by Mia Ford
“Lights off,” I said loudly, watching as all the lights dimmed except for those lining the windows.
“Have a good night, Mr. Butler,” the computer AI replied in the sultry voice I created for the system.
I bowed my head at the invisible woman and walked out the front door, listening to the locks click shut behind me. It was pretty awesome being able to navigate the technological world like I could, but no matter how cocky I was, I was never into letting on just how smart I really was. It tended to push people away a bit. I went down to the bottom floor and hopped in the car, heading off to the wedding.
When I arrived, I was ushered into the large ornate complex where the wedding and reception would be held. Everything was draped in rich fabrics and covered from floor to ceiling in floral arrangements. A little girl brushed past my leg, giggling as she ran past me and toward her mother scowling at her from across the room. I did my best to keep the irritation off my face and looked over beside the doors to the ceremony room where Caleb was standing, looking dapper in his expensive Armani tuxedo and shiny shoes.
“Hey, you came,” he said, reaching out and shaking my hand.
“I wasn’t aware that I had an option,” I whispered, turning and looking out at all the guests arriving.
“You didn’t,” he replied. “But I know how you like to do your own thing.”
“That is very true my friend,” I said, smiling at a tall blonde walking past. “How is your sister?”
“Completely calm, which is shocking because she is like the most nervous person that I know,” he said, chuckling.
“Yes, I remember,” I groaned. “You forget that I helped her plan your twenty-fifth birthday surprise party. I thought she was going to have a complete meltdown when the cupcakes had blue icing instead of ‘aqua.’”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that,” he said, laughing. “You were a real trooper for not killing her.”
“Thought it would be rude since it was your birthday,” I replied nonchalantly.
“Yeah, blood red birthday surprise probably would have put a damper on our friendship,” he said. “But I’d still visit you in the clink and bring you some better sheets for your cot.”
“You are a real pal.” I laughed, patting him on the back. “So, how much time until this whole thing goes down?”
“Uhm,” he said, looking down at his watch. “We will be seated in about ten minutes.”
“I want you to know how much I hate weddings,” I said, leaning against the wall. “It’s all a bit much just to celebrate the fact that the government now controls your relationship, along with everything else in your life.”
“At least you get a tax cut,” he said, shrugging. “But yeah, I don’t understand why we have grown accustomed to throwing these massive parties, spending thousands and thousands of dollars, all for one day.”
“Not to mention half of them end in divorce, which is where I really think the party should be thrown,” I said, laughing.
“Come on, man. You don’t see yourself ever tying the knot?”
“I’m sure I will,” I sighed. “And knowing my dating history, I’ll be forced into one of these giant parties, but I will fight to the death for elopement before I give in. I have to go down with some of my dignity intact, not that it will happen for a very long time.”
“I feel you,” Caleb sighed. “Women are all the same, and I tell you what, from the ones I’ve seen frequenting our favorite spots lately, I don’t have a very good feeling that I will be taking the plunge anytime in the near future.”
“Agreed,” I said, staring at a red head’s ass as she passed. “The girls at the bar are good for one thing. The marrying girls are already married, divorced and bitter, or hiding out because they don’t want to meet guys like you.”
“Hey, I resemble that remark,” he said, laughing. “But it’s not like you are the most charming man I have ever met.”
“It’s not my fault that I am too smart to hold a conversation with the bimbo at the bar.” I laughed. “Maybe if the smart girls started to come out, you’d see a completely different side of me. I don’t want to end up with another Katerina experience.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot about her,” he said, shaking his head. “She was fucking hot. Dumb as a box of rocks but hot. Whatever happened to her?”
“She got a modeling contract out of LA and wanted to get hitched, so we could stay together,” I replied. “I pictured my life flying back and forth from LA, Katerina forgetting how to tie her shoes, and me trying to keep up with the latest fashion trends. It was terrifying, so I broke it off with her.”
“I’m sorry, man,” he said.
“I’m not,” I replied. “Her tits kept me in the relationship, but I was tired of explaining every little thing to her. My AI freaked her out every time she came into the apartment.”
“That’s because you would program it to freak her out.” He laughed.
“Only near the end,” I said. “I thought maybe humor would brighten our relationship, but it was not even close.”
“Alright man, we better take our seats,” he said, leading the way into the room. “I’ll hit you up at the reception.”
I nodded my head and took a seat midway down the line, smiling at the older woman who was sitting next to me. The smell of her perfume was overwhelming, and I turned my head toward the aisle for some air. There was a pink satin runway all the way up to the altar where the groom and six of his closest assholes were standing, looking worse for wear after, I was assuming, one hell of a bachelor party. The groom looked okay, though, and I could only assume that Caroline had threatened his manhood if he showed up at the wedding hungover. As the music started to play, everyone turned in their seats to watch the bridesmaids make their way down the aisle in strapless, floor-length, pink silk gowns. They smiled and blushed as the crowd oohed and awed at their presence.
