Say Forever(41)

Grace is helping the salesladies as they try to stand up the racks. One of the staff cries out that a dress is covered in candy mess. They'll be sending my mom the dry cleaning bill, no doubt. A sneaky suspicion snakes up my spine as I eye Nora, who still hasn't taken her gaze from her glass. Her mouth is wrapped around the rim and she's staring down at it like a zombie in a trance.

"Those boys aren't going to be in the wedding, are they?"

Tia's sharp gaze is on me.

"They're our ring bearers."

Tia's eyebrows dip beneath her thick bangs. "Oh, because Andrés has a cousin who's slightly older and better behaved."

I shake my head. "I want my brothers."

"I know." Tia heaves an exaggerated sigh before she and Marie share a knowing glance. "I don't want them to lose the ring or ruin the wedding."

I fix each of them with a hard expression. "They're not going to ruin my wedding."

"The ring bearers don't carry the ring anymore. We put a decoy on the pillow." Nora waves a manicured hand with a flourish, flashing a lopsided grin before she holds up her empty glass. "Where's that girl with the champagne?"

The front door bell rings again, and Violet, Grace's girlfriend, walks through the door. She is dressed in her usual attire, faded denim jeans, western boots, and a flannel work shirt. She's recently cut off her spikes, and now her hair is cropped so short, she looks like she just got out of boot camp.

Violet waves hello to me before walking over to Grace and handing her a cellphone. "You forgot this in my truck."

"Did I?" Grace says as she pecks Violet on the cheek.

"Riding in trucks makes her sick, does it?" Marie grumbles behind me.

I cringe when Marie and Tia start firing off words in Spanish. They're bashing Grace, no doubt.

"I figured you'd need it." Violet lowers her voice, but her deep tenor carries far enough for me to hear. "Unless you were trying to avoid me."

"No." Grace's face flushes as she breaks eye contact with Violet. "I wasn't trying to avoid you."

Violet shrugs and turns to me. "Congratulations, Christina."

"Thanks, Violet."

I flash a weak smile, thinking how very much I don't want to be here. I can tell Grace and Violet are at odds. I just hope it isn't serious. The tension between Grace and Andrés's family is so thick it's stifling. I feel awkward while I watch Grace alternate between giving Marie and Tia icy glares and withdraw from Violet. And then there's my wedding planner, who's spread eagle in her chair while calling to the saleslady for more champagne. She's so drunk and disoriented, I have no idea how she's going to find her way home much less manage this wedding.

I join Violet as we help Grace and the salesladies put the dresses back on the rack. I hope the damage isn't irreparable. I cringe when I see a few of the white gowns marred by sticky candy. I follow a trail of pink splatter and discover an empty container of cotton candy beneath a mountain of white hoops. I quickly tuck the container underneath my jacket, thinking it best if I hide the incriminating evidence. Although I doubt it will matter. We were all witness to my brothers' trail of destruction. Who in the heck would give little kids cotton candy in a bridal shop?

It doesn't take long for us to get the store back to normal. I quickly slip outside and search out a trash can. When I can't find one, I throw the container in my car and go back to the store. My eyes bulge at Karri's familiar spiky pink hair as I see her get out of Violet's truck and wave me over.

Why did Violet bring my ex best friend here?

I pretend I don't see her, although that bright hair of hers shines like a beacon. I'm pretty sure satellites can pick it up from space.

I slip back into the store, grateful nobody threw any punches in my absence. Nora is piling Marie and Grace with dresses when she turns to me.

"Where are your other bridesmaids?" Nora asks impatiently, as if expecting my entourage of mythical best friends to arrive at any moment.

I shrug. "I don't have any other bridesmaids."

"This is it?" Nora sneers at Marie and Grace as if they've got a case of the plague. "Don't you have any other friends?"

"I wanted to keep the bridal party small." Speaking of small, I wish I was the size of my brothers, so I could disappear beneath a mountain of dresses for a while. I hate the way Nora and Tia are gaping at me, like I'm some friendless reject.

Tia clucks her tongue as she and Nora share a knowing look. "But Andrés will have all of his cousins standing up with him. You can't have an uneven number."

"How many groomsmen will he have?" Nora asks Tia, since obviously Andrés's aunt knows more about my wedding than I do.