Chapter 3 - Gwen - Bumping into You
Chapter 3
Gwen
It’s finally happening. I never thought this day would come. My best friend, Holly, and my brother, Greg, are getting married. I am over the moon for both of them!
Holly asked both me and her younger sister Margot to be her bridesmaids. I also get the honor of helping her plan the event. Sure, the cruise has its own wedding coordinator, Courtney, who I’ve chatted with a few times, but I need to make sure everything is just right for Holly and Greg. Never has there been two people who deserve to have a perfect day more than them. I’m not going to leave their wedding to some stranger. I’ll be managing it—the most important event of my career.
They won’t have to worry about anything because I’m always prepared for the craziest or most random things to go wrong at any event. Weddings in particular seem to always need some of the most outlandish fixes.
Groomsmen shave off the groom’s eyebrow the night before the wedding? Well, I have a fix for that.
Bride loses her something blue? I’m prepared for that.
I pull out my emergency bag and triple-check everything is packed and ready to go for the wedding. I’ll make sure everything goes off without a hitch.
My thoughts slip back to the wedding I had planned for Bradley and me.
Ugh, Bradley, why do I let that man take up space in my brain? Well, Gwen, maybe it has something to do with the fact that you had your perfect wedding all planned out, and instead of him proposing to you, he dumped you.
It’s been eight months since our breakup, and I can’t help but think that if Bradley hadn’t broken up with me, I would’ve been close to walking down the aisle now.
Forget him. I put the rest of my clothes in my suitcase. You have a thriving business, and he couldn’t even stand by you as you made it successful.
It was all about him and his needs.
Ugh, why are men so frustrating? Who needs them anyway?
I have been just fine without Bradley, happily spending my time building my business up. I’ve even been able to hire more people to help with the influx of events we get asked to do.
Plus, it’s not like he was right. I don’t work all the time. I put other people before my work sometimes. I get out and do things.
I just went to that event-planning conference in Florida last month, and I somewhat regularly see Holly, Greg, and Trent. Okay, I mean I guess I don’t see them all the time, and I mostly see Holly when I stop by her bakery to make sure an order for an upcoming event is good to go, but they understand. They, unlike Bradley, know how important my event-planning business is and how busy it keeps me.
I sigh, zipping up my suitcase. With Greg and Holly getting married, the dynamic of our friend group won’t be the same. I’m starting to realize how quiet my own company can be.
Music rings on my phone, and I dig through my purse to find it. That ringtone can only mean one person is calling.
“Hi, G,” says Holly cheerily from the other line.
“Hi, Hols, you have everything packed up that you need?” I ask.
“Of course.”
“And the lists I sent you and Greg, did you go over them?”
“Yes, Greg and I both checked our lists twice. I’m just ready and excited to be so close to the wedding date now! A few more days and we’ll be on the cruise, hanging out, relaxing, drinking mocktails by the pool.”
“But you have everything you need for the wedding—your dress, the rings, your vows?”
“Yes, Gwen, we have everything,” she says. “Stop worrying so much, you are supposed to be having fun on this trip. Remember, Courtney is supposed to be taking over most things so you can relax. You’ve been working so hard lately, throwing yourself into your work more than ever. We haven’t really seen you in months, and you seem different lately, not as spunky as you normally are. We want you to use this cruise to spend time with us as friends and get back to your old self.”
“I know. I will,” I say. Once I know everything is all set and perfect for the wedding itinerary and the wedding rehearsal, of course. “I’ll let you know once I get to the hotel, and you text me once you land in Miami, okay?”
“Sounds good. See you soon,” Holly says before hanging up.
Glancing at my to-do list, I check off the last item after slipping my passport into my purse. Everything’s all set for my flight to Miami tomorrow. Now, time for a bubble bath.