Chapter 22
Noah
At lunch, I glared at Kristen across the table who very intensely avoided my stare.
Thankfully, Rosa and I had escaped Morgan quickly before the waiting paparazzi caught a picture of all three of us together. Even still, I could feel the tension radiating off of Rosa, sitting beside me all through lunch.
Francesca smiled warmly at my mother, sitting on the other side of me. "Noah mentioned he has siblings?" she asked, making small talk as we finished the final bites of our lunch.
"That's right," Mom said. "Noah's my baby... well, one of my babies. He has a twin sister who’s a few minutes younger than him."
Francesca chuckled in a way that was simultaneously genuine and practiced. "Twins? On top of your other children?"
"Noah and Callie made four and five for us," Mom said, pausing to ruffle my hair like I was five years old again. "And then after that? I sent Mike to get a little procedure of his own." With her fingers she made a scissor shape. "Snip, snip."
"Mom!"
Rosa laughed. "I can't say I blame you. Five kids? That's a lot ."
A few tables down from us, a hostess led the way, seating about a dozen of my friends from New York, colleagues, and fellow actors.
Of the group, West was the only one I would consider an actual honest-to-God friend.
He gave me a little wave, looking wildly out of place with his beard and full sleeve of tattoos covering his arms amidst the other pretty boy actors on my show
From across the table, Kristen caught my glare once more.
My colleagues chattered loudly as they settled into their table, already immersed in discussion of the latest draft of our script we’d received for next season. I tried to ignore them, focusing on my mom, Victor, Francesca, and Rosa, but their boisterous presence made it difficult.
"Aren't those your friends from your show?" My mom asked.
"Yeah," I said. " Somehow they must have found out that we're having a wedding."
"We invited them!" Francesca said, beaming at me.
Confused, I looked back and forth from Francesca to Kristen, who was smugly crossing her arms. I'd been so sure it'd been my publicist. Why the hell did Rosa's mother invite my cast mates from New York? " You invited them?"
"Mama!" Rosa gasped. "Why would you do that without talking to us first?"
"I thought it would be a nice surprise."
Rosa's jaw twitched. "You're all about the surprises this week, aren't you?"
But Francesca was having none of her sass. She arched a thin, dark eyebrow at her daughter and said, "You really want to talk about surprises? Try having your only daughter elope without even telling you."
My mom cleared her throat. "Noah, why don't you invite them to join us? We're just about finished up and I need to run in a few minutes anyway."
I shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know if that's a good idea..."
But before I could protest further, Kristen had already stood up as well. "Francesca and I should really get back to the bridal boutique, too. We can pull a few more dresses for you to try on while you two finish up here."
Rosa cleared her throat. "Oh, Noah and I have a lot to do, too. We'll come too?—"
"Nonsense," Francesca said, standing and tossing her cloth napkin onto her barely nibbled salad plate. "I'll go invite them over on our way out," she said brightly. "You really should integrate yourself into your husband's friend group."
I wanted to sink into the floor as Kristen and Francesca breezed over to their table.
I saw her gesture animatedly as she spoke to them, no doubt enthusing about how they simply must join us.
A few moments later, the entire group rose from their seats, gathering their things.
Francesca led them triumphantly back to our table.
My mom smiled graciously, gathering her purse and kissing me on the cheek. "You two have fun and we'll catch up soon."
Rosa stood, giving my mom a huge hug. It wasn't lost on me that my mom received a warmer goodbye than her own parents did as they all sauntered out the door, waving goodbye to all of us.
As my colleagues crammed into the spaces around our table, pulling up extra chairs, I cringed internally. And the only friend in this group I even wanted to be here was pushed to the other end of the table.
Even though Rosa and I were finished eating, this was going to be the longest damn lunch of my life.
Morgan slid into the seat my mom had left vacant and gave Rosa a snake-like grin. "Well, isn't this cozy?"
Rosa shifted a little in her seat, giving me a nervous smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
Beneath the table, I took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
I didn't exactly know what I could do to reassure her that everything was going to be okay when I wasn't exactly comfortable with the situation either.
I was never the best version of myself in front of my fellow actors. My closest friend on the show was Gavin, but after Morgan and I broke up, even he and I had drifted apart.
