Page 61 of It Could Happen
Of course he has no idea how much I know. He hasn’t mentioned Rachel, so I think Christian has purposely left that out of his admission.
“You’re a part of the group now, whether you like it or not,” he says with a chuckle.
I sigh. “I’m Caroline’s friend. That doesn’t automatically make me friends with the others.”
And by others, I mean Leslie—but I don’t say that out loud.
“What about me?”
I don’t say anything for a few seconds. “What about you?”
“Aren’t we friends?”
I’m not sure how to answer this question.
“Tori?” a voice calls.
I turn around to see Rachel at the door.
“What’s up?” I ask, pulling the phone away from my ear.
“Caroline’s looking for you.”
I put the phone back to my ear.
“I have to get back to the shower. Can I talk to you later?”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” he says. “Let’s meet for a drink tonight.”
My jaw drops open. Did Tyler just ask me out?
“You still there?” he asks.
“Um, yes, I can meet later.” The words slip out of my mouth.
“Great, I’ll text you.”
My head is spinning as I return to the party. Erica and Leslie are bringing gifts to Caroline, so I jump in to help.
“So nice of you to join us,” Leslie says under her breath.
“Sorry. I had an important phone call.”
Hah. She’d lose her mind if she knew who called me.
Caroline begins the daunting task of opening gifts. This is my least favorite part of these parties. Honestly, does anyone really enjoy watching someone else open gifts? How much emotion are we supposed to show over an air fryer or new towels?
I spend the remainder of the day assisting Erica with whatever tasks she needs. Collecting notes to the bride that will be compiled into a book, organizing the gifts, and making sure the guests get a gift box full of goodies to take home.
I’m thrilled to finally be able to do some official bridesmaid tasks. So far all I’ve done is go to events and take a weekend cruise—not that I’m complaining.
“Everything was so lovely,” Mrs. Carlisle says to Erica. “Thank you for makin’ today so special.”
Erica gives her a grateful smile, but signs of exhaustion are beginning to appear on her face. She shed a few tears with Caroline today, so at least that gives her a good excuse for the red eyes. Overall, she’s done an amazing job keeping it together. Better than I ever could.
Rachel disappeared but has returned with a luggage cart. She begins loading it up with gifts, so I give her a hand.
“I think the shower was a success,” I say. “Everything went smoothly.”
