Page 84 of April

“No, they’ll be there to celebrate us getting married. No one is going to stare at you how you think they will.”

“Judging me for not saying the right thing or not having that silver spoon stuck up my ass like they all do.”

“I won’t invite those people,” Monica said with a simple shrug. “I’ll only invite the ones who have removed the silver spoons from their asses and can look at us enviously because we found each other and love each other enough to put up with wedding-planning with three hundred and fifty people coming.”

“Oh, I know what you’re trying to do… Two hundred. Max.”

“Deal,” Monica said with a smirk.

“Shit,” Bridgette muttered.

“What?” Asher asked as she wrote down three hundred and fifty, marked it out, and then wrote two hundred beneath it in her notebook.

“She wanted two hundred all along,” Bridgette replied.

“Well, yeah. I told my mom that she could have a certain number of people whom she got to invite. I have my number,and I know yours, so I just added them all together, and here we are: two hundred.” Monica smiled wide.

“God, I love you,” Bridgette said, laughing.

Asher watched them as they went back and forth over whether or not the ceremony should be indoor or outdoor, and she couldn’t help but smile. It was clear that these two loved one another. Their banter, the way they understood one another, and the way they joked back and forth made Asher jealous. She wanted that. Then, there was the way she’d catch them looking at one another, like they wanted to tear each other’s clothes off right there, in Asher’s office, that had herreallyjealous. She wanted that, too. Asher wanted it all.

“So, what do you think?” Monica asked her.

“About?”

“Indoor or outdoor?” Bridgette said.

“It’s really up to you. The weather down here is generally pretty awful humidity-wise.”

“Trust me, I know,” Monica replied, and Bridgette just laughed silently for some reason.

“Anyway, I’d usually recommend outdoor only if your hair is pinned and sprayed down completely and if we can have an air-conditioned space or at least industrial fans for you every moment leading up to the ceremony because otherwise, you’ll be miserable, and you don’t want to be miserable on your wedding day. Plus, you need to consider your guests. If it’s ninety-five degrees, and there’s humidity, it’ll feel like a hundred and ten, and they’re out there with nothing to cool them off for several minutes before the ceremony.”

“Indoor?” Bridgette asked Monica.

“I’m okay with that.” Monica nodded.

“Your mother would kill us if we tried to put her rich friends outside in New Orleans’ humidity.”

“It would be sort of fun to see a few of her guests melt, though,” Monica said, and she appeared to be thinking about it and maybe picturing it, which made Asher laugh.

“So, I have several indoor venues. If you’re set on two hundred now, I have a list that can seat that many. There are many more that can only do under that, though, so I think we should decide on whether or not you want to see any of the smaller locations or just focus on the larger ones.”

“I’m not getting her under two hundred, so larger ones it is,” Bridgette said.

“Oh, and we have a designer working on my dress and Bridgette’s suit. We were going to firm up colors with her. Are you okay with that?”

“Of course,” Asher replied. “I’ll make a list of venues and email it to you so that you can check them out online first. We can go see the ones you like in person.”

“God, it’s really happening, isn’t it?” Monica said.

“Yes, it is. No takebacks,” Bridgette replied.

Monica looked over at her and said, “I wouldn’t dare.” Then, she turned back to Asher and added, “I didn’t really get to do this the first time I got married. My ex was in control a lot, and I let her be because it seemed to make her happy. Back then, I thought that was what a marriage is. But after my divorce and meeting Bridge… It’s not at all what a relationship is supposed to be like, is it?”

“No, I don’t think it is,” Asher said softly.

She thought about Gavin and how he hadn’t respected her decision to end things, told her that she just needed time, and then, didn’t respect even that. That wasn’t the kind of relationship Asher wanted for herself, and she was happy that he hadn’t bothered trying again.

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