Page 78 of My Fake Fiancé

"Yes, sounds perfect. I don't know how much storage space we'll have to hold all your ideas so we should probably go shopping towards the end of the week so we only have to live like hoarders for a week. No more."

Tatyana nods in agreement, looking around the room to spot places to store decorations.

"Oh, and the owner said we can come two hours early to start setting up decorations for the party but the restaurant won't officially close for us until 5 p.m. and then we have it the rest of the night!"

"Oh, perfect!" Tatyana claps her hands together excitedly.

We spent the rest of the evening eating more popcorn and ordering pizza while we browsed different sites to see if we could find the right ideas. We ended up calling shops and ordering online to make sure we secure the perfect decorations for the engagement party. Most things will take a week to come in which fits our timeline perfectly. By the time everything is squared away, it's almost 3 a.m. We lay back on the couch and admire our handy work.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Tatyana yawns and wraps herself in a blanket. I can't help but agree and we both fall asleep with smiles on our faces.

Chapter 66

Juliana

Finally, the day of the engagement party arrives and a few minutes after 3, Tatyana and I walk into El Mezcal, our arms loaded with bags. The restaurant owner hurries over to us and I shift some bags around to shake his hand.

"So nice to meet you. I am Juliana and this is Tatyana. She and Mike are the ones who recently got engaged. Mike will be joining us a little later, he is still at work."

"But he is getting off early for tonight!" Tatyana pipes up, a big smile on her face as she reaches to shake the owner's hand as well.

"Lovely. My name is Don Lizarazo, I am the owner here. It's nice to meet you both and I look forward to meeting Mike as well. Please let me know if there is anything we can do to help set up."

"We should be able to handle it ourselves, I think. And we will try not to bother your other guests." I smile apologetically since I can tell people are already watching us. Don nods at me and then excuses himself to go assist one of his waiters.

"He seems nice," Tatyana comments, then goes to set up a large table at the back of the restaurant. She places all her bags on the floor by the table and I do the same.

"I'll run out and grab the rest of the items. I should be able to carry them by myself." I grab my keys and head back outside while Tatyana gets to work inside.

I am able to get the rest of everything but struggle to close the hatch of my car. When it's finally closed, I let out a breath and make my way back into the restaurant. Someone grabs a bag off my arm and hands it to another person.

"Here let us help with those," Sam, one of our friends, smiles at me while taking the rest of the bags to divide between the three women who have just shown up.

"Thank you. And thank you all for coming to help set up." I express my gratitude and look around at all the smiling faces surrounding me. Oh no, some have a hint of sadness or maybe pity in their eyes. I guess word did travel. Well, it has been three weeks. Everyone probably knows about Kurt and me at this point. Although we had never directly addressed anyone outside our parents about our breakup, everyone knew that I was back living with T and I hadn’t spent much time with Kurt recently. I feel the need to remind them. "Tonight is about Tatyana and Mike."

They all nod in agreement and head off into the restaurant to help with the setup. Sam stays behind, loops her arm through mine, and tugs me along.

"This is going to be so much fun!" I chuckle at her enthusiasm but agree and let her drag me to the rest of the girls.

"Thank you all for coming to help!" Tatyana throws her arms around the women nearest her and everyone squeals excitedly. "The party doesn't start till 6 p.m. so we have an hour after the restaurant officially closes for our use at 5 p.m. but I figured we'd better set up now so we have time to get ready before the party and of course arrive fashionably late."

"Not too late," I scold her, teasingly. "I did book us all a quick spa appointment at 4:45 p.m. so we only have about an hour and a half to get all of this finished. Nothing too fancy, just a mani-pedi. Alright now, let's get to work ladies!" We all cheer then quiet down realizing there are still guests around us.

The other women start laying out tablecloths and setting up stands for cute placement of the food and carefully hanging things on the wall. Adding it to the decoration already there trying to make it look right for an engagement party without completely cluttering the wall.

By 4:30 p.m., only a few tables remained filled by customers while the others had been taken over by our party. Some of the customers even offered some ideas which we gladly accepted.

When the last table gets up to leave, they congratulate Tatyana and comment on the amazing decoration. We grin and thank them and of course, Tatyana invites them to come back and join us in a couple hours. They happily accept and we laugh with our new friends. Finishing the last table is quick since we've gotten it down to a simple process now and while the other ladies are still making a few adjustments I check my watch and see we have five minutes to make it to the nail appointment.

"Alright, we have to go! Tatyana get your stuff. Ladies, are you all right to finish up here and meet us over there?" Everyone agrees as there isn't much left to do.

"I'll hide all the empty bags in my car," Sam offers.

"We can store everything in the back room and we will roll the bins out to the trash. Don't worry about it. Go have fun. Everyone," Don tells us and shoos us out the door. Don came out around 4 to help us decorate. I think he really enjoyed the process. I throw my arms around him in a hug and thank him profusely before shuffling everyone out the door. We decided to take two cars to make it easier to go back to our own places to get dressed for the party.

When we arrive at the nail salon, we are ushered in and Tatyana takes the middle two of five empty seats, leaving room for the rest of the girls to sit beside us. After soaking our feet for a few minutes, the salon doors open and the chatter of friends enters growing louder as they make their way towards us. They spread out around us and take their seats.

"Sorry, it took us so long," Kamie apologizes, tossing her purse into the little cubby beside her chair. "Of course, we couldn't find any place to park. How did you guys find a spot so quickly?" Kamie groans and rolls her eyes but doesn't let the annoyance ruin her time.

---