Kiss the Bride (49 page)

“We do?” Shane said it more as a question than a confirmation, but she pretended he was one hundred percent behind her.

Elysee operated on the assumption if you believed the best about people they usually lived up to your expectations. Well, except in the case of her three ex-fiancés—but those relationships hadn’t worked out because they hadn’t been The One. Elysee was a firm believer that everything happened for a reason.

“See.” She beamed at Tish. “We’re all in agreement. You’re going to videotape our wedding and it’s going to be fabulous. Now let’s get out of the bathroom and go have dinner. I’m starving!”

I
’m in serious need of an intervention,” Tish wailed to Delaney over the telephone.

It was after ten o’clock at night and it was really too late to call, especially since her best friend was a newlywed and it was a Monday. But Tish was drowning deep in emotional quicksand and Delaney was the only one who would know how to pull her out of it.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a half-gallon of Blue Bell mint chocolate chip in my refrigerator and a very big spoon in my hand and I’m afraid of what will happen next.”

“Don’t do anything drastic. I’ll zip right over.”

Ten minutes later her doorbell rang. Dressed in one of Shane’s old T-shirts, fuzzy yellow Tweety Bird slippers, and a purple chenille bathrobe, Tish shuffled to the door, the half-gallon of mint-chocolate-chip Blue Bell tucked in the crook of one arm. She flung open the door without even checking the peephole first, something she never did.
That’s how depressed I am.

“I brought reinforcements,” Delaney said, “and they’ve all got spoons.”

Tish had to smile at the sight of her two other close friends, Jillian Samuels and Rachael Henderson, standing on the porch beside Delaney. All three held up white plastic spoons.

Swinging the door wide, Tish sighed with relief at the cavalry and said, “Move your fannies in here now. I need all the help I can get.”

They ended up piled in the middle of the king-sized bed she had once shared with Shane. Tish sat cross-legged in the center, with Rachael on her left, Jillian to her right, and Delaney right in front of her. Tish held the Blue Bell in her lap while everyone dug in. What good friends they were! They weren’t about to let her get fat alone.

“So let me get this straight.” Delaney licked a dab of mint-green ice cream dotted with chocolate off her upper lip. “Elysee Benedict hired you specifically because you
were
Shane’s ex-wife?”

Tish nodded. “No kidding, you guys, the first daughter is a nutcase. She’s impossibly nice. When I had to tell her who I was, it felt like I was a rabbit hunter looking down the barrel of a rifle at Flopsy Cottontail.”

“I still can’t believe your Shane is engaged to marry the President’s daughter.” Delaney shook her head. “How did that happen?”

“He was on her protective detail and he saved her life.”

“Ah,” Jillian said. “She’s got him up on a pedestal. He’s her hero.”

“Which is perfect,” Tish said, “because Shane has a desperate need to be a hero. It bodes well for their marriage. I’m happy for them.”

“You don’t have to lie to us,” Delaney said. “Go ahead, dis the President’s daughter. We won’t tell.”

“Do you think they could have your bedroom bugged?”
Jillian, who was a bit on the paranoid side, asked and eyed the corners of the room as if she were going to spy a radio transmitter recording their conversation and sending it along to the FBI.

“I’m confused. Why would the President’s daughter want her fiancé’s ex-wife to videotape their wedding?” Rachael interjected. Rachael was a sweet-natured kindergarten teacher, with dazzling green eyes, long-flowing blond hair, and creamy porcelain skin. She was the starry-eyed romantic of the group. If she couldn’t understand Elysee’s motives, no one could.

“Apparently, Shane would never talk about me to her.” Inwardly Tish winced. It hurt to think that he disliked her so much he wouldn’t even discuss her with his fiancée. “So Elysee had someone do a little digging into his background, learned my name, and found out I was a wedding videographer. She believes this will help me and Shane ‘confront our baggage’ as she put it over dinner, help us ‘assimilate the trauma’ of our marriage.”

