Page 17 of Holiday Unscripted
“Incoming,” he warns, looking up and I feel the chair beside me being pulled out. “Hey,” he says to her, “you look nice.”
“I know,” she answers, making me burst out laughing. “You don’t, you look like shit.”
“He was up all night, icing his foot,” Macy defends from beside him and puts her arm around his shoulders, then uses her other hand to hold his cheek. “You look handsome.” She smiles at him.
“I’m about to throw up and I haven’t eaten anything,” Elizabeth deadpans, “he didn’t even offer to feed me.” She points to me and I gasp.
“I made you coffee and then he called to invite us over here,” I defend myself and she just shrugs.
“Let’s just say he’s not the friendliest host.” She side-eyes me and it’s my turn to glare at her. “He even made me wear a robe.”
“Bastard,” Joshua says. “Be better,” he scolds and then we eat in silence.
“Okay,” Macy says, clicking her fork on her cup, “if we can have everyone at the table’s attention.” I sit back in my chair and look up at her. “Before we start, we just want to thank everyone for being part of our special day.” She looks at each of us and smiles. “I am so lucky that in nine days, I’ll be marrying the love of my life.” She bends to kiss Joshua, who just beams up at her. “We know some of you have come from far and wide to be here with us.” She looks at Elizabeth. “And even though things are not going like they should be…” Her voice trails off and I see her bottom lip quiver. Joshua gets to his feet and then winces when he remembers about his foot. He whispers something in her ear, and she smiles at him. “With that said”—she turns and reaches into her bag beside her and takes out a manila folder—“we have the final itinerary.” She jumps up and down with giddiness.
“Itinerary?” I hear Elizabeth from beside me. “I thought we just had to, like, show up and look pretty.” She looks at me. “Well, not you obviously. We don’t have time to do anything with that.” She uses her hand to do a circle at my face, making Joshua snort out laughing. Macy walks around the table handing out white papers to everyone and stopping behind Elizabeth, handing her the paper. I hold out my hand for my own and look down and scan it quickly. “Um,” Elizabeth says, looking to Joshua, who avoids looking back at her.
“We are in for a treat,” she chatters, “there are so many fun activities from snowman building to a gingerbread house competition to ice hockey fun and so much more.” She puts her hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “Starting tonight at our first event at the karaoke bar.” It’s like she took happy pills this morning. “It’s a little meet and greet to get to know everyone.” She looks around the table. “It’s going to be so much fun.”
“I pretty much know everyone,” Elizabeth retorts. “I mean, I have jet lag, you know flying across the world and all. Time change.”
“You’ll be fine,” I assure her, looking down at the paper.
“Don’t you have something else to do, like I don’t know, stop talking?” she asks me.
“Didn’t you work the night shift?” I look at her and her head turns around. “From what your father told me, you slept the same hours they slept.”
“Don’t believe everything he says,” she snaps between clenched teeth. “He also said I would always have a place here and he was wrong.”
“Okay, well,” Joshua says, breaking up our little fight, “you can spend the day resting so you will be in tip-top shape for tonight.”
“I don’t have anything to wear.” She shrugs. “My bag got lost.” She looks around the table and people avoid looking at her.
“Give it up,” I lean in and mumble in her ear.
“You give it up,” she hisses at me. “I have to find someone who can take me shopping,” she says smiling. “See everyone tonight.” She looks at me and grits her teeth at me. “Even you.”
I look down and hide my chuckle for fear she will stab me with a fork “by accident.”
“This looks like fun.” I look at Joshua, who shrugs and I know he isn’t the one who set this up. He is doing whatever Macy wants to keep her happy. “I’m looking forward to the tree farm.”
“I heard you can cut your own tree down,” Macy chirps, “and there are little trees for the people who are staying in the hotel that they can take back to the hotel and decorate in the lobby.”
“Fun,” I reply, looking back at Elizabeth. “You can help me decorate mine,” I tell her, smiling even bigger when I see her get even more annoyed. “You’re welcome.”
CHAPTER 7
Elizabeth
BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE
I look in the mirror at myself, fluffing my hair on one side as I spray it with hairspray. “This is as good as it’s going to get.” I look over at Baby Cat, who jumped off the counter when I sprayed my hair the first time. I look at my hair that is blonder than before thanks to the hair appointment my mother made for me right before she took me shopping and insisted she pay for all my stuff. The least she could do after everything that’s happened since I got back.
She ended up dropping me off at Nate’s place and I walked in with four big bags of clothes. I dumped them all in the spare room, where the bag I forced him to bring with us this morning is now waiting for me. Needless to say, there was no room for me at my house.
Now I am putting the final touches on my makeup and turning to see how my hair looks from the back. I also get on my tippy-toes to see how my ass looks in these jeans. I bought them today just for tonight and they fit me like a glove on my hips and ass and then go straight down, stopping at my ankles where I am wearing little black booties with a small heel. It started to snow a bit when I was out, and the last thing I want to do is slip in heels and end up breaking something, so I went with comfort instead of sexy. The black bodysuit is tight and is off the shoulders. “What do you think, Baby Cat?” I turn back around. “Good enough, right?” The cat just looks at me and then gets up to go to the bathroom door where he scratches it with one paw, then looks at me to let him out.
I open the door, and he scrambles out towards the stairs. I look over at Nate’s room and notice the door is open and the lights are on. The need to move over to his room and stick my head in is strong. I can smell a hint of his cologne in the air, so I know he’s already downstairs. I follow Baby Cat down the stairs and hear the back door open, then shut. Strutting down the hallway, I stop when I see Nate look up at me while he rubs Whiskey’s head. He’s wearing a pair of dark blue jeans that hang annoyingly perfectly on his hips. A dark-blue knitted sweater is pushed up at the sleeves to his mid-forearm, the crewneck of his white T-shirt peeking out also. “Ready?” I ask him and he nods, giving me his grin.
