A Bridesmaid to Remember

by Amy Vastine

  “It frustrates me that whoever did this didn’t stick to spray painting the walls. Why did they have to get it on the floors and the counters?” Sasha asked as he finished sanding down the painted floorboards.

  “Because if they only sprayed the walls, it wouldn’t be a pain in our butts to fix. I’m fairly sure their purpose was to make us miserable.”

  “Mission accomplished,” David said from the kitchen. He’d decided they should sand down the cabinet doors that weren’t broken and repaint them.

  The alarm on Aaron’s phone went off. He had to go home and clean up. He was due to pick Hilde up in two hours for the gala. His plan was to make an appearance, shake a few hands, chat up a couple major donors and get out of there. If Hilde wanted to stay longer, she could leave with her parents.

  “I have to go,” he said, putting his tools away. Looking at all the work that still had to be done was depressing. They had been so close to being done, and now it felt like they were basically starting over. Such a waste of time and money. Thank goodness for insurance.

  “Will we see you tomorrow?” David asked, wiping his hands on one of his work rags. “I was going to pick up the new toilets in the morning.”

  “Tomorrow is Sunday. I think we need to take the day off and relax a little bit before we have to work our butts off the rest of the week,” Aaron replied.

  “Whatever you say, boss,” Sasha said.

  “Say a prayer for me, gentlemen. Between dealing with my mother and all the sucking up I have to do, I may not make it out alive.”

  “It’s shame you have to be subjected to a party with caviar and champagne,” Sasha said. “While surrounded by the town’s rich and famous.”

  “Don’t forget having to collect all those checks to help fund the library so people like you and me can read all the books we want for free,” David added. “The sacrifice is real.”

  Aaron slapped his knee a couple times. “You two are a real comedy act. Hilarious. Let me know when the show is hitting the road. I’ll be sure to buy a ticket in every city.”

  Sasha couldn’t stop laughing. “I’ve got the perfect joke for the opener. A biker, a carpenter and a tortured rich guy walk into a gala...”

  David shook his head but still chuckled at the big man’s ridiculousness.

  “Careful now, or the punch line of that joke will be, ‘...and the biker got fired,’” Aaron warned him.

  Sasha’s expression immediately turned serious. “That’s not funny, boss man.”

  “You would know all about things that aren’t funny.” Aaron pretended to drop a microphone. “Boom.”

  “That’s because everything about you is funny. Your face, your hair, your unusually long fingers.”

  Aaron glanced down at his hands. He didn’t have unusually long fingers. Did he? “You’re not worth the comeback. Have a good night,” he said as he walked out the door.

  He would survive a few hours of hobnobbing, he kept telling himself as he struggled to tie his bow tie and slid his feet into shiny dress shoes that rubbed his heels and left blisters every time he wore them.

  He checked his phone. No new messages. No missed calls. What was Bonnie doing? Was she really going to let Mitch fill her head full of conspiracy theories? At this point, she probably believed his father had hired someone who’d purposely made it look like Lauren did it, knowing she’d be vindicated and the case would go unsolved.

  He stopped in his tracks. What if his father had done it? Or paid someone to do it? That wasn’t such a far-fetched idea. His father had been beside himself when the police were holding Lauren for questioning. He wouldn’t have expected her not to have an airtight alibi. He could have been freaking out that he set her up to take the fall.

  He also wanted nothing more than for Aaron to give up house flipping and come back to the family business. His mom had been warning him all week that his dad wanted a couple minutes of his time at the gala tonight. Maybe he planned to make a big deal out of the vandalism and use it to lure Aaron back on board.

  The more he thought about it, the more he was sure his dad had paid someone to destroy his house. He was the most likely suspect, hiding in plain sight. Getting him to admit it wasn’t going to be easy, but Aaron would make him confess. He’d use his pride against him, forcing him to take credit because the plan was brilliant.

  * * *

  HILDE RUTHERFORD WAS not a talker. In fact, they had been together for more than an hour and the woman had said approximately seven words—if he counted “mmm-hmm” as two words. Aaron had schmoozed with all the important donors but had yet to see his father. It wasn’t like him to not be front and center on this night. Maybe he was busy paying off his hired hand and getting the vandal out of town.

  “Mr. Cole,” someone from behind him said just as Aaron spotted Walter Cole enter the gala.

  “Can you hang on one second? I need to speak to my father about something. I’ll be right back.”

  “It’s kind of an emergency,” the young man in waitstaff attire said, following him as he crossed the room to get to his dad.

  “Can you handle it on your own for five more minutes while I talk to my father? Please.”

  His dad held a drink in one hand and laughed at what was most likely a terrible joke.

  “I’m not sure Mr. Bennett and Miss Windsor will wait that long. I sense they’re ready to make a scene.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  THERE HAD BEEN multiple points in time leading up to this one when Bonnie thought this might be a bad idea. Now that they were in the library and she could hear all the voices coming from the party, she was sure of it.

  Dressed in the blush-pink bridesmaid’s gown she’d worn on that fateful wedding day, Bonnie wished she could be transported back in time to that morning. She would have confronted Mitch and told him to break up with Lauren, not because he thought he was in love with her, but because he was sure he wasn’t in love with Lauren. There were no time machines in the library, however.

  “Maybe we should leave,” she whispered to Mitch as they waited at the check-in area. “Their reactions may be less satisfying than we think.”

  “It’s fine. We’ll be making our grand entrance in a minute. They don’t have the cash, trust me.”

