“I am not a child!” I almost yell. I pinch the bridge of my nose. “This ismywedding. I shouldn’t be on someone else’s schedule, Mom. I need copies of the list so I can cross things off as they’re done or I’m going to lose my mind.”
My mom is silent for a moment. “We need to do a spa day. That wasn’t scheduled until-”
“I don’t give a fuck when it was scheduled because I didn’t schedule it.”
“You should be on your way to a dinner right now.” I hear her muffle the phone before saying something. “We are.”
“I was uninvited. I’m sure you can imagine why. Send me the lists so I don’t end up in another fight.”
I hang up then rub my temples. Fuck this stress. Fuck all of this. We should have given ourselves more time. And now that’s not even an option because invitations have already gone out.
I can’t wait until this is over.
HOLDEN
“What happened in the few minutes I was gone?” I ask Nick in the town car.
“Sophie’s too stressed for this.” He’s angry. He’s in control, but barely. “She yelled at me, Holden. Over something that should have been a question. She didn’t even let me answer.”
“And then you called it a temper tantrum.”
“Because I’m not in the wrong.” His eyes cut to mine. “She threw a fit like a toddler. I will treat her like a toddler and put her in time out. I won’t raise my voice. I won’t yell at her, but I’m not going to reward that kind of behavior.”
He’s talking about her like she’s a child too. I arch an eyebrow and continue to watch him. As we pass block after block, I see him calm. He looks out the window, then closes his eyes and exhales. He’ll reach the point I’m working to on his own, without me adding in.
“There’s no right way to deal with this.” He sighs.
“It’s not easy, Nick. For any of us. And I agree that she shouldn’t have come, but there’s a way to handle things that makes sure she knows her voice is heard while maintaining an actual conversation.”
“I thought her mother had shared the plans with her. I didn’t like being made the villain and didn’t like being yelled at.” He says. “I didn’t deserve it.”
“I’m not saying you did.”
“Why the fuck didn’t we give ourselves more time?”
“The answer isn’t going to matter. We’re in this position and Sophie is trying very hard to make sure the big things are taken care of. She doesn’t care about napkins or paper for the menus or the DJ we selected, or the games. She doesn’t care about a lot of the little things”
“I know.” He scrubs over his face with his hand. “We should have gotten a real wedding planner, not just her mother. Who’s idea was that?”
“Let’s talk about all of this together, okay? With Sophie. Not about her.” I suggest.
He nods and we arrive at the restaurant. Gunner opens the door, then his brow furrows. “Sophie?”
“She’s having some alone time,” I say for Nick. “She deserves a break.”
“Carl is expecting her.”
“Carl doesn’t deserve time with our fiancée,” Nick growls.
He’s back to pissed. Gunner arches his eyebrow as Nick breezes past him and looks at me. “I missed something.”
“It’s a conversation for home, not here. Trust me.” I whisper.
“Roman is going to ask.”
“Not with Carl around.”
And I’m proven right when we sit down. Carl’s lips – thin as they are – turn up in a weasel-y smile that makes me want to deck him. Maybe all of our tempers are heightened.