Page 46 of Bride Games

Paige grinned as they stood behind a massive rack of veils. “This is hush-hush, Nigel, but I asked Emma if ATV 10 could televise the wedding and she and Eli agreed, right, Em?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, I was hoping for more butterflies on my wedding day.” A nervous laugh escaped. “It’ll be fine. I can’t imagine anything going wrong at an elementary-school-planned wedding ceremony.”

All three of them laughed for far too long. Nigel said, “Brilliant,” and made a zipper motion across his mouth withhis hand. “I won’t say a word and will make sure there isn’t a wrinkle in my tux.” He winked as he peered at Emma. “Have you narrowed down the style of wedding?”

“Eli and I are going with whimsical.”

Both Paige and Nigel raised their eyebrows. Nigel repeated, “Whimsical?”

“Uh, yeah. Whimsical. Eli and I decided we’re going to let the students and teachers decorate the school cafeteria. They’re going to handle all of our wedding decorations.”

Nigel sucked in his breath as he touched Emma’s arm. “Are you sure you want to do that? Leave your wedding planning up to first graders?”

“No, I’m not sure at all, but Eli convinced me how creative teachers are. He wants me to trust the process.” Emma held up both hands. “It’s far less stressful for me.”

Paige nodded in agreement. “True, and if they pull it off, this could be the story of the century.” She grinned. “I’m liking this free-range idea.”

Emma’s face fell. “You both think it’s silly. I can tell.”

Nigel put his hand on Emma’s shoulder. “On the contrary, dear Emma,” he said, as a muffled laugh escaped, “if this works, my brides might all fancy stick-figure drawings and balloon animals at their wedding. It could well become all the rage. Why not? We’re all tired of the same old wedding. Bugger. This could be brilliant.”

Frowning, Emma said, “You both hate it. You’re making fun.” She reached for her phone. “I’ll text Eli now. He’s supposed to meet with the principal after school tomorrow to discuss some preliminary details.” Staring at her screen, Emma groaned. “I hope it’s not too late.”

Paige reached for Emma’s cell. “Don’t you dare. We’re just having fun with you. Every bride has the jitters. I’m really coming around to this idea. In fact,”—Paige acted as thoughshe were peering through a camera lens—“I can see it now. A wedding—and love—through schoolchildren’s eyes. But I’m not doing this for ratings.” Paige cocked her head. “No doubt it’ll be good for ratings, but your love story signifies hope and that’s something we all need to cling to.”

Emma stared at her best friend. “You certainly have a way with words.” She made air quotes: “Our love story signifies hope. How can I say ‘no’ to that?”

“Don’t get mad, but I might have already put it on our website vaguely mentioningcoming feature stories. It’s extremely ambiguous right now. I’ll update the location with your names the night before or the morning of your wedding.” Paige reached for Emma’s hand. “Don’t worry about a thing. Your wedding will be absolutely darling.”

“I agree. Bravo.” Nigel clapped as one of his employees called him to the register. He kissed both women on each cheek. “Thanks for stopping by and telling me.”

As they walked to their cars, Paige asked Emma if she could manage another two hours for dinner and an adult conversation. “You bet. Lucy is all taken care of. I’m all yours, Paige. See you at the restaurant.”

Paige settled into a corner booth at Coral Restaurant as she waited for Emma to arrive after seeing her friend get multiple stoplights on the way. She ordered a bottle of chardonnay and took a few happy sips while thinking about the free-range schoolkid wedding idea. Within seconds, her smile turned to a frown as thoughts of Trent, Zach, and Marie’s damn party entered her mind.

As she asked the server for bread—why not?—Emma rushed inside with her hair in her usual messy mom bun. Paige’s freckle-faced friend always made her smile. She pushed an empty wineglass toward Emma and began pouring. “I think that went well with Nigel, don’t you? We should celebrate.”

Emma took a sip of wine and clinked her glass against Paige’s. “Yeah, I’m glad he liked the idea. I’m still a little nervous about it, to be honest. I’ve decided I don’t handle stress very well.”

“Then, it’s a good thing I ordered an entire bottle. Want to go first, or should I?”

Emma motioned with her hand. “By all means, you called this meeting. I’m all ears.”

Paige waved the server over and said they were going to chat for several minutes before ordering. She hated being interrupted while telling a story. “How much time do we have? Where’s little Lucy?”

“I’ve got over two hours. Eli had a parent-teacher conference but my wonderful neighbor came through again. I really need to do something special for Mrs. Roberts.”

“Wish I had known. I could have given her some roses.”

“Roses? From Zach?”

Paige made a buzzer sound you’d hear on a game show for the wrong answer. “Trent.”

“Trent?” Emma looked like a skunk had just sprayed the dining room.

“Afraid so.” Paige twisted her wineglass. “He wants another chance. Said he messed up.”

Eyes wide, Emma said, “Please tell me you aren’t consider?—”

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