A Bridesmaid to Remember

by Amy Vastine

  David held his gaze for longer than expected. Aaron looked away, feeling uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Did he realize how hard Aaron was falling for his daughter? Did he not approve?

  When Aaron glanced back over at him, David set his drink down. “Aaron, can you come help me with something outside for a second?”

  His stomach dropped, but Aaron agreed as if there was nothing wrong. He followed David outside.

  David placed his hands on his hips and stared down at the ground. “I’m concerned,” he said solemnly.

  “About the house?”

  He lifted his head. “About my daughter.”

  Aaron reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. There was so much tension there. “I am, too.”

  “What do you think happened with Mary? I thought things were going to be resolved after their lunch.”

  “I don’t know. I can try to get more out of her when we go shopping.”

  “I was hoping we had gotten through to Lauren when she was here a week ago.”

  “Me, too. I thought the lunch with Mary was proof we had.”

  David paced around. He tapped his work boot against the pile of landscaping pavers that had been delivered earlier in the day.

  “She’s strong. There’s no one stronger than my Bon Bon, but I don’t like what’s happening to her. Gordon asked her to take over administrative duties at the office for the time being because no one will work with her as their Realtor. She didn’t get her real estate license to be an administrative assistant.”

  “Of course not,” Aaron agreed.

  “I also know you two got something going on.” Before Aaron could assure him of his good intentions, David added, “I understand it’s in the beginning stages. But I need you to know that being with you might not be what’s best for her. I don’t know how Lauren or your parents are going to feel about you and her getting closer. Not that I don’t think you’re a great guy.”

  Aaron could sense another but coming. “But you’re concerned about how people might treat her if being with me sets Lauren off.”

  “Pretty much,” David admitted. “Again, I think you are a great guy. I have nothing against you. In any other circumstance, you would have my full blessing.”

  It felt as though Aaron’s heart had been punched until it was black and blue. It wasn’t broken, just bruised. “I understand, David. I don’t want to bring any unnecessary harm to Bonnie, either. I’d still like her to help me work on this house.”

  “Son, I’m not telling you what to do or not do, I am simply sharing my concerns with you. I certainly would never tell my daughter who to date or not date. I trust the two of you to do what’s best. I just wanted to point out some things you might not have thought about because you’re feeling so enamored with my daughter at the moment.”

  Aaron was even more taken aback. He wasn’t used to a parent who didn’t demand his opinions be the be-all and end-all. When Aaron’s dad shared his feelings on something, it was because he wanted to make it clear that Aaron was to do it the way he wanted or else. It was refreshing to hear someone say they trusted Aaron to make the best decision for himself. That kind of faith truly inspired him to do better instead of driving him to rebel.

  Mr. Windsor was good at this dad thing. Aaron’s dad needed to take some lessons.

  “She’s an amazing woman. I really care about her, and I assure you I will not put her in harm’s way.”

  David slapped his hand down on Aaron’s shoulder. “I know. I believe you.”

  With that, he went back inside, leaving Aaron out there to put his thoughts together. He refused to believe that Lauren didn’t miss having Bonnie in her life. There was no way she would be able to spend eternity mad about something that didn’t even happen. Once Lauren and Bonnie were on good terms, there would be no reason he couldn’t date Bonnie.

  “You okay?” Bonnie came out with the empty pizza boxes and tossed them in the dumpster. “I hope you got enough pizza, because Sasha eats exactly as much as you would expect someone the size of the Statue of Liberty eats.”

  She made him smile, and that was only one small reason he enjoyed being around her so much. “I’m good. I am curious as to what happened at the lunch that made you unhappy. I don’t like unhappy Bonnies. It’s just not my thing.”

  “You hate all Bonnies who are unhappy?”

  “No, no. Don’t twist my words. I like Bonnies. I like all the Bonnies I know, at least. I hate when something makes them sad. So, what made lunch so disappointing?”

  “When Lauren and I were nine, we always went on the swings during recess. It was our favorite thing to do. We would run to the swings as soon as we were dismissed from lunch. We had to beat everyone else, because there were only three swings. There was one time that Timmy Johnson and Kyle Rodgers beat us and we had to share the one swing that was left. We took turns pushing each other so we could swing higher than the boys.”

  “I’m sure that was Lauren’s idea. No one beats her at anything.”

  Bonnie shrugged. “She would call it being ambitious.”

  “I’m sure she would. Continue your story, even though I have no idea what this has to do with your lunch with Mary.”

  “I pushed Lauren first, because of course she had to go first, and she couldn’t get as high as Kyle. He was really rubbing it in. She was livid, mostly at him but also at me for not pushing her hard enough so she could beat him. When it was my turn, as soon as I sat down she shoved me so hard, I fell off the swing. Kyle and Timmy laughed at me and made fun of Lauren.”

  Tim Johnson owned a Mexican restaurant in town. “I am never eating at Tim’s Taqueria ever again.”

  Bonnie rolled her eyes but couldn’t hold back a grin. “Anyway, Lauren was so mad at me. She told me I really hurt her feelings by not pushing her hard enough and then having the audacity to not hold on tight enough to stay on the swing when she was pushing me hard enough to go higher than the boys. She got all the girls in class to not talk to me until I apologized. She pushed me off the swing and made me apologize to her.”

