Chapter 48
Being surrounded by wedding gowns was more than a little humbling when your love life was as much of a joke as mine was.
I was sitting inside the dress shop on a Thursday afternoon with Grace and Haley while we waited for Callie—she had her final fitting and wanted us there to see the full look.
“So, this Monaco trip…” Grace said quietly, breaking the silence between us. I glanced over at her. “Do we know anything about the flight?”
“Mr. Money Bags got a private plane,” I quipped.
It was things like that that reminded me Lucas was a billionaire; his wealth was not something he flaunted, and I would honestly forget half the time. Then he’d go and do something like charter a private plane to fly all of his friends to the South of France. No big deal.
“Nice,” Grace said with a smile.
Haley snorted beside me. “Mr. Money Bags.”
I glanced at her with a small smile. “Am I wrong?”
“No, no,” she said with a chuckle.
“Oh, speaking of the trip, and since you’re here,” I said to Haley. “The painters will be at the beach house while we’re gone. So, once we get back, it will be ready for the furniture.”
Haley nodded. “I’ll let my mom know.”
“How’s that looking?” Grace asked.
“Amazing,” Haley answered with a grin. “My mom is more than impressed.”
Grace offered a proud smile as she patted my leg.
Just then, Callie emerged from around the corner with one of the ladies from the dress shop carrying the train of her gown. Grace and Haley jumped up with soft squeals and compliments while I sat there with wide eyes.
My best friend was going to make the most beautiful bride.
The woman fanned out the train as Callie stepped onto the small pedestal, and Grace and Haley were oohing and aahing. I slowly rose from my seat, looking her over from head to toe.
“What do you think, Mo?” My eyes lifted to Callie, and her brows rose as a smile tugged on the corner of her lips. “Don’t cry!”
“I…” I let out a breath. I wasn’t a crier, but I’d been more emotional than usual lately—I didn’t have to wonder why. “You look…” My trembling voice trailed off as I shook my head.
“Now that’s the reaction you want,” the dress shop employee said with a grin.
I let out a tearful chuckle. “You look amazing.”
“Everything looks okay?” she asked as I started to circle her.
“More than okay.” I stopped in front of her, my eyes still glistening as I smiled. “It’s perfect. You look perfect.”
Callie took her gown with her when we left, and we said our goodbyes to Grace and Haley before heading to my apartment—she was keeping her gown there so Lucas wouldn’t see it.
I hung the heavy garment bag over the closet door of my spare room before we walked back down the hall. “Do you want a drink before you go?”
“No, thank you, though. I have to meet Luke for dinner.” I nodded. “You were a little emotional today,” she said with a small smile. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah,” I replied, waving her off. “I’ll probably cry again on the big day when I see you all done up in it with the veil and everything.”
Callie smiled softly. “Are you sure that’s all it was?”
I blew out a breath. “Yeah…I’m fine. I’ve just been a little all over the place the last couple of weeks…”
“From running into Wes that night?” I nodded—I’d told her about it the next day. “I think he really misses having you around,” she said quietly. “Every Tuesday and Saturday, he asks if you’re coming.”
“Why? Why does he care?”
“Well, Mo, I mean…you two obviously formed some kind of connection in those two years you were sneaking around. You actually became friends, at the least. Then, you suddenly stop showing up for our regular outings. He’s bound to ask questions.
” She let out a breath. “Maybe it’ll do you some good to sit down and talk to him.
I know you don’t want to because you don’t think it’s your place to tell him about your feelings because of his situation with Lorelei, which I completely understand.
But you can still talk to him without putting that out there. ”
Maybe she was right. Maybe talking to him would be for the best. I didn’t know how to do that without telling him the truth about why I stopped coming around, but I was sure I could figure something out.
Because I did miss going out with everyone.
And I would have to get used to seeing him with her at some point.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right…”
“You can talk to him when we’re in Monaco next week,” Callie suggested.
“Yeah? How am I going to do that with his girlfriend around?”
Callie asked me if it would be alright if she invited Loralei for the sake of being inclusive because of her relationship with Wes. I told her that was her decision, and I understood her wanting to make Loralei feel welcome in our group.
Would it be weird and awkward as hell? Yes. But it wasn’t about me.
“Well, about that…she’s not coming. She thanked me for inviting her but said she had something going on.”
“Oh…”
I know I shouldn’t have felt relieved…but I was.
I spent the last week planning Callie’s portion of our trip to Monaco.
Since the girls would be doing their own thing for the first few days before we met up with the guys to celebrate the final two days together, I took the reins as maid of honor to ensure the bride-to-be was pampered the way she deserved.
I also spent the week playing out different scenarios in my head and working out ways I could approach Wes on this trip and ask if we could talk.
When my Uber pulled up to the tarmac where Lucas’s chartered plane sat waiting, I spotted Blake and Gabe walking up the stairs of the aircraft. I suddenly felt more on edge than I already was, knowing Wes was likely already sitting on that plane.
I let out a breath and slipped out of the car just as two more vehicles pulled up. I watched Wes’s friend Chad get out of one and sling a small bag over his shoulder while pulling another behind him as he made his way to the plane.
Haley slipped out of the other car, grabbing her bag from the back. “Hey,” she said with a grin when she saw me.
“Hey.” I looked at Chad again just before he disappeared into the plane. “I thought he wasn’t coming?”
“I guess he reached out a couple of days ago and told them his schedule cleared up,” she told me with a shrug.
“Oh.” I grabbed my bag and fell into step beside her as we walked toward the plane.
Callie appeared in the doorway at the top of the stairs, and I grinned.
“Ready to get your bachelorette on?” She smiled as she descended the stairs and greeted Haley as they crossed paths on her way up.
When Callie stopped in front of me, her expression told me something was amiss. “What’s wrong?”
“I tried calling you,” she said quietly.
My brow creased as I dipped my hand into my purse on my shoulder. When I pulled out my phone, I saw a few missed calls and message notifications. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I had it on silent.” I looked at her again. “Is everything okay?”
Callie smiled halfheartedly as she linked her arm through mine and guided me up the stairs of the plane. “Well…there was a last-minute addition…”
When we hit the top of the stairs and turned the corner into the cabin area, my gaze flickered around, and I froze.
I swallowed thickly, forcing a small smile when I saw Loralei sitting beside Wes.