Chapter 38
Charlotte
“I don’t know if I like it,” the bride’s face scrunches in the mirror.
“Why not?” I ask, then I realize that’s probably not the best tone to have with a client. “I mean, what about it doesn’t feel right?”
It’s been a week since everything happened, and while I have jobs lined up and should be relieved, I am having a hard time putting my heart into it.
It’s not exactly easy considering just how bad things exploded.
And for the first time, I don’t have a lot of patience for picky brides.
Kind of hard when Holly was literally the dream client.
“I don’t know, the whole thing!” Jenna blurts out. “This is my third marriage. And you know what that means.”
She looks at me in the mirror as I look at what must be the twentieth dress she’s tried on. It’s the dress Holly got. The dress I literally have on all my wedding Pinterest boards.
“Your standards are lower now?” I ask and immediately know it’s not the right thing to say.
“No. It means this dress has to be perfect with a capital P!” she snaps.
“This dress is perfect,” I argue, straightening the train again.
“For a first wedding, maybe,” she mutters. “A wedding where the bride knows nothing about love and just picks a random dress off a random rack. I mean, look at it. I look like I’m wrapped up in a sheet.”
“Take it off then,” I snap at her. I have never snapped at a bride before. Forced a smile maybe. Lied through my teeth. Said whatever I had to get a paycheck, but never snapped.
“What?” she asks.
“Take it off,” I say again. “If you don’t like the dress, and it’s not the perfect dress, then take it off. It doesn’t suit you, anyway.”
Jenna is in shock, but I don’t care. As she gapes at me in the mirror without blinking, with a look that tells me I just lost a client for the first time ever. I honestly couldn’t care less.
The velvet curtain of the fitting room opens and the shop girl is standing there with a nervous smile. “Is everything okay in here, ladies?”
“Yes,” I say at the same time Jenna says, “No.”
The shop girl’s eyes bounce between the two of us, and after a moment, Jenna closes her mouth and then whips around me. “If you like it so much, why don’t you wear it,” she snaps and storms out.
“What happened?” the girl asks. “Did I just lose a sale?”
“Considering the fact that I just lost a wedding, yeah. I think so,” I sigh, walking around her.
I gather my things and head for the door just in time to run into Holly, who is carrying her dress. The same one Jenna is still wearing.
“Seriously?” Jenna asks, storming off. But I don’t care.
“Holly,” I say, but she just blinks, her jaw tightening as she attempts to step around me. I’m going for broke here, and I step in front of her.
We tango for a moment before Holly lets out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. Just let me return my dress first.”
“Don’t return it,” I say. “Not yet.”
She sighs again. “I’m going to return it. I am setting it down. It’s heavy as hell.”
“Exactly!” Jenna yells from the dressing room, and this time I am the one sighing.
Holly and I step back outside, and she crosses her arms, her eyes locking on mine.
“Don’t take this out on Ben,” I say, and her eyes narrow.
“Is that really what you want to say to me right now? You want to talk about Ben?” she asks.
“No. I just…he didn’t know that you hired me. And he didn’t know that Gavin and I were seeing each other. And he didn’t know I’m pregnant.” My words fumble out of my mouth, and I can’t help but feel like I’m making things worse.
“Okay. But he knew that you’re his ex. You’re Charlie.” She says it like it leaves a bad taste in her mouth.
“Trust me, I hate the nickname too,” I mutter. “Also, Gavin had no idea either. He didn’t know about Ben, the baby, or any of it.”
“That’s pretty messed up considering you two are blatantly in love with each other,” she says. “Or at least you were before you kept his baby from him.”
“I wasn’t ready to tell him yet,” I say. “And what do you mean, blatantly?”
“Come on, Charlotte. Everyone knew. You two were so obvious. All that bickering and flirting.”
“Everyone knew?” I ask. “Wait. Who is everyone?”
Holly gives me an incredulous look, and I bite my lip. “Right. This isn’t about me. Holly, I never meant to hurt you. Neither of us did.”
“Oh, really?” she asks. “Then why didn’t either of you say anything? God, I must have looked so stupid. You two pretending to be perfect strangers while I was rambling on about how perfect everything was.”
Tears form in my eyes. “Holly, you’re not stupid. And I can’t even tell you how stupid I feel.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything?!” she cries and tears swell in her eyes too.
“Because we didn’t want to upset you,” I say meekly.
“And I know how ridiculous that sounds now. Obviously, that omission ruined everything. But we weren’t hiding anything from you, I promise you that.
Ben and I are over. Over, over. There’s nothing between us anymore, and even when there was, it was nothing like what you two have. ”
Holly crosses her arms over her chest, sniffing and blinking back tears. I am not so lucky. My cheeks are already burning from tears.
“Do you wanna…grab a cup of coffee…or something?” she asks reluctantly. “And we can talk more. I’d just…rather not have this whole conversation in front of the dress shop.”
“Agreed,” I nod, and we make our way to the coffee shop across the street.
After grabbing lattes that I don’t know if either of us can stomach, we look at each other. It’s an odd thing, staring into her bloodshot eyes. We have little in common, yet we are strongly connected by those Lacey men.
“You know what the craziest part of all of this is?” Holly asks, stirring her latte. “I don’t hate you.”
“Well, I guess that’s a good thing,” I say with a small smile. Holly doesn’t smile back, and I don’t blame her.
