Page 1 of I Love You Again
Chapter 1
Wow.
Trina was in complete awe at the surrounding landscape. Hawaii was just as beautiful as she'd been told, and seeing it for herself and experiencing it was truly, trulyamazing.
She’d checked into the renowned Orchid Hotel with her three best friends six hours ago, and did nothing but run around with excitement as they checked out the beauty of all that lay beforethem.
The hotel itself was impressive enough with its contemporary decor and multicolor schemes within the spacious suites which had access to ocean-view terraces. But, Trina was more in love with what she sawoutside.
She loved the luscious green acres of land adorned with fan palm trees that overlooked the magnificent turquoise Pacific Ocean. She loved the fresh, languid air she breathed into her lungs, and she loved the clear sky that stretched into the heavens now speckled with twinklingstars.
They were seated around a grand table, preparing to have what she knew would be a glorious dinner at the hotel's rooftop restaurant. It was all soperfect.
"I don't know what to eat." Lizzie laughed shaking her full head of dark curls which came alive at the movement. She brought her hand to her cheek and sighed as she looked over the menu. "Would it be a bad thing to ordereverything?"
"I shouldn't eat at all," Mandy stated frowning as she looked down at her already bulging stomach. "Look atme."
Jennifer laughed but covered her mouth quickly when Mandy shot her a crudestare.
"Hey, you drew my attention. Don't hate me because ..." Jennifer stopped herself, realizing that whatever she was going to say would be worse than thelaugh.
Trina pursed her lips together to hold back a laugh of herown.
"Not fat?" Mandy filled in with a grimace. Her blue eyes wide with anticipation. "Likeme?"
"You are not fat," Lizzieoffered.
Trina didn't know how Lizzie could look at Mandy and lie like that. Mandy was one of those yo-yo dieters who couldn't help themselves around food. Especially when it came to those diets that restricted certain foodgroups.
Trina tried to tell her many times that it was a bad idea to go on a month-long juice fast in an attempt to shed fifteen pounds before coming here, but would she listen? Nope. And she didn't listen to her advice about the other diets that had failed either. Mandy would start with the best intention, but give up two days in, and end the diet with a pizza and burger binge that would pile on the pounds again. This was what happened to the recent attempt, and instead of losing fifteen pounds, she'd gained an extraten.
Trina was a surgeon, an actual doctor. Over the years she'd tried to give Mandy advice on how to lose weight effectively, the healthy way. But, she’d never, ever listened to her. Right from their days at Stanford when they all met. Eleven years later it was the exactsame.
Mandy said a surgeon couldn't possibly know the same as whichever nutritionist she'd chosen to compare Trina to. She also said that she couldn't know what diet worked because Trina had never needed to dietherself.
That wasn't entirely true, as Trina stuck to a healthy diet and did her exercise by jogging. She found that by doing that she could pretty much eat whatever she wanted and still maintain a great shape. It was the way her father brought her up. He hated diets and always maintained that it was the devil's curse to womankind. He thought this belief that they had to be on a diet to look a certain way was evil. She'd grown up on their farm in Iowa where there was always food in abundance, but it was wholesome food that was good foryou.
"I'm not going to fit into my dress," Mandylamented.
Trina cleared her throat drawing their attention to her. "From the looks of this menu none of us will, but the only person who has to worry about their dress fitting is Jennifer." Trina smiled at Jennifer whose cheeks flushed, and eyes sparkled with delight. "Everyone will be too focused on the beautiful bride to give a damn about thebridesmaids."
They were here for Jennifer and Neil's wedding. Aside from Hawaii being the perfect summer getaway, it couldn't have been more perfect for a wedding. Especially for two people who were so deeply inlove.
"They certainly will." Lizzie smiled wide raising a glass ofchampagne.
Trina and Mandy raised their glassestoo.
"Thanks girls, and thank you for being here. All of you." Jennifer looked at each of them and joined in thetoast.
"Of course we'd be here." Mandybrightened.
Trina nodded in agreement to that. One thing she and Mandy could agree on was the value of their friendship. She knew that no matter where in the world they all were they'd be here to support Jennifer on her big day. Trina saw Jennifer all the time as they both lived in Chicago. However, Lizzie lived in Miami with her husband and two kids, and Mandy moved to LA at the beginning of last year to start her own advertisingbusiness.
They all had incredibly busy lives, but they wouldn't be anywhere besides righthere.
Jennifer and Neil got together back in college, so they all knew him, and knew that he literally worshiped the ground she walked on. He treated her like a queen, and there was no question in the depth of his love forher.
Trina could only dream of having someone likethat.
