Chapter 16
Alex
“Ialmost feel bad for her,” Kenzie says, glancing at the three strangers in the room. “Can anyone really blame Harper for being jealous? I completely understand her little outbursts.”
“She didn’t really have an outburst,” I retort. “You did.”
She waves her hand dismissively and carries on. “It must be so tough for poor Harper. The man she expected to marry on Christmas Eve fell head over heels for her best friend.”
I roll my eyes, trying to gauge how tipsy Mom is. If she’s just drunk enough, I can sneak away without her noticing and avoid a lecture for skipping out on the party for my future sister. Ugh.
“What was all that about the deposit?” Betsy asks, clearly still invested. Of course, she stayed. She’s the biggest gossip in all of Frosthaven Falls.
“Oh, that? It’s a lie. Asher paid for the venue, which is why he kept it. But if it makes Harper feel better to think she had a part in everything, I’m more than happy to let her believe it.”
“No, it’s totally true,” Tracy chimes in. “I asked Brandon, who handles all the event schedules. The money came from Harper, not Asher. He never canceled the date; he just called to update it from Harper to Kenzie.”
Betsy’s jaw drops, and I swear she’s about to drool with excitement. She loves this kind of drama. Who doesn’t? This is the scandal of the year.
“And we all know Asher isn’t making much money,” I add. “He may be my brother, but his website designs are awful. I had to hire someone else to fix what he broke.”
“Go away,” Kenzie hisses.
“Gladly.”
“I’m coming too,” Tracy says. “I was only told I’d have to endure this for an hour, and it’s been an hour and a half. Happy bridal shower or whatever, Kenzie.”
We rush out to the car, laughing. “That was the worst shower ever.”
“It’s pretty typical for anything Kenzie organizes.”
Tracy slaps my arm, squealing as she checks her phone. “Oh my God, it’s starting!”
“What is?”
“The bridesmaid dresses are in.”
“And we’re excited for this because…?”
The dresses aren’t terrible, but they’re not great either. Kenzie totally pulled a 27 Dresses by saying we can “just shorten it and wear it again.” No one actually does that. It’s just ridiculous.
“Okay, remember how the bridal assistant said there needs to be a password on the account to make changes?”
I nod, confused. “Yeah.”
“Well, I might have overheard it. You’ll never guess what it was.”
“Um… Kenzie Andrews?”
“Harper.”
My jaw drops. “Wow.”
“Yeah, wow. Anyway, I had the password. After we all left that day, I called and pretended to be Kenzie. I said I changed my mind about the bridesmaid dresses. Lucky for me, they were just about to put the rush order in.”
A smile spreads across my face. “You didn’t.”
“We’re going to wear Kenzie’s absolute favorite color, which will remind her of her favorite movie and clash with everything she has planned.”
“Puke green?”
“Puke green. Although, it’s technically celadon. I’m guessing ‘puke green’ doesn’t sell that well. We’re going to look like the vomit from The Exorcist.”
I squeal and stomp my feet on the floorboards. “I can’t believe you did that!”
“Or are you just jealous it wasn’t you?”
I know Harper warned us not to do anything that might ruin this wedding, but the idea of Kenzie becoming part of my family makes my skin crawl. I can’t even stand her in my friend group, where she seems to think she’s found a way to worm in and push Harper out.
Her jealousy toward Harper has reached a level that feels almost obsessive.
Tracy and I have dissected it multiple times, but we can’t pinpoint a clear reason for it.
All we know is that Kenzie craves attention, and the only way she knows how to get it is through drama.
She really needs to abandon the belief that any attention is good attention.
Mom stumbles out of the house and points at us, and I instantly regret not just driving away. “Get inside!” she shouts.
With resigned sighs, we exit the car and head toward her. “Kenzie told us to leave,” I mutter.
“I don’t care. She’s going to be part of this family, and that means you can’t let me suffer alone,” Mom insists.
Tracy shoots me a knowing look, and I can’t help but laugh. Even Mom isn’t a fan of Kenzie.
As they step inside, the cupcakes are wheeled in, and Kenzie lets out a scream. We freeze, and I can see Mom weighing her options—whether she’s capable of sprinting in her current state or not.
“What are these?” Kenzie shrieks.
“Cupcakes?” Madeline replies, her voice trembling.
Poor girl has always been shy. She really belongs behind a desk, not dealing with people. I’ll never understand why she chose the hospitality industry.
“I did not order chocolate cupcakes!” Kenzie snaps.
Madeline looks like she might burst into tears, and Mom walks over to comfort her. “It’s not your fault, Maddie. Maybe Kenzie just ordered incorrectly.”
“I did not order wrong! I’m allergic to chocolate. I would never do that! Are you people trying to kill me?” Kenzie exclaims, her hands flailing dramatically.
“Wait, you threw your own bridal shower?” Betsy interjects, raising an eyebrow. “That’s not standard. Your maid of honor didn’t host?”
Tracy laughs a little too loudly. “She doesn’t have a maid of honor.”
“I was hoping Harper would come around, so I held the spot open. It’s basically an honorary role,” Kenzie explains.
“You honestly thought your ex-best friend would want to be your maid of honor and expected her to throw you a bridal shower after paying for your wedding venue?” Betsy says, practically rubbing her hands together in delight, eager to spread this gossip.
While Kenzie fumbles for a response, I turn to Tracy. “It would be funny, not mean, right?”
“As long as she can tell it’s chocolate, she won’t eat it. We need to make sure it’s not white chocolate, so we don’t get charged with attempted murder,” she quips.
We slip outside and climb into my car while I dial the bakery. Luckily, there’s only one in town, and I’m determined to nail my best Kenzie impression.
“Thank you for calling the Cozy Crumb. How may I help you?”
“Hi, this is Kenzie Marks. I need to change my cake order for my wedding on Christmas Eve,” I say, injecting some attitude into my tone.
Greta sighs on the other end, and I have to mute the phone as Tracy and I share a laugh. “What would you like to change now, Ms. Marks? I thought we agreed no more changes this close to the wedding.”
“I want to switch my cake to chocolate. Everyone else is having vanilla, and that’s just so boring. I don’t want my wedding to be boring, do you?”
“I thought you were allergic to chocolate.”
Crap. Tracy starts signaling with her hands, making some sort of circular motion. I have no clue what she means, but I get an idea.
“That’s Harper, not me, Greta. Why can’t anyone understand that Harper Wallace and I are two completely different people? Asher gets it, so why can’t the rest of the town?”
“Sorry, Ms. Marks. My mistake. I’ll make that change. Do you want to change the frosting, too?”
“No, the frosting will be fine. I want it to be a big surprise when it’s cut open and reveals chocolate.”
“This has to be the last change made. We’re too close to the event. Any further changes will incur an extra charge.”
We both fist pump in victory. “I understand. Thank you.”
“That was brilliant!” Tracy exclaims as we high five. “Now, let’s get out of here before your mom drags us back inside.”
“Good call.”