18. Acock
EIGHTEEN
ACOCK
Jules
“No.” I cross my arms over my chest and stare down a petite, mousy brunette with a face like a hatchet.
Okay, her face isn’t like a hatchet, that’s just mean. But she does have what you would call a regal nose , and she’s trying to relieve me of duty.
“Jules…” Jackie’s eyes blink at me behind her thick frames.
I am immune to the pleading in my best friend’s voice. Sort of.
“You said I was in charge.” I barely resist the need to stomp my foot.
Damn it, this day started off so well . Hell, I’m still in post-orgasmic afterglow, and yet now I sneak out to the barn to find my usurper taking barn measurements while my mind is stuck on the look on Holt’s face when I shooed him out of the laundry room.
Did I do something wrong? Did he want his brother to see us come out together?
Let’s not even mention the mini-breakdown I nearly had over a stupid delivery box.
My best friend laughs nervously, pushing her frames up her nose. “Uh, well, no, I didn’t. Not really.”
My gaze snaps to Jackie, who steps back. “Yes, you did. On the phone the day after I passed out.”
The pseudo wedding planner pipes up. “You passed out?”
The look I give her shuts her right back up.
“When I called, I asked you to be my maid of honor,” Jackie says slowly.
“Yes. And I accepted.” I nod. “There you go. Confusion cleared up.” I look back at the interloper. “You’re dismissed.”
Heaving what I consider to be a rather dramatic sigh, Jackie takes my arm and leads me out of the barn. “We’ll be right back,” she throws over her shoulder to the wanna-be usurper.
Once we’ve cleared the barn door, Jackie turns me in front of her, placing one hand on each of my shoulders. “Jules.” It’s kind of cute how she’s trying to look me in the eye, but has to tilt her head up to do it.
“Jackie.”
Another sigh. It suddenly strikes me that with all the sighing going on—from my mother, Holt and Jackie—that I’m the common denominator. Huh. Food for thought. Later.
Jackie’s slim fingers pulse on my shoulders. “You didn’t honestly think I would just dump my wedding on you when you have a full-time job kicking butt at NASA and are up for a promotion, did you?”
Hmmm. Now that I think about it…
“I would never put so much on you. I know you’ve got a lot going on.”
Well, she doesn’t know everything . Like the daily texts full of slimy innuendos and threats.
Ugh, focus on the task at hand. Dropping my chin lower, I do my best pout. “But I’m your maid of honor.”
One side of Jackie’s lips tilt up, skewing her glasses. “Do you actually know what the maid of honor does?”
No, no I do not. But I’m not about to tell her that. “Judging by the thumb drive you gave me, I’d say plan the wedding.”
“I see.” Jackie lifts her hands off me and steps back. “I may have been a tad overzealous after Flynn proposed, and didn’t think the thumb drive through. I made it a while ago, after Flynn and I, uh, you know…”
“Started humping like rabbits?”
“Jules!” She slaps my arm, her cheeks pink. “But yes.”
We both laugh until Jackie suddenly stills, grabbing my shoulders, eyes wide. “Holy Mercury. You can’t tell Flynn I made it so long ago, I’ll look… I’ll look…”
“Like you were super excited to be with him and couldn’t wait to plan the next step?”
She bites her lip. “You think Flynn will see it that way?”
I shrug. “Honestly, I don’t think Flynn will care. He’s the one that proposed, after all, so he was probably thinking about this just as long as you were. The only difference is that you’re a research freak, so you put all your thoughts on a thumb drive.”
“Huh.” She drops her hands and pushes her glasses up her nose. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“I’m always right.”
“Jules…” Her exasperation is so amusing.
Damn I miss riling her up.
“Listen, let’s just hop on Pinterest and?—”
“ Pinterest ?”
My brows knit together at Jackie’s stunned expression.
“ You have a Pinterest account?” She’s speaking slowly again, but I think this time it has more to do with confusion than frustration.
My frown deepens. “Well, yeah. Duh. How else was I going to manage this wedding?”
“Um…” Light brown brows arch over the top of her frames. “I didn’t think you would be managing the wedding.”
Ignoring her tone, I detail my effort. “I even have an entire board for bridesmaid dresses.” I frown hard at Jackie, remembering the research I did for that particular board.
“You so owe me just for having to figure out the difference between tulle and chiffon and which would hold up better in a barn ceremony.”
“You did that?” Jackie’s eyes go wide behind her glasses. She looks kind of like an owl. “For me?” An owl who’s about to cry.
My boots shift in the dirt as I look around for someone to intervene. I already had a feelings talk today. I can’t handle the tears of my best friend. Especially when going commando. There just seems to be something wrong with comforting someone when you’re bare beneath your denim.