“Is she for real?” asked Jillian, an ebony-haired, black-eyed, street-savvy lawyer.

“Exactly,” Tish said. “De-lu-sion-al.”

“Maybe she’s just trying to be very adult about the whole thing,” Delaney said.

“Yeah? Like you would have hired Nick’s ex-wife to videotape your wedding?”

“Oh, hell, no.”

“See? That’s what a normal woman would say. You know what else Elysee wants from me?”

Her three friends leaned in closer, spoons dangling above the mint chocolate chip.

“What?” they breathed in unison.

“Bedroom secrets.”

“What!” her friends shrieked.

“Yep. She wants me to tell her what Shane likes.” Tish took a deep breath. “She said they’re waiting for the wedding night to consummate their relationship and she doesn’t want Shane to be disappointed. Can you believe she’s asking me for sex tips?”

Clearly scandalized, Rachael slapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes widened.

“It’s always the mousy ones.” Jillian shook her head. “Never trust the mousy ones.”

“I used to be a mousy one,” Delaney said.

“Case in point.” Jillian raised a finger. “Who staged their own wedding day abduction, hmmm?”

“You’ve got me there,” Delaney admitted with a big grin.

Last year, before she’d married Nick Vinetti, Delaney had been engaged to an old childhood friend. Because of the pressure of family expectations, she hadn’t known how to get out of the wedding. In desperation, she’d ended up hiring someone to kidnap her. It had turned into a big media drama, but also into a spectacular happily ever after.

“That’s gotta hurt,” Rachael said, looking at Tish with sympathy. “Your replacement expecting you to pave the road for her that you had to stumble down.”

Trust Rachael to ferret out the real meat of her emotions. Tish bit down on her bottom lip and thrust the mint chocolate chip away from her. “You guys do something with this, please, before I end up with ice cream intoxication and ten pounds of extra blubber on my butt.”

Delaney whisked the ice cream away to the kitchen and Tish glanced around at her remaining friends.

“The thing of it is,” she said, “I like Elysee. It’s
impossible not to like her. And she and Shane just seem to go together. Far better than he and I ever did. They’re both so calm and steady and they look so comfortable around each other. Like an old married couple. I can definitely see them making it to their golden wedding anniversary.”

“Comfortable.” Jillian snorted. “Like a sweater.”

“Like wool socks,” Rachael added. “Who wants to marry wool socks?”

“Being around them made me feel like a total disaster. I mean, Shane’s not only moved on but he’s going to be the President’s son-in-law. It doesn’t get any bigger than that, and meanwhile I’m still this stupid loser who can’t manage her finances or hold on to the best thing that ever happened to her.” Tish’s voice caught.

“The reason you and Shane broke up runs much deeper than money problems and you know it,” Delaney murmured as she stepped back into the room. “Don’t keep beating yourself up for something that couldn’t be prevented.”

“You’ll land on your feet. You always do,” Jillian said.

Rachael rested a hand on Tish’s shoulder. “You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?”

Tish nodded and instantly tears sprang to her eyes. Savagely she swiped them away. She didn’t break down like this. She was tough. She’d survived her nomadic childhood. She should be able to skip blithely through a broken heart, particularly one two years in the making.

“What am I going to do, you guys? If I do a good job on this wedding, the dream I’ve been struggling to achieve for so long will finally come true. Plus, it will solve all my money problems. I don’t see how I can turn it down. But I don’t know how I can survive it emotionally.”

“We’ll stand by you, whatever decision you make,” Delaney said. “We’re always here for you.”

Rachael shook her head. “You can’t take this job. It would be pure mental torture. Seeing Shane happy with the first daughter, feeling his hand on yours every time he touches
her
.”

“I think you have to take the job.” Jillian was so tough and strong. She was Tish’s hero. “It’s the only way to prove you’re over him.”

“But I’m not over him.”