"Our boy is getting married!" my costar, Daniel said. He leaned over the table, giving me a dramatic kiss on the forehead.
"Yeah, yeah, alright. Come on, it's not that big of a deal." I muttered, wiping off his kiss.
"Really? Not that big of a deal?" Rosa repeated, quietly.
On the other side of me, Morgan snorted a laugh. "Well, I could have told you that."
"That's not what I meant," I tried to clarify, rubbing my fingers against the burgeoning headache pulsing behind my eyes. But before I could explain further, Daniel raised his hand in the air, calling over our server. "Two bottles of Veuve Clicquot, please!"
The waitress shifted uneasily on her feet and glanced at me. "Um... we only have LaMarca."
Heat rushed to my face. I wasn't exactly ashamed of my roots. But my quaint small town wasn't ready for the likes of celebrities. I was trying to protect Maple Grove more than I was trying to posture in front of my fellow actors.
"LaMarca would be great," I said, offering her a small smile.
"LaMarca?" Gavin's face twisted. "Isn't that the shit they sell at Target?"
Morgan waved a pale pink manicured hand in the air. "How would I know?"
I did my best to laugh, but it sounded hollow and echoed like my chest was a cavern. "We can always take the bottles and dump them in the lake," I offered, sarcastically.
Only, they didn't take it as the joke I'd intended. Morgan's eyes went wide. "Oh my God, that would be hilarious."
"We should do that, right?" Trichelle chimed in. "Like, how fun would it be to fill an entire canoe with shitty champagne and take it out on the lake? We'd break fucking Tiktok with that shit."
"It's not like Maple Grove has anything more exciting to offer," I muttered, hoping they'd take the hint and get a hotel in a town nearby... but not too close. "You know, Concord isn't so far and they at least have bars that stay open past eleven."
"Eleven?" Gavin grunted. "How the fuck are we going to plan a bachelor party here if they're only open until eleven?"
"Bachelor party?" Rosa asked, blinking at me.
"Yeah, I don't think so, guys?—"
"We can always have it at the hotel," Daniel said. "Get some strippers, some shrooms. Fuck the local yocal bars. We know how to party!"
Rosa was stiff as a board and finally my friends seemed to notice.
"Oh, don't worry, Rosie," Trichelle said, leaning across to take her hand.
"Rosa," she corrected.
"Right. We'll throw you a bachelorette party while they're out being boys. We'll show them they're not the only ones who know how to have fun!" With a squeal, she tossed her hands in the air, shaking her tits.
Daniel and Gavin laughed. Beside me, Morgan merely sneered. "We'll take good care of you, Rosa."
Over my dead fucking body.
"Why don't we have a joint bachelor and bachelorette party?" I offered quickly instead.
I knew my friends and there was no way we were getting out of this. But at least this way, Rosa and I could be together and I could make sure Trichelle and Morgan didn't sabotage us.
I tried to squeeze Rosa's hand once more, but she slid away from me and stood up. "I need to go walk Birdie," she said.
“Oh my God!” Trichelle's face twisted. "You walk your bird?"
"Birdie's the name of our dog," I said.
"Ohhh," Trichelle said, but there was a blank expression that seemed like she still didn't quite get it. "You should have your assistant do that."
"I don't have an assistant," Rosa said. "Besides. I like walking Birdie."
Something didn't sit right with me in the narrowed crinkle of her eyes. Or the abrupt way she grabbed her purse and whipped it around to sling it over her shoulder.
"I'll come, too..." I offered.
"No. I got it. You stay with your friends ."
She didn't let me object before she was briskly heading for the front door.
"Have fun picking up shit!" Morgan called after her. Then as soon as she was gone, Morgan leaned into me, pressing her breasts to my bicep.
"Come on, Noah," Morgan whispered, bringing her lips dangerously close to my ear. "Tell us the truth. There is no way you're really marrying that girl, is there?"
I slid out from beneath her touch and stood to my feet. "Can't you read the fucking room, Morgan? Not only am I celebrating my love with Rosa. But we're already married. And fucking blissfully so." I grabbed a wad of cash and tossed it down on the table. "See you guys later."
With that, I rushed after my bride.