“Once a decision is made, I don’t go back on it,” Gina says. “Otherwise I’ll drive myself—and Geoff crazy.”
“Your gut instinct is always the best one,” Jillian’s sister, Michelle, says.
“Unless it’s your fiancé’s,” Naomi teases. “Then it’s up for discussion.”
Everyone laughs.
“Hey,” Jillian says under her breath, her knee knocking mine under the table. “Sorry about all the wedding talk.”
“It’s okay. I’m excited for you guys.”
“I know you are, but you don’t have to hear about it 24/7. Especially after…” She trails off, catching herself. She consoled me for hours after my breakup with Leo, insisting he was never good enough for me. After she said I’d dodged a bullet, I told her I didn’t want to think or talk about him ever again. Good thing she can’t read my mind.
Her attention shifts away from me when her phone pings with a text. “It’s Robert.” Her eyes bug out of her head. “Oh my God. He says he has a surprise for me and he’s on his way to pick me up.” She turns her whole body to scrutinize me. “What’s going on?”
I glance over her shoulder at Michelle. “What’s going on…” I start. “…is your fiancé has planned a pre-wedding getaway for the two of you,” Michelle finishes.
Robert is whisking his bride-to-be away to The Surfeit Hotel. The luxury boutique hotel has only been open for nine months and it’s booked for like the next two years, but Robert works for Auprince Holdings, the corporation behind the hotel, and was able to snag a couple of nights in one of their suites.
And yes,thatAuprince. Finn’s younger brother, Drew, owns the hotel, his first independent venture, and he’s succeeding wildly according to news reports.
“You guys…” Jillian looks around the table.
The gang offers smiles and “have funs” and then the sound of a car coming up the dirt road has Michelle and me getting to our feet.
“We packed a bag for you,” I say. “It’s in my trunk. Come on.”
Jillian hugs everyone goodbye. Last is her sister. “I love you, Shel. Thank you for everything.”
“You’re gonna love me even more when you see what we packed.” Michelle and I share a conspiratorial look. Let’s just say the two of us did some shopping at the Hustler Hollywood store.
“You guys are the best,” Jillian says before she and I round the barn to my car. As the matron and maid of honor, Michelle and I do make a good team. The sound of tires crunching on gravel gets louder. Robert’s car comes into view.
My best friend and Robert have been together for four years. They met at a bar the night we were celebrating Jilly’s twenty-first birthday. They’d gotten into a playful and drunken discussion about the benefits of jalapeño juice and that was it. Robert told her he was going to marry her one day. I open the trunk to pull out the small duffel.
“Hey, gorgeous.” Robert wraps his arms around his fiancée from behind and kisses her cheek. “Surprise.”
She spins to kiss his face and hug him.
I patiently wait for them to break apart by studying the side of the barn. The wood planks are more a rust color than red. There’s a round dent in one, the impression about the size of a baseball. I glance around the property. Definitely enough room for a game of catch.
“Hey, Chloe,” Robert says once they’ve come up for air. “Thanks for the assist.” He takes Jillian’s bag out of my hands.
“You’re welcome. Have a great time.”
“Give us a second?” Jillian says to her fiancé.
“Sure.” He returns to his car, gets inside.
Jilly wraps me in a hug. “Thank you. This was so much fun. I loved every second of it.”
“You’re welcome.” I’d max out my credit card over and over again for Jillian. She’s been the one constant in my life since before my mom died. The one friend who kept in touch when I was homeschooled and traveled with my dad during baseball season.
“I’ll text you tomorrow.”
“No, you won’t. Enjoy your getaway and text me when you get home.”
“Fine.”