“Like I genuinely liked you when I met you,” she says, almost as if it annoys her.
“I felt the same,” I admit. “Which was interesting once I realized who your fiancé was, and then it was a cocktail of different feelings. Not because I still have feelings for Ben, I don’t.
But seeing who he asked to be his wife was a real eye-opener for me.
I mean, he never even introduced me to his family or friends when we were together, and we lived together.
” I look down and start stirring my own latte.
“I think that’s what intimidated me,” she says. “We haven’t been together very long at all. It’s been a whirlwind from the day we met to the day he put a ring on my finger. It all happened so fast. It makes me wonder if it was too fast.”
My eyes flash up to her. “Would you be saying that if all of this hadn’t happened?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” she says pensively. “Probably not.”
“Well, I think you’re perfect for each other,” I say, hoping that’s not too bold. “You’re both wild and carefree, yet consistent at the same time. It’s exactly what Ben needs.”
“You think so?” she asks skeptically. “Because I always wonder if he needs someone more grounded. Someone who is organized and doesn’t just go along with all his whims. Someone structured, you know?”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s what he needs,” I mumble. I think it clicks that I am referencing myself because her eyes widen.
“It’s not a bad thing, you know,” she says.
“Sure,” I laugh, taking a sip of my coffee. “You don’t have to try to make me feel better about being high strung. I already know that’s who I am.”
“That’s part of what I loved about you,” she says, and this time I’m the one with saucer eyes.
“You’re joking,”
“No, I’m not, Charlotte. I envy how put together and organized you are. You always know what’s next and how you’re going to tackle it. I feel like I wing every moment of every day of my life.”
“And I envy that,” I admit. “To wake up and not feel like you have to go down a checklist in order to be successful, and if plan A doesn’t work, then plan B better, and if plan B is a wash, then I hope I had a plan C.”
Holly offers a small, understanding smile.
“I just…I met you and thought you were amazing. And the more we got to know each other, the more I liked you. I guess I was hoping we’d be friends even after the wedding.
And then when I found out that you were Ben’s ex… that you’re Charlie…it intimidated me.”
“But it shouldn’t,” I insist, leaning in more. “Holly, Ben adores you. I know he does because I can see it in the way he looks at you. It’s a look he never gave me.”
Holly nods and a small smile creeps across her lips. “Yeah. He really is something.”
“See?” I ask. “It’s right. You’re right for each other. Even if the situation is a mess.”
“I guess it was silly of me to be intimidated. But once I found out that you were Charlie, his ex with the cute nose and the snort laugh, I don’t know. I got in my head,” she admits.
“He said I have a cute nose?” I ask, and she nods. Then we both laugh, and of course, mine is a snort.
“Men are idiots,” she says with a sigh, and we both relax a little, taking sips of our coffees. Then I grew serious again.
“Do me a favor,” I tell her. “Don’t call it off. And don’t return the dress. Don’t let my mistakes and Ben’s mistakes affect what is meant to be.”
“Gavin did say that if we still want to get married, we can do something smaller at the resort,” she says. “I think he’s trying to fix things with Ben, but Ben is still pretty hurt.”
“He’ll come around,” I say.
“Can I be honest about something?” Holly asks, biting her lip. “I don’t love the dress.”
“You don’t?” I ask, completely surprised.
“No. It’s not really me. I just…you loved it and I figured if you love it, it must be the right dress. But I kind of want to wear something else.”
“Then wear something else,” I insist. “Just because I love it doesn’t mean you have to. Ben loves you for you.”
She nods, and it’s quiet for a moment. Sentence by sentence, things are starting to feel better.
“Can I be honest with you now?” I ask, and she nods.
“Of course,”
“I was really, really hoping we could still be friends.”
“I was too,” she says. “So tell me…girl to girl, lips sealed…what is going on with you and Gavin?” she grins. I can feel my cheeks growing hot. I cover my face with my hands.
“I don’t know,” I say through my fingers. “It’s wild. I met him at a bar after Ben and I broke up. I have to be honest; I have a thing for older guys.”
“I don’t blame you,” she says. “Not when they look like that.”
“These Lacey men,” I say, shaking my head.
“Right? Even Gavin’s brother is sexy as fuck,” she laughs.
“We hooked up. Totally thought it would be a one-time thing. Then I found out I was pregnant, got the email from you and I thought…perfect. I might actually be able to provide for this baby. Then when I went to the resort and met you and saw him…”
“Jesus,” she shakes her head. “No wonder you didn’t know what to do. That’s a lot, Charlotte.”
“It was. It still is. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want to ruin your wedding. And I needed the money…”
“I understand,” she says sweetly. “You must have been terrified.”
God, can this woman be any more wonderful? Tears well in my eyes.
“So, what are you going to do?” she asks.
“I don’t know. He won’t even talk to me,” I say shakily.
“Well, I bet he will come around. If his heart is anything like Ben’s, and I am sure it is, he won’t be able to avoid you forever.”
“Hopefully,” I say, and she stands up, pulling me into a real, genuine hug. It’s hard not to love her.
When we pull apart, she grabs me by the hands. “I have one favor to ask,”
“Anything,” I say.
“Will you help me pick out the perfect dress?” she asks, and my heart does a little backflip.
“Yes. Of course,” I say. “My other client just walked out so I am free…for the foreseeable future.”
“Great,” she smiles. “Because I am in the market for a kick-ass wedding planner.”