“Then this will help you get over him. It’s time to move on, Tish. It’s been two years. Shane’s found someone else. Let him go so you can be free.” Jillian’s words might be stark, but they were exactly what Tish needed to hear.

It was way past time to move on. And she could only do that by accepting reality. She had to experience the pain and allow herself to fall through it to the other side in order to be free.

Tish looked around at her three friends gazing at her with supportive sympathy. She was so lucky to have them in her life. “I’m going to accept the job,” she said. “I’m going to see this thing through, make the best damned wedding video I’ve ever made, clear up my finances, and end up on top of the world.”

“You go.” Jillian grinned. “Don’t let any man keep you down.”

But even as she was declaring it, Tish wondered if she truly had the courage to make it happen. “Enough about me,” she said. “I’m through whining. What have you guys been up to lately?”

Jillian had a cryptic smile on her face. “I’m moving to San Francisco for six months.”

“What?” Delaney arched an eyebrow.

“Why?” Rachael asked.

“We’ll be bereft without you,” Tish said.

“I’ve got a golden opportunity I just couldn’t turn down,” Jillian rushed on excitedly. “I’ve been selected to be on the team of co-counsel with Belton Melville on the Nob Hill murder trial.”

“No way!” Delaney leaped off the bed and gave a hoot of joy. “
The
Belton Melville?”

“It’s going to be an amazing education for me, although I’m sure I’ll just be doing research.” Jillian beamed.

“This is that case where the ex–NFL football star stabbed his estranged wife to death in her boyfriend’s backyard?” Rachael asked.

“Allegedly,” Jillian said.

“Spoken like a true defense attorney,” Tish said, and hugged her friend. “I’m so happy for you, but what are you going to do with your condo?”

“I’ve already leased it out.”

“This is happening so fast,” Tish wailed.

“When the time is right to move on, the time is right to move on,” Jillian said and shot Tish a meaningful glance.

“I’ve got a little news of my own,” Rachael said shyly.

“Oh?” Everyone turned to look at Rachael.

A grin spread across her cherubic face. “I’ve met someone.”

“That’s so wonderful,” Tish exclaimed, and meant it. Rachael was a loving person, but she had such a Cinderella outlook on love. She was always getting her bubble burst when reality met fantasy. Her friend deserved someone nice.

“So tell us about him.”

“It’s too soon to say much,” Rachael said. “Except he’s sent me flowers every day since we met.”

“How long ago was that?” Jillian asked.

“Just last week. See, I told you that it was too soon to
say anything, but you guys, he’s so gorgeous.” Rachael swooned. “Blond and broad-shouldered and with the most amazingly rippled washboard stomach.”

“You’ve seen his stomach already?” Jillian teased.

“Don’t jump to conclusions. He was washing his car,” Rachael said. “But I have a very good feeling about this relationship.”

“Then you’re going to be needing this.” Tish got up off the bed, went to the closet, and retrieved the antique wedding veil. She took it to Rachael and laid it in her arms.

“Oh,” Rachael exhaled. “Don’t you want to hang on to it?”

Tish shook her head, remembering the day she’d tried it on and made her wish. “I’ve no use for it.”

“Thank you.” Rachael held the veil to her chest. “I’ll treasure it.”

“Just remember what they say about making a wish on it,” Jillian warned. “Be careful what you wish for—”

“Because you just might get it,” they all finished in unison.

“Well, I think that’s great,” Delaney said. “We’re all getting what we wanted. I got Nick, Jillian’s got a fabulous job opportunity. Rachael’s got a new man, and Tish is videotaping the President’s daughter’s wedding. Are we on top of the world or what?”

Yeah
, Tish thought.
Or what?

All her friends were slowly drifting away and she was facing the next several weeks, helping to make Shane’s new marriage wonderful. That was the funny thing about being on top of the world. Nobody clued you in to the sacrifices it takes to get there.

Long after her friends had left, Tish lay in bed trying to sleep, but the past wouldn’t let her be. Finally, at midnight, she threw back her covers and got dressed.