Page 107 of When Fate Breaks
“My kind of rager exactly,” Madeline claps her hands, making her way inside the house with the rest of my bridesmaids.
I just raise my phone to my ear after dialing Lori Beth’s number when I hear gravel crunching behind me and turn to see her pink Cadillac pulling into the driveway.
“Shit,” Leah and I both mutter at the same time.
“Well, you have fun with that,” Leah grins, shutting the door and leaving me alone with a quickly approaching Lori Beth. If she hadn’t been here since 8 a.m. this morning helping with the ridiculous amount of things for the shower that I left until the last minute, I would probably run after her and drag her back to save me.
“Oh, look. Youdohave a cell phone. How lovely to know,” Lori Beth sneers, removing her sunglasses.
“I’m sorry. I just left it inside for two minutes to say hi to my friends and sister–”
“Well,” Lori Beth holds her hands up, cutting me off, “while you were busy messing about, I was being informed that the venue doesn’t have off-whiteorcream napkins in stock. They’re forcing us to choose between ivory and alabaster.”
“Ala–what?” I question, not forgetting to note how she saiduswhen referring tomywedding shower.
“Oh, forget it. It’s already a disaster. I’ll demand they dig up the oatmeal ones. I know they’re keeping them from us.”
“Whatever you want, Miss Lori Beth.” Truly, I couldn’t care less. Barely before, and especially at this point.
“Right, well. Since you’re so unresponsive, I’ll just stick around until you’re ready to head to the Old Scarlett House. I’m sure there’s plenty left to gather around here.”
“That seriously won’t be necessary–” My words fall on deaf ears as Lori Beth scoots right past me and into the house. I run my hand down my face, exasperated.
“Where is my little Remy Timmy?” she asks.
“Running errands around town.” I think I saw him for a total of thirty seconds this morning before he left to do so.
“Oh, what a shame,” she frowns. “But so good of him. So hardworking. Always on the run, that boy!”
“Yeah,” I mutter. “He sure is.”
Lori Beth pauses, her demeanor changing as she stares down the hallway with the door leading to the greenhouse at the end of it. “And where is Mr. Di Fazio this morning?”
I have to downplay the way my spine steels and stifle my urge to gag as I hear her call him that. “I have no idea.”
“No?” Lori Beth’s head tilts.
I actually haven’t seen Blake since our conversation after the trade show. He didn’t make an appearance for dinner and didn’t otherwise attempt to come find me. I thought I heard loud noises in the greenhouse late last night and early this morning, but I haven’t stepped foot out there. I don’t know what to say to him after yesterday. I’m not sure that there even is anythingtosay. We reached a stalemate. Maybe it’s best we keep it that way. Stay in neutral territory. It’s gotten us this far.
I realize Lori Beth is still waiting for a response and shake my head.
“Well he is coming to the shower, isn’t he?” she pushes.
“As far as I’m aware,” I reply, gritting my teeth as I push past her.
“Well, lovely,” Lori Beth says flatly, her tone shifting as soon as the subject shifts from Blake. “Let’s go ahead and make sense of everything before tonight then, shall we?”
I’d love nothing more.
* * *
“Are you ready for this?”Leah asks, handing me the dress bag as she joins me in my bedroom.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I grin, the bluish-purple fabric coming into view as I unzip the bag.
The past five hours have been an absolute blur between getting last minute things together, answering a million questions, ignoring a million snide remarks from Lori Beth, and attempting to entertain my bridesmaids. Remy slipped in and out at some point, grabbing his suit and pressing a kiss to my cheek, mumbling something about meeting up with his guys early and catching me at the venue later. I didn’t even have the time or energy to question him.
It’s now just before 6 p.m. and the latest possible time I could procrastinate getting myself ready until. The shower starts at 7 p.m. and we need to be there before the guests.Do we really though?, I had jokingly asked when Lori Beth had reminded me of that fact for the hundredth time. Leah and Steph laughed. Lori Beth did not.
