Page 16 of Carly's Heart

♥ Chapter Nine ♥

Carly plastered a smile on her face and greeted George’s family. The man was wearing a freaking Armani suit, on a working ranch. And his mother’s shoes? Carly had admired them online but their two-thousand-dollar price tag was way out of her budget. She wasn’t poor, but she didn’t have money to waste on high-end shoes. Those shoes cost more than she’d spent on her entire living room suite when she left Mike.

Maybe she was jealous of their money, and they would turn out to be perfectly lovely people.

“Aren’t you putting the young one to bed before we eat?” Mrs.Romero asked haughtily as they headed to the dining room.

“It’s barely six. Why would I do that?” Carly held back a glare and bit her tongue so hard she tasted blood.

“Children don’t eat with adults,” Mrs.Romero snapped as if Carly was too stupid to understand.

“Well, they do here,” Birch declared before his mother could answer. “Come on, munchkin, sit beside me.” He patted the seat between him and the toxic woman.

“Oh, she can sit with me, over here,” Carly corrected. No way did she want to risk Layla spilling something on that outfit. The cleaning bill would be a fortune.

Layla hopped up and hugged Birch. She sat right down and in seconds, everyone was seated. The food was amazing, though the three Romeros were the only people Carly had ever seen eat barbecue ribs with a knife and fork. Layla had sauce spread all over her face and arms as she dug into the tasty food. Three-year-olds, even ones as advanced as Layla, could be messy.

“Oh, Tanya,” Mrs.Romero said casually as if she’d just thought of something brilliant. “George junior’s cousin has agreed to be your maid of honor, and his three other cousins will be the groomsmen.”

“I beg your pardon. Carly is my maid of honor,” Tanya corrected her future mother-in-law. “I asked her the day after George proposed. She already has her dress and shoes. Birch is our best man. We don’t plan to have any other attendants. I’m sure you understand.”

“I’m afraid that’s quite impossible. His cousin is flying in from Paris, just for the wedding. She has lovely brown hair that will look magnificent alongside you. We can’t change things now.”

Carly clenched her hands into fists to keep from speaking up on Tanya’s behalf. Couldn’t change things now? Wasn’t that exactly what she was doing? Hypocrite.

“Come on, Tanya, it’ll be okay,” George junior whined. “Carly doesn’t mind, do you?” He pinned Carly with a cold stare that defied her to disagree.

“I just want Tanya’s wedding to be perfect, so whatever she decides is fine with me.” Her stomach rebelled at the lie. She did want Tanya to have the best wedding ever, but she wasn’t sure Tanya wanted this new plan.

Besides, not being in the wedding party would ruin her plans to steal a dance with Birch. But she couldn’t speak up and make things hard for her best friend.

“And am I to step aside too?” Birch asked coldly. His brows pinched together.

“That was before. This is now.” Mrs.Romero lifted a perfectly sculpted brow. “Things change. You will be stepping aside. We’ve made alternate plans for attendants. We’ve booked the country club, hired a string quartet, and ensured we have the best caterers in the province. Everything will be perfect. The bridesmaids will wear periwinkle. The flowers shall be white and cream roses.”

“Tanya wants sunflowers,” Carly blurted. She looked down at her lap, a bit embarrassed by her lack of control. Beside her, Tanya’s hands were twisted together in a white-knuckle grip. Carly’s heart wept for Tanya’s broken dreams. She reached out and squeezed her friend’s hands in a show of support.

“Roses will be much better,” Mrs. Romero declared. “Very elegant and classy.”

“And what about Tanya’s wishes?” Carly slapped her hand on the table making the plates rattle. The Romero family jerked back in shock. Birch smiled and winked at her. “Tanya is half of this wedding, the best half, in my opinion. Don’t her wishes count?”

“It’s fine.” Tanya said quietly. “I just love George and want to be married so we can start a family. Anything is good.” She clutched Carly’s hand like she was urging her to be quiet.

Her best friend was lying. She shouldn’t have to settle on her wedding day. Where was her fiancé in all this? He just sat beside his mother with his eyes downcast and his flat lips pressed shut. The man was a jerk and a wimp.

“I think I need a quick breath of air,” Tanya said, gracefully rising from the table.

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