  Aaron cringed at the thought. “I am sorry she did that to you, and I’m sorry that it doesn’t surprise me that she did it, either.”

  “I haven’t really thought about that day since it happened...until today. Mary basically told me that Lauren will most likely publicly forgive me for what happened, but she will not be apologizing for what she did to me. For a split second, I was almost good with that. End the feud. I’d get back in everyone’s good graces, but then I realized that she was basically asking me to apologize for getting shoved off the swings. I’m not nine years old anymore and neither is she. I don’t need her to be my friend. I don’t think I want her to be my friend if she can’t say she’s sorry when she hurts me.”

  He couldn’t argue with that. Bonnie did deserve better than that from her best friend. He also didn’t want to believe that things weren’t going to get better. He needed things to get better. “I hope my sister is better than that. Maybe Mary doesn’t know what Lauren really wants to do.”

  “I don’t know. But I do know that everyone is willing to stick by Lauren’s side even though they think she’s wrong because no one wants to cross her.” She moved closer to Aaron. “I appreciate that you are not one of those people. I can’t even explain to you what it means to me that you have sided with me on this. It’s people like you that make me think I might be able to get through this without having to move far away to start over somewhere else.”

  He took her by the hand, and the contact made his heart beat double time. She was soft and warm physically and emotionally. “If you left, I might have to come with you.”

  “You would do that for me?” She looked up at him with those green eyes that made him weak in the knees. He was beginning to think he would do anything for her.

  “I think I would.”

  Bonni
e wrapped her arms around him and gave Aaron a hug that solidified for him that he would absolutely do that and anything else she asked of him. It also made him realize that he couldn’t stop himself from falling for Bonnie even if David was concerned.

  He pulled back enough to look her in the eye. He brushed his thumb across her cheek. Her green eyes were locked on his. His lips carefully pressed against hers. If she resisted even the slightest bit, he’d never kiss her again. She didn’t resist, though. She actually deepened the kiss almost immediately. His whole body felt like gelatin, wobbly and like he wanted to bounce around. He would do anything for this woman. If she needed Lauren to apologize, he was going to see to it that Lauren did that and more.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  BONNIE HAD ONCE read that one of the ultimate tests of a relationship was furniture shopping together. She was beginning to think they could add any kind of shopping to that list. She and Aaron weren’t even a couple and fixture shopping was stressful. He had this annoying habit of falling in love with two choices for every single item on their list. He was a way better kisser than he was a shopper.

  “I think the farmhouse sink is the way to go,” she said, trying to guide him in the right direction after a thirty-minute discussion about cabinet styles. “They are really in right now.”

  “Agreed. But single or double basin? I like them both,” he said, running a hand over the divider in the double basin on display. “Single is nice and simple, but is a double more functional?”

  “I would go with the double. This one is perfect.” Bonnie stood in front of the one that she liked the most.

  “If we go double, do we pick the one that has two equal sides or the one that has one larger side? I like them both.”

  If he said I like them both one more time, Bonnie was going to scream. “I don’t think it matters that much.”

  “What are people going to want?”

  “I don’t think there’s a huge preference in either direction. You could go with the least expensive to save some money.”

  Aaron took off his baseball hat and scratched his head. “I’m going to have to think about it.”

  He was adding that to the list of other things he still had to think about, like which drawer pulls he was going to put on the cabinets and which showerhead he wanted for the master bath and which toilet was going in each of the bathrooms.

  “We need faucets for the kitchen and bathrooms, but I feel like you might freak out when you see all the choices in that aisle.”

  “Why are there so many things? It’s overwhelming,” Aaron complained. “I feel like every decision is so critical. If I pick the wrong faucet, buyers won’t buy the house. All I want is for someone to fall in love with it.”

  He was infuriating but also pretty adorable. Bonnie grabbed his hand. “Someone is going to completely fall in love with it, because it’s going to be beautiful no matter which faucet you choose or if the cabinets are Shaker or traditional. Once we get it narrowed down to two we like, you aren’t going to go wrong with either one. I promise you, there’s nothing you’re going to buy that’s going to turn people away.”

  He gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m stressed.”

  “Do you trust me?” she asked.

  He smiled down at her, showing off his perfectly white teeth. He kissed her, and it was soft and gentle. She felt her cheeks heat when he pulled back. “With my life,” he answered.

  “Whoa, that’s way too much responsibility. I mean, I know the Heimlich, but if you were drowning, you’d be in trouble, because I am a terrible swimmer.”

  He threw his head back as he laughed. “My trust does not require you to save my life if I am in peril.”

  “Thank you. I would like you to trust me to pick all the fixtures after you help narrow it down to the two choices, though. Can you give me that responsibility? I promise I will not choose anything that will scare away potential buyers.”

  He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. “I will trust you with the final decision.”

  Hallelujah. With that concession, the rest of the shopping trip went much smoother. At the end of the trip, everything was ordered, and Aaron’s stress level was significantly lower.

