Knight in Shining Suit (7 page)

“
Bryan knows that
perfectly well, too,” Nicole said.

“
Well, then that might
work out well for you, too,” John said. “He’ll know how much you
have changed since you broke up with him. That will make sleeping
with this new guy even more believable.”

I forced a smile at
them.

“
But… three weeks is a
short notice. Even if you do find him and date him, how would you
get him to be all over you in time for the wedding without giving
him an impression that you’re a slut?” Dannie asked.

“
I know! Love potion
number nine!” I muttered sarcastically.

We sat there for a while,
contemplating our scheme. I must admit that it was perfect. If I
go, even for the sake of Uncle Jack, I don’t want to look like a
fool at that wedding. I don’t want to be pitied. And I don’t want
Bryan to think that he was better off, or Geena to think that she
had taken everything away from me. I wouldn’t be able to stand the
sympathetic looks of my aunts and uncles, even of my parents and
grandparents. And I would especially not withstand the sneers of
Geena’s friends.

Actually, thinking about
all that, I wondered again, why I was contemplating going to this
wedding. It would be much safer to just stay at home.

“
Guys, I… I don’t think I
should go at all. Why are we even discussing this?” I said to my
friends. “No. I will be firm about this! I will stay at home… and
sulk!”

**************

That night, I told Adam
all about the ring that Bryan gave me. He didn’t even offer a
reaction.

Then, I proceeded to tell
him about my Mom’s phone call, persuading me to attend the wedding
and my friends’ suggestion to find a date for that
night.

“
Your Dad would understand
if I don’t go, right?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “Yeah, he
would. But it would warm his heart to know that… there is hope that
you will forgive Geena for what she has done to you.”

I groaned.

“
But your friends are
right. You should go with someone who is like a slap in the face
for Bryan. Someone that Geena herself would drool over. You already
know she has envied you all her life. Even though she has Bryan
now, it’s still a hard habit to break. So, I suggest you show up
happy to that wedding… should you choose to go, that
is.”

“
But Adam… how will I get
a dream guy like that to fall for me in three weeks? Considering, I
don’t even know where to find one!”

Adam chuckled and then he
said, “Oh, little Astrid. Your soul is too good, you don’t know how
to conjure evil plans, do you?”

“
What?”

“
Find that guy, Astrid.
Smoking hot! That’s all you need to do.”

“
Where?”

He shrugged. “You go out
more than I do. I don’t know. In bars maybe!”

“
Even if he’s smoking hot,
he needs to be rich, smart, has a great career and he must be in
love with me.”

Adam laughed so hard, I
actually started to feel insulted.

“
What, you jerk? Tell
me!”

“
He doesn’t have to be all
that,” Adam replied. “He just needs to be from out of town and not
know anyone in the city.”

“
And?”

“
And then you ask him to
pretend he’s rich. A nice suit would do the job. As long as he’s
not dumb, had a little bit of high school education, he’s good to
go. Nobody in our family questions guests scientifically. Well,
except for me. But I’m on your side here. So, I’ll keep my mouth
shut.”

“
Adam…
are
you insane?”

“
Are you desperate?” he
asked back.

I sighed and didn’t
answer.

“
If you can’t get him to
say yes to the whole charade as a date or as a friend, pay him.
I’ll lend you the money. Or better yet, I’ll pay for it myself.
Whatever takes you out of this misery! Even for just a
day!”

“
You really are insane!” I
rolled my eyes.

He shook his head and put
an arm around my shoulder.

“
No. Sometimes I’ve wished
you really were my little sister, too.” He smiled at me
encouragingly and gave me a kiss on my forehead.

I sighed and then started
to head to my room. Then I looked back at Adam.

“
Thank you, Adam. You’re a
great brother,” I said and then I headed to my room.

4.

RSVP:

Répondez s'il vous Plaît,
meaning, “Please Respond”

I
’m not going. I’m not going.

At least that’s what I
kept telling myself over the last two weeks. Now, it’s one week
until the wedding and no phone calls from my mother begging me to
go. Not even an encouraging look from Adam.

So finding mystery Alpha
Male is out of the question. Until I received the call that I
thought I would never receive.

“
Sweetheart, it’s Uncle
Jack.”

I took a deep breath.
“Hey, Uncle Jack! How’s it going?”

“
Not bad,” He replied.
“How are you?”

“
I’m…fine, Uncle
Jack.”

He sighed. Then he said,
“Sweetheart, I know that what Geena did to you is just…
unforgiveable. I… couldn’t believe it when I found out. I know how
hurt you must have been.”

“
It’s fine, Uncle Jack.
I’m… over it.” I lied.

“
If you won’t make it to
the wedding, I would definitely understand,” he said.

I didn’t answer. Somehow,
there’s a hidden message there.
Does he or
doesn’t he want me to attend the wedding?

“
Astrid… I’m sorry. For
Geena’s behavior.”

“
It’s fine, Uncle Jack.
You don’t have to apologize,” I said weakly.

“
You’ve been like a
daughter to me too. I know your pain, sweetheart. Like I said, I am
deeply sorry for what Geena has done. And if you can’t find it in
your heart to forgive them… I wouldn’t hold it against
you.”

I took a deep breath and
went silent for a while. And then finally, I said, “You must be
excited for the wedding, Uncle Jack. You’ll be walking Ge… her down
the aisle.”

His tone finally
lightened. “Yes. It’s a proud feeling to be walking your little
girl down the aisle. It’s… probably going to be the happiest day of
my life…” He trailed off, realizing that he probably said too
much.