When the wedding march started, everyone stood up, and I turned to wait for the bride to make her grand entrance. As my eyes panned past the people across the aisle, they stopped, landing on a beautiful girl dressed in a dark teal dress and clutching her purse in front of her. She had long, sandy blonde hair and dark green eyes that stared lovingly to the back of the room. Her curves were smoking hot, and the way her pencil skirt hugged her body was making me weak in the knees. I was so obsessed with staring at this girl that I didn’t even realize that Caroline was approaching until she blocked my view with her giant tulle skirt and sparkling jewelry.
By the time she had passed, the girl was facing the front, and I continued to glance over at her, even after we had all been seated. She smiled as the officiant talked about true love, forever, and all that other stuff that went along with getting hitched. I could tell she was a dreamer from the dewy-eyed school girl look on her face. There was no way that I was going to let this event go by without talking to her, and maybe if I played my cards right, she could be the wedding zombie girl that I ended up taking to bed that night. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling as I looked over at her, that she was different in some sort of way. Maybe it was the nervous way she rubbed her fingers across the satin of her purse, or the fact that she was probably the most stunning woman I had ever seen, but either way, there was something about her that screamed secret.
I turned myself back toward the front of the room after several nasty looks from the people around her. I caught Caleb’s eye as he glanced back at me, nodding his head and rolling his eyes. I stifled a laugh and watched as Caroline married Troy, the man she had been obsessing over for years. Maybe they would be happy, maybe they wouldn’t, but either way, they just gave me a really good excuse to be at my best when I entered that reception hall.
Chapter 4
Reese
The wedding was absolutely gorgeous, and I couldn’t help but shed a small tear for Caroline. We hadn’t been super close in years, but she was a really sweet girl, and I was happy for her that she had found her happily ever after. I, on the other hand, was
seated at a table with the older people, and I had to come up with an excuse as to why I didn’t have a date. After about twenty minutes of polite conversation, I excused myself, meandering over to the edge of the dancefloor where I pretended to take pictures of Caroline and Troy dancing the night away.
There were barely any people there that I knew, and the ones that were familiar were all my father’s friends. The last thing I wanted to do was stand around talking with my parents’ friends just so they could report back to him on how much fun I was not having, and how I had come without a date. My father had married my mother when she was just twenty years old, so in his eyes, at twenty-three, I was way behind the curve. Personally, I thought my age was just fine, and didn’t see any hurry in just grabbing some guy to make my parents happy. They had attempted to set me up a couple of times, but they all ended up being spoiled rich boys with trust funds and huge egos, something that I knew would not interest me in the least.
Just the thought of being stuck with one of those assholes at a wedding made me perfectly happy with being there alone. However, being an already awkward person, it did not make it any better that I was wandering around the banquet hall on my own, trying to not look weird, but still have somewhat of a good time. I thought I had found someone to talk to for a second when one of Troy’s groomsman approached me, but that went south really fast when he hit on me with his horrible whiskey breath and then slurred out the word bitch before stumbling away. They must have been hitting it hard before the wedding because we hadn’t even been there long enough to get wasted yet. Speaking of alcohol, maybe a couple of glasses of wine would loosen me up enough to have a conversation with someone.
“Reese,” Caroline said from over my shoulder.
“Caroline,” I replied with a smile as I turned around. “How are you? You look so freaking amazing.”
“I am exhausted,” she sighed. “And starving. They wouldn’t leave us behind long enough to actually eat the food that I had ordered.”
“I’ve heard that’s how it always is with these kinds of things.” I smiled. “But really, you did an amazing job with all of this. My mom told me that you insisted on working side by side with the planner so it could be absolutely perfect. I saw that you have the lilies you wanted since we were little, gossiping to each other about our future husbands.”
“I did get them!” she said, gushing. “I have planned this day my whole life.”
“Where did you get that gorgeous dress?”
“I had it made,” she said proudly. “I knew exactly what I wanted, I made sure I was exactly the right size, which is probably why I’m so hungry, and I had a seamstress make the whole thing from sketches I did. The sketches are framed on the back table with our pictures. You should check them out when you have a chance.”
“Oh my gosh, I definitely will,” I said, impressed. “You were always really artistic, where I couldn’t even draw a stick figure if I needed to.”
“You look amazing, too,” she said, looking down at the dress I was wearing.
“Thank you. It’s a bit more daring than I’m used to, but I figured why not, right?”
“You know how I feel about that,” she said, smiling at me. “Wear what you want to wear, when you want to wear it. Are you here alone?”
“Yeah,” I said happily, not minding at all that she was asking.
“Well, let me just give you the rundown on the men here,” she said, walking closer and whispering. “Stay away from Charlie, the tall guy that is a groomsman.”
