Page 24 of The Princess and the Nerd

Chapter14

We’ve been preparing all night and cooking all day for the second wedding of my big brother Spruce. It’s a bit of a shotgun wedding, because she’s pregnant—but also, it’s kind of perfect because she’s been an amazing nanny to his twin girls. Girls who are little beasts to basically everyone they meet, except for June the nanny. And Auntie Willow, of course.

My brother Ash is here with his new girl, Ellie, who is actually June’s sister, strangely enough. I wonder how that happened. But at any rate, I am happy to be here, and happy to be done with cooking for all these hundreds of guests.

Hardeep and his aunties and uncle also arrived, and began to enjoy the hors d’oeuvres immediately. We greeted them, and then went to sit.

I let my head drift to the side and rest on Destiny’s shoulder as the wedding happens all around us.

“Hey,” she says gently. “Where’s your other brother?”

“Adam?” I ask. “He might be too busy to make it.”

“No,” she responds softly. “Douglas.”

My lips pull into a grim line. I haven’t seen or heard from Douglas in so many years, I have him saved in my phone asLost Brother.Meanwhile, Adam isGoofy Brother.But I can tell from the tone in Dez’ voice that it’s bothering her.

“He was off saving the world somewhere in Asia, last I heard,” I tell her gently. “Bringing clean water to children and building schools. He renounced our family’s fortune and decided to work with his hands.”

“He always hated money,” Dez responds. “He hated being a Wintergreen.”

“It’s not easy. Especially when random food critics decide to publicly humiliate you,” I say with a sigh.

Destiny reaches out and pats my hand. “Hey, girl? Don’t let that get in the way, okay? No matter how it began, or what he said—if you feel something for him, let yourself feel it. Explore it, and enjoy it. That’s the stuff that makes life worthwhile, and it’s so rare. And he seems to be trying to make up for what he did, right?”

I glance up to where Hardeep is standing at the food spread, and examining my food. He is literally standing over my bacon-wrapped scallops with a magnifying glass, and carefully studying them.

“What the heck is he even doing?” I ask with a laugh, as the nerdy man adjusts his glasses, and writes notes about the food in a book.

“He’s kind of ridiculously adorable,” Dez says, as Hardeep moves on to the meet stored in warming trays. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small item, and pokes it into the meat. “What—is that a thermometer?”

“I have no idea what he’s doing,” I admit.

“Girl, just go and kiss the shit out of him so that he can’t think too much, or he’s going to write us another terrible review. Please. Go give him your perfectly toasted Pop Tart so that he can see what he’s been missing out on.”

“Okay,” I tell her with a small smile, patting her knee. “I’ll see you later.”

Rising to my feet, I walk over to where Hardeep is taste testing and examining everything. “Do you think it’s edible?” I ask him with a chuckle.

“It’s marvelous,” he responds. “How did you do this? It’s leaps and bounds above what you served in the restaurant.”

“Well, it’s a joyous occasion,” I say, gesturing around us. “Designed largely by my cute little twin nieces. I hope you enjoy the wedding colors of unicorn pink, cotton candy pink, princess pink, and more pink on top of that.”

“It’s wonderful,” he responds. “And my family is having a great time. Auntie and Uncle are dancing like teenagers.”

I laugh at this. Truthfully, even though I’m tired, it’s hard to be sad. It’s just so gorgeous—the most cheerful and childlike wedding I have ever seen. Like the inside of a barbie dream home.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Hardeep asks gently.

“Sure,” I respond. “Just give me one moment.”

I noticed that his auntie is gesturing wildly for me to come over. So I jog across the grass to meet with her.

“Listen,” she admits. “I may have exaggerated slightly on the subject of Hardeep’s virginity. It’s okay if you two get nasty.”

I burst out laughing. “Are you giving me your blessing?”

“Of course. I know the boy is definitely not a virgin,” Auntie says. “I was just trying to piss him off a little so he would make a move on a girl he actually likes. And I can tell he likes you.”

---