  He offered to take her to eat as they left the home improvement store. Even though she had wanted to strangle him in the store, they had survived, and she still wanted to spend time with him. That had to say something about their compatibility.

  Aaron drove them to Tim’s Taqueria. Bonnie used to go there with Lauren, Mary and Cheryl for Margarita Thursdays. She hadn’t been there since before the wedding.

  “I thought you said you were never eating here again,” she teased.

  Aaron’s hand stilled on his keys in the ignition. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

  “I’m kidding. You do not need to punish Tim for something he did when he was nine. That would make me a huge hypocrite if I let you do that.”

  He turned his car off and took out the keys. “You are very correct. Let’s go eat.”

  Always the gentleman, Aaron held the door of the restaurant open for her. The taqueria was brightly colored. Sunshine yellows and pinkish reds covered the walls. The booths were upholstered with colorful Mexican serapes, and decorative Talavera tiles covered the tables.

  Since Bonnie was a regular, she knew most of the staff. Greg, the host, greeted them with a smile until he recognized her. She could feel the rejection coming before the words came out of his mouth.

  “Bonnie,” he said, like her name was a terminal disease. “Can you guys give me a minute?” He stepped away, and she knew he was going to get reinforcements to ask her to leave.

  “We should go,” she whispered to Aaron, trying to tug him back toward the door.

  “What? Why?”

  “They’re going to tell me I’m not welcome. I don’t want to make them say it, and I definitely don’t want to hear it.” When she lived in her little bubble, she could forget that much of the town thought she was a backstabbing wedding wrecker. She hadn’t eaten out in Blue Springs since she’d been banished.

  “Oh, I hope he went to get Tim. I will remind that guy that you don’t hold a grudge for actual things he did to you, so it’s pretty unfair of him to mistreat you for something you didn’t do.”

  “I really don’t want the confrontation.” She tried again to pull him away.

  “You can’t run away from these people. You need to force them to be mean to your face. To explain why they are being horrible humans.”

  “They think I am a horrible human, so they don’t feel bad,” she tried to explain. The longer they stood there fighting about this, the greater the chance that she would have to live through another hurtful shunning. “Please, Aaron. I don’t want to do this.”

  Greg and Tim exited the back kitchen area and were heading their way. Aaron didn’t fight her any longer and left with her before the two men came to kick them out. She felt sick to her stomach, and the tears were threatening to fall. She punched the dashboard and immediately regretted it. Cradling her aching fist, she cursed her bad luck.

  Aaron took her hand in his and gently kissed her throbbing knuckles before letting her go. Bonnie covered her face with her hands. It was so embarrassing that she couldn’t even eat lunch somewhere without drama.

  “Hey, come here,” Aaron said. When she dropped her hands, he had his arms open. She shifted in her seat so she could fall into his embrace. He pressed his cheek against the top of her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t stand that people make you feel this way. You do not deserve it.”

  She liked the way it felt to be in his arms. He made her feel safe and cared for. “Tim’s margaritas aren’t even that good. They don’t even salt the rims of the glasses.”

  “Well, thank goodness we did not have to suffer through mediocre Mexican food and drinks. My famous tacos are way better than thei
rs, too.”

  Bonnie sat back and gave him the skunk eye. “You make famous tacos? You? The man who grew up in a house with a personal chef knows how to make tacos?”

  “I’ll remind you that I did go to college, and I did not get to bring Byron with me. I also live on my own and have to eat.”

  She loved that he didn’t take himself too seriously. He didn’t act as entitled as he was. “I can’t wait to taste your tacos. I’ll make you my famous margaritas, and we’ll have the perfect meal.”

  Aaron started the car. “Frozen or on the rocks margaritas?”

  “Frozen. It’s summer. You have to have frozen margaritas in the summer.”

  Aaron snickered as he pulled out of the parking lot. “You and I would do perfectly fine on a private island. We don’t need anyone else. I’m this close to kidnapping you and taking you away from all of this.”

  He made her skin tingle with his words. No one had ever made her wish to be kidnapped before until Aaron. Where he wanted to go, she would follow.

  * * *

  HONESTLY, AARON HAD never made tacos before. He had, however, eaten plenty of them. He also knew how to google recipes and read, so thankfully it wasn’t too difficult to make something edible.

  “Those were quite possibly the best shrimp tacos I have ever eaten in my life,” Bonnie said, leaning back in her chair and patting her stomach.

  He raised a glass to her. “And I will need another margarita, because you were not lying about how good these are. I think it may have something to do with your heavy-handedness with the tequila, but I am not complaining.”

  “You better not be,” Bonnie said, getting up and retrieving the blender and filling his glass and hers. They moved to the living room.

  Aaron loved the quaintness of Bonnie’s house. It was small but felt more like a home than his parents’ mansion ever did. Bonnie’s place was cozy. He wanted to sit on the couch and take a nap. She had fluffy-looking throw blankets in a basket in the corner of the living room, and her couch was covered in pillows. Framed black-and-white photos hung on the wall above the couch. She had a picture of her and her parents, and one of her standing outside a house with a For Sale sign out front with a big Sold sticker on top of it.