“I think I already had a run in with Charlie.” I laughed. “He’s wasted.”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” she said, completely embarrassed.
“It’s fine,” I whispered. “I’m pretty sure he left after that, and I haven’t seen him since, so I think the rest of the women are safe.”
“No wonder you are single,” she said, shaking her head. “Men are so weird these days. I’m not going to sit here and say my new husband was some Godsend at first. He was difficult, just like the rest of them, but then he fell in love, and that changed everything for him and me.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I’m so glad that you guys made it. So many of us are living the single life.”
“Hang in there,” she said, smiling. “You will find yours when you are least expecting it.”
“I know.” I smiled back. “I’m not worried in the least. I have plenty of time.”
“Yes, you do, and you deserve someone amazing,” she said, kissing me on the cheek. “Okay, I’m going to find some food before I pass out.”
“Of course.” I laughed. “We don’t need you passing out. We should have lunch when you get back from your honeymoon.”
“Yes, let’s,” she said, hugging me tightly. “Thank you for coming out.”
I watched as she smiled brightly at the other guests and picked up the sides of her gown, walking around like a princess. All of this was beautiful, but I knew it wasn’t my style. I was definitely not the princess in a carriage kind of girl. I had much simpler tastes.
I walked off into the crowd and over to the table at the front with all the pictures. I smiled as I looked down at her sketches, surrounded by adorable candids of her and Troy. They really did love each other. As I stood there, I caught a glimpse of someone walk up beside me, but I didn’t look up, figuring they were more interested in the pictures than me.
“Hi,” a deep voice said.
“Hi,” I replied, looking up and freezing.
Standing in front of me was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. He had short dark hair and striking, light blue eyes. He stood over six feet tall, and I could see his muscles pressing against his expensive designer suit. He had a five o’clock shadow that normally I would find sloppy, but on him, it was charming, like the guy on the cover of a holiday romance novel. My heart beat quickly in my chest, and I was unsure of what to say.
“I’m Blaine,” he said, sticking out his hand.
“Reese,” I replied, shaking his hand and smiling. “Nice to meet you.”
“It was a beautiful wedding,” he replied, looking down at the pictures.
“Caroline really outdid herself,” I said, chuckling, realizing that may have sounded rude. “I didn’t mean that in a mean way. I meant she has dreamed of this her whole life, and it’s exactly how she imagined it.”
“Well, I wouldn’t know that part,” he said with a big smile. “I was always excluded from the girl parties.”
“Oh.” I laughed nervously. “They weren’t all that fun to begin with, so you didn’t miss anything good.”
“You’ve known her your whole life?”
“Yeah,” I replied, turning to him and grabbing a glass of champagne off the tray of a server passing by. “Our fathers worked together, and we used to keep each other company at the club when they would go golfing. You?”
“Her brother Caleb is my best friend, so I was obligated to come,” he said, flashing another huge, charming smile that made my knees weak.
“Caleb is a nice guy,” I replied, unsure of what to say.
He chuckled. “Yes, he is.”
We continued the conversation. I clutched my glass of champagne and answered him back, thinking about how awkward I knew that I was being. Men like him did not talk to girls like me, not for long anyway. Sure, I took care of myself and had been told many times through my life that I was beautiful, but I couldn’t hold a conversation to save my life. I clammed up in a heartbeat, and from the looks of this guy, he was not your typical everyday Joe. If he was friends with Caleb, that either meant he was a lawyer or he did something pretty important, which made him charming, rich, and able to get any girl he wanted. If he was still single, that meant he was at a wedding trying to pick up a girl, and that girl was most definitely not me. Still, I held my composure and continued my conversation, not wanting to seem rude in the least.
“I’m really happy for the couple, but I’m not a fan of weddings. They are so overblown in my op
inion.” He chuckled. “Which probably makes my opinion not very popular.”
“Well, among these women, probably not, but I completely agree with you,” I replied. “When I get married, I just want something simple with my fiancé and my do—”
“There you are, man,” Caleb said, walking over and slapping Blaine on the back. “Come on, we’re doing shots.”
“All right.” He laughed. “I’ll be right over.”
I looked down at the pictures and continued to peruse them, pretending like I wasn’t listening to their conversation. He was definitely another guy like Caleb which was fine for girls like Leena and Caroline, but for me, they weren’t what I was looking for in a serious opportunity. He cleared his throat, and I turned back, smiling.
“You better go before he brings the party to the picture table,” I said, laughing.
“Yeah, he’s a bit strung out right now with work and this wedding,” Blaine explained. “I’m here as his support system.”
“That’s nice of you,” I replied.
“Yeah, well somebody has to keep an eye out for him.” He chuckled. “But anyway, it was really nice talking to you.”
“You too,” I said, perking up at the thought of being done with the awkwardness.
“I’m going to look for you later, maybe steal a dance,” he said as he backed up toward the dancefloor. “Be ready!”