“
It’s okay, Uncle Jack. I
know you feel very proud. And I will attend the wedding. For you.
So your joy will be complete.” I didn’t know why I said that. But I
guess, I really love Uncle Jack. Enough to sacrifice my pride… just
to make him complete on that day.

For a while there was
silence, then I heard his heavy intake of breath. “Oh sweetheart,
sweetheart…” he started saying. “Sweetheart, you don’t need to do
that.”

“
For you, Uncle Jack,” I
said, trying my best not to cry. “I will do it for you.”

He sighed again and I
thought I heard tears in his voice when he said, “Thank you,
Astrid. You’re a wonderful woman. And someday, you’re going to meet
somebody who will make you happier than you have ever
been.”

Now, I really cried.
“Thank you, Uncle Jack. That means a lot to me. I’ll see you next
week.”

After I hung up the phone,
I must have cried for hours until it dawned on me that I had a
bigger problem now.

If I were to bite every
bit of my pride, I would do so with dignity and grace! Even if it’s
just for the show.

I stood up from bed and
called all of my friends and asked them to meet me at Oil
Rig.

Adam had a smirk on his
face when I walked past him in the living room.

“
Ten grand,” he said to
me.

“
What?”

“
That’s what I’m willing
to pay for your date,” he said without even blinking an
eye.

“
Wow! Why so
generous?”

“
Because you’re more
desperate now than you were two weeks ago.”

“
You’re not kidding, are
you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

He shook his head. “I
don’t have a sense of humor, Ash. You know that.”

When I met my friends at
the bar, I told them about my sudden problem.

“
We could have found the
perfect guy by now if you had only decided two weeks ago!” Dannie
complained.

“
I know guys! Now, I’m
just plain desperate.”

“
Where are we going to
find your perfect guy? And how?” Nicole asked.

“
Adam,” I
replied.

“
Adam? Are you crazy! He’s
your cousin! Even if you are not related by blood, you grew up as
cousins!” Nicole said, clearly abhorred by the idea.

“
No, silly! Adam gave me
an idea. He said, I only need to find a super hot guy and the rest
is easy.”

“
Are you forgetting? We
want super hot, super rich, evidently smart and successful?” John
reminded us.

I shook my head. “We only
need super hot and maybe desperate for money!”

They all looked at me as
if I just lost my mind.

“
Adam is willing to pay a
guy like that to pretend to be smart, rich and head over heels for
me.”

“
How much
money?”

“
Ten grand,” I
replied.

Nicole sucked in a deep
breath, Dannie’s eyes went wide and John almost choked on his
drink.

“
Wow! That’s a lot of
money!”

“
Well, he will have
expenses. He needs to rent a suit and a nice car. Plus he needs
to…
act
. And act
well!”

“
What’s in it for Adam?”
Dannie asked.

I shrugged. “Like you,
he’s was my punching bag too, remember? He sleeps next door to me
when I cry at nights. It must have been excruciating to live with
me for months now. If I know him well, I think he’s willing to pay
ten grand for a change of scene. Or maybe he’s hoping this is the
push I needed to get my act together soon so I can move out of his
crib and move on with my life. Plus, he’s rich. Ten grand is
nothing to him.”

“
Okay, so your guy only
needs to be sexy and handsome and must have a little bit of
education?” John asked.

I nodded. “He must be in
on the deal. He must pretend to be smitten with me.”

“
And you won’t mind if
this guy kisses you all over, puts his tongue down your throat, and
his hands all over your ass?” Nicole asked.

I took a gulp of my beer.
“If he’s super hot, maybe not.” I know that once I see Bryan and
Geena all lovey-dovey,
I
just
might put my tongue
down this stranger’s throat!

We all agreed to scout for
that hot guy who will be perfect for our scheme.

“
Remember, he must rent or
borrow a luxury sports car, if he doesn’t already own one. And he
must come in an expensive suit,” Dannie reminded
everybody.

“
Oh, oh! Wouldn’t it be
nice if he rents out the most expensive hotel room in the resort
where Geena and Bryan will have their honeymoon?” I
asked.

They all stared back at
me.

“
And what if he proposes
to me on the same night? With a big diamond ring! A real diamond
ring! That would really steal Geena’s thunder! And that’s only fair
since she stole my wedding anyway!”

“
Ten grand? Not going that
far,” John chuckled.

“
I’m sure there are rental
diamond rings out there. We’ll return it after a day.”

“
Ash, don’t you think
that’s going a little too far?” Nicole asked with a worried
expression on her face.

“
They
went too far, Nic! They cheated on me and they stole my dream
wedding! Plus, they made me pay for their florist! Every single
discount they got for their wedding was because of me! Because
those suppliers thought
I
was going to be the bride! Now,
that’s
cheap!”

John shook his head and
took a gulp of his beer.

Dannie nodded “I’m sorry,
Nic. But I agree with Astrid. The only way she can get back at them
for what they did to her, is to shine brighter than the bride on
her wedding day, and to make the groom ask himself,
‘what the hell was I
thinking?’
” Dannie smiled at me. “I’m with
you, Ash. Let’s find you the perfect man for the job!”

I was all set and excited
for the next day. We were all supposed to reconvene at the Oil Rig
Bar with pictures of prospects that I can choose from.

I’m was going ‘men
shopping’ and for the first time in months since Bryan proposed to
me. I actually felt a tingle of a thrill go down my
spine.

The next day, as I was
rushing to the Oil Rig, Adam handed me an envelope.

“
What’s this?” I asked
him.