re looking for a man who is going to take care of us. Or in the very least be a partner with us. It may not be politically correct to admit it, but there it is.” She shrugged and took one of Hailey’s hands in hers and squeezed. “Don’t go. We still have the DVD to watch and we have to watch it together.”

Hailey seemed to consider her options for a minute. “Will we get to be here when you call Max and let him know how we liked it?”

Becca blushed. “I don’t know. I’m really nervous about calling him.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s not really about the DVD. You and I both know that. He was giving me a reason to call him so he could ask me out.”

Hailey smiled. “It’s kind of cute if you ask me.”

Becca agreed. “Am I crazy for going out with him so soon after my breakup with Danny?”

“Hell no! I think going out with Max is going to be a great thing. He’s super sweet, considerate and it’s kind of obvious that he’s really into you.”

“Yeah…well…if I’m being honest…I’m really kind of into him too.”

Hailey’s grin widened. “Aww…aren’t you adorable!” She pulled Becca in for a hug. “Fine, we won’t hover when you make the call, but you have to promise to call us all when you get back from your date.”

Becca pulled back and smiled. “Deal.” Moving away, she walked over to the TV and turned it on. “I already have the DVD in.”

“Why didn’t he just upload it and send it to you? I didn’t think anyone even used DVDs anymore.”

“I guess it’s like having a hard copy for copyright purposes,” Becca said. “When it’s all done and edited, I’m sure we can ask him to send us each a copy of the file. Hopefully he won’t mind.”

“Maybe.”

“Come on, you two,” Becca called into the kitchen. “We’re going to watch the DVD now!”

Angie came into the living room first and eyed Hailey warily. “Are we cool?”

Hailey nodded. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I overreacted.”

They hugged it out just as Ella walked in. “Oh, thank God. That was awkward.”

Together, they sat down around Becca’s living room as she hit play on the remote. For the next thirty minutes, no one spoke. Max had taken all of the pictures and set them to a beautiful orchestral soundtrack. Every once in a while he cut away to some audio of Judith talking during a bridal show but the story was generally told with the musical soundtrack.

At the end of the DVD, the words “Friday Night Brides” came across the screen. They each looked at one another and then gasped at the picture that came up first. It was the four of them dressed up as flower girls in their very first show. And from there, it flowed easily as the pictures showed how they had grown and transformed from young girls, to teenagers, to the women they were now. All of the dresses—flower girl, bridesmaid and bridal—were there. Some of the photos showed them posing as a group, while some were individual shots.

The final picture was from the anniversary show when Judith had come up on stage at the very end and stood in the middle of their quartet. Each of them were smiling—beaming really—and the shot perfectly captured every emotion they were feeling.

When the screen faded to black, the room was silent.

Becca looked around and saw that, like herself, everyone was a little teary. “Wow,” she quietly. “That was…”

“Amazing,” Hailey finished for her. “I know I saw all of those pictures dozens of times in my life, but never like that. What Max did was…”

“Beautiful,” Ella said, her voice filled with wonder. “I can’t believe he was able to put something like that together in a week! The pictures he chose were perfect and the music just added to the emotion and it was all just so…”

“Un-freaking-believably awesome!” Angie finished.

“You always take it a step further,” Becca laughed.

“Go big or go home,” Angie chuckled and raised her wine glass in a mock salute. “That was incredible. Hails, your mom is going to love it. I don’t think I’d change a thing.”

“Me either,” Ella said. “And I’m telling you now, Dylan and I are going to book Max as our wedding photographer. If he can do something as amazing as that, then I definitely want to book him before the word gets out about how great he is.”

“He’s going to love that,” Becca said. “Can I mention it when I talk to him later?”

Ella nodded. “Absolutely! Dylan and I haven’t really talked about a photographer yet, but once I tell him about Max’s work, he’ll be on board. And I’m already thinking about the kind of wedding video I want!”

“With all of the years the two of you have been together, Max will have plenty of photos to use for the montage,” Hailey said with a smile.

They all stood and went back to the kitchen. “Anyone want coffee or tea with their brownies?” Becca asked.

“Any chance you have some ice cream?” Hailey asked. “That video left me with an overwhelming need to overload on chocolate.”

“It was pretty emotional,” Becca agreed as she pulled a carton of ice cream from the freezer. “Have at it.”

For the next hour they talked about the video and food and Ella’s wedding and Becca’s upcoming date with Max. By the time everyone left, Becca was only mildly nervous about making the call.

Walking into her bedroom, she changed into an oversized t-shirt and went through her nightly routine—washed her face, brushed her teeth, and procrastinated for as long as she could. Max’s business card was sitting on her nightstand along with her phone. It was almost eleven o’clock and now she wondered if she was being completely rude.

Only one way to find out…

“Hello?”

Just the sound of his voice made Becca smile. “Hey,” she said softly, “it’s Becca. Sorry I’m calling so late.”

“I was afraid you weren’t going to call at all,” he admitted with a nervous chuckle. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good.” She told him about her night with the girls and how things almost fell apart. “It doesn’t happen very often, but every once in a while, we get a little…snippy.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Max said. “It’s not possible for everyone to get along and be happy all the time. You’re four very unique women. But it’s great how you were able to put it all aside so quickly.”

“Well, watching your video really helped.”

He was silent for a moment. “So…? What did you think?”

She couldn’t help but smile at the uncertainty in his voice. “Max?”

“Yeah?”

“It was amazing,” she said. “Absolutely amazing. By the time it was over, we were all crying.”

“Really? You’re not just saying that?”

“Trust me. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it,” she said honestly. “We were all blown away with how you were able to put something together so amazing and beautiful on such short notice. Ella is going to be calling you to book you for her wedding.”

“Seriously? That’s great! The only weddings I’ve done so far have been for friends and family, but…uh-oh.”

“What? What’s the matter?”