I need to delegate it. Because that is what a good commander does.
I scan the house porch. Empty.
The field to my left. Empty.
Behind me in the barn is an unwanted wedding planner and horses.
I seriously contemplate leading Jackie into one of the barn stalls and letting her pet a horse until she’s calm. That’s a thing, isn’t it? Equine therapy?
“But…” she sniffs. “It’s only been a week.”
This time I sigh. “Chill, girl.” I tug on her long ponytail. “You’d do the same for me.”
She takes a deep breath and nods. “Thank you. We don’t have much time.” She tilts her head in that way that she does when she’s thinking. “I guess I should’ve told Flynn no about the engagement getaway.”
I think of how handsy Flynn is with Jackie and laugh. “Somehow I don’t think you would’ve won that argument.”
Her cheeks turn bright red.
My bestie is so cute when she’s getting it on the regular.
“You’re such a good friend. You know I never would’ve met Flynn if it wasn’t for you.” Her eyes start glistening again.
“Shit.” I sigh, not wanting to go into all I did, but knowing details will shore up any lingering emotion that Jackie’s feeling.
Facts focus her. And also, my list OCD is oddly fueled by Pinterest’s ability to catalogue ideas and I’m kind of proud of it.
“Okay, first, I made lists for each part of the wedding that needed executing, ordered by importance and time frame needed.” Jackie nods.
“Second, I made calls and booked the best reviewed, after I forwarded each vendor specific pictures of what you wanted and received individual reassurances that they could pull through on time.” Another nod, this one with her eyes a bit wider than normal.
“And third, I scheduled appointments for us at the bakery and the caterer so that you can pick your menu.” She blinks at me. “I mean Flynn can come too, I guess.”
That gets a smile out of her. “You loved making all those lists, didn’t you?”
I buff my nails on my shirt, inspecting them in the sunlight. “You know me, list maker extraordinaire.”
“Yeah,” she says softly, stepping closer and giving me a hug. “I do know you.”
Hugging. Something else I’m not particular familiar with. I’m used to pats on the shoulders, a good old ’atta boy, or salutes. A side hug is my usual go-to if personal contact is needed. Jackie squeezes me harder.
It’s kind of nice.
And then I remember I’m panty-less.
Clearing my throat, I try and straighten. “So as you can see, everything is handled. No wedding planner needed.”
She huffs out a laugh against my shoulder before pulling back.
“But Jules, a wedding planner can take over from here, make sure everything continues running smoothly. They can contact vendors, double check deliveries and make the payments so that—” She pauses, frowning.
“Hey, wait a minute. How did you book vendors? I didn’t give you any money for deposits. ”
“Eh, don’t worry about it.” I shrug.
Jackie stomps her foot. “Jules! You are taking too much on. You can’t pay for my wedding!”
I’m one part surprised at the pitch of my usually reserved best friend’s voice and one part amused. But I sense that laughing will not help the situation.
“She’s right. You can’t.” A familiar voice interrupts. “But I hope you’ll let me.”
Holt ambles up undetected just as Jackie reaches her boiling point. Flynn is right behind him. Where were they when I was threatened with tears?
The newly affianced mechanic wraps an arm around Jackie. “Thanks, man, but?—”
“I insist.” Holt shifts closer to me, like he wants to wrap his arm around me like his brother did Jackie, but he doesn’t.
I wonder if that’s because I snuck out of the laundry room.
He keeps his hand by his side, but I see his fist clench. “I know Mom and Dad aren’t around, but if they were?—”
Flynn snorts. “They probably wouldn’t have come.”
Holt frowns but concedes Flynn’s statement with a nod. “You may have a point. But our parents would at least pay for their son’s wedding.” He snorts. “Society would demand it.”
Flynn frowns back but doesn’t argue. My brain, previously stuck on whether or not I should put Holt’s arm around me, pauses on the fact that their parents wouldn’t have come to their son’s wedding. What douche bags.
“Hey guys.” Jackie waves her hand between the brothers. “Remember me? The bride? I have money set aside for this too, you know.” She crosses her arms over her worn Old Dominion T-shirt.
The girl has gotten crazy into modern country music lately. She’s really going all-in on this cowboy fetish.
I eye up Holt’s physique in his tight-fitting jeans and tucked-in shirt. Not that I blame her.
“And I’m pretty sure my dad would have something to say about this, too.” One of her Converse taps a beat on the dirt beneath us.
Flynn just hugs her, arms crossed and all. “I know, Darling. We didn’t mean to cut you out.” He kisses her pout away until she’s giggling.
God, their cute factor makes my teeth hurt.