  Mitch’s big plan was to demand a refund for the tickets he’d paid for when they were refused entry. If they didn’t give him the refund in cash tonight, he would threaten to sue the library for not allowing a paid guest entry, guessing they would rather let him in than take the risk of losing all the money they were trying to make tonight in court.

  “You have two minutes remaining,” Mitch announced to the young man assigned to guard them.

  “We’re doing everything we can to resolve this issue, sir.”

  The Cole library was one of the most beautiful buildings in Blue Springs. Inspired by the Guggenheim in New York, it had a spiraling tower and rotunda. Each of the four floors housed different genres of books as well as classrooms and computer labs. They often had charity events on the main level under the magnificent domed ceiling.

  The other young man who had been tasked with finding out what to do with them returned with Aaron in tow. He looked less than pleased to see them there. Instead of that making Bonnie feel empowered, she was quickly overwhelmed with shame.

  Aaron spoke only to Bonnie. He didn’t even spare Mitch a sideways glance. “This is what you want to do? This is the statement you want to make in front of everyone here?”

  Bonnie swallowed hard. Her throat was suddenly too tight to let the words pass. She wanted to shake her head no, but she nodded yes against her better judgment. The disappointment in his eyes was almost too much to bear. He wasn’t angry—he was sad.

  “I’m surprised they pulled you away. I thought for sure they were going to bring the big guns. Your dad and sister are here, right?” Mitch asked
. When Aaron didn’t respond with more than a glare, he continued, “How is the date with Hilde going so far? Are you two hitting it off?”

  Mitch had reminded her why she was there. If Aaron could go on dates, so could she. Straightening her shoulders, she found her voice. “Are we free to join the party?”

  “I hope this makes you feel better, but I’m betting it won’t.” He stepped aside and waved them past.

  Mitch offered her his arm, and they strode past Aaron. Bonnie’s stomach rolled, and her heart was beating so fast she was afraid she was going to have a full-blown panic attack. They walked out into the festivities. Waitstaff with trays of champagne flutes glided by. Mitch snagged two and handed her one.

  The whispers and stares began immediately. Bonnie felt more like a zoo animal on display than a guest at a fancy party. All the years she’d dreamed of coming to the gala, she had not imagined herself as a spectacle. Every reasonable part of her brain was screaming for her to leave. She didn’t need to do this. Aaron had seen her. That was enough. He knew that she knew he had brought someone else as his date. Angering Lauren didn’t seem worth the negative attention she was receiving from everyone else there.

  “You are not here. You are not here with Mitch. You are not here with Mitch wearing that dress.” Lauren’s cousin Kathy gaped at them. “You have no shame. I don’t even know you.”

  Jeanne Watson and her tightly curled blond hair was also there. “You need to leave right now,” she said.

  Mary came swooping in and grabbed Bonnie by the arm, ushering her down one of the halls to the library offices. “Why are you doing this? Are you some kind of glutton for punishment?”

  “Did you help Lauren destroy Aaron’s house?”

  “Bonnie...”

  “Yes or no? All I need is a one-word answer.”

  Mary pushed her long brown hair over her shoulder. “No. Why would I do that?”

  “I don’t know,” Bonnie admitted. She’d felt so paranoid all week, sure that everyone had conspired to ruin every good thing in her life.

  “When you accused me of being a bad friend, I deserved it, because I have been. By not standing up for you and by not standing up to her, I let you both down. But now you’re accusing me of vandalism? When do you think I had the time to turn into a criminal?”

  Bonnie shrugged.

  “What about you? Why are you here trying to convince the whole town they were right about you? Why would you spend all summer professing your innocence and then do this?”

  Bonnie hung her head. She didn’t have a good answer to that, either. She was angry. She’d wanted to hurt Lauren like she had hurt Bonnie since the wedding. Mitch had simply been a willing accomplice.

  “You should leave now. Lauren will hear things, but if she doesn’t see you, maybe it won’t bother her as much.”

  “Too late,” Lauren said from down the hall. She slowly made her way to where the two women were huddled together. “Nice dress.”

  “You win, Lauren,” Bonnie said. “I thought I could be as mean and hateful as you’ve been, but I don’t have the stomach for it.”

  “Well, for someone who doesn’t believe they’re cut out for the revenge game, I think showing up in your bridesmaid dress on the arm of my ex-fiancé is next-level hatefulness. Kudos to you for really knocking it out of the park.”

  Her tone was so dry and flat, it was hard to tell how angry she was. Bonnie didn’t care. She’d thought sticking it to her would make things better, but it hadn’t. “I was trying hard to think like you, and that’s what I came up with. Unlike you, however, I can’t spend the whole night here making you and everyone else uncomfortable, so I’m leaving.”

  Lauren blocked her from going. “Do you love him?”

  Bonnie was so tired of this rivalry that neither one of them was going to win, because Lauren couldn’t win and Bonnie didn’t want to win the prize. Bonnie didn’t love Mitch. She never would.

  “Because he loves you,” Lauren said before Bonnie could respond. “And I don’t mean he thinks he’s in love with you because you smiled at him one time like Mitch. I’m talking about he cares about you and wants what’s best for you and would give up everything for you kind of love.”

  Bonnie’s brows drew together. “Wait, you weren’t asking me about Mitch?”

  Lauren pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. “Mary, please help her out. I can’t.”

  “Aaron,” Mary whispered.

  His name made her heart skip a beat. The way she felt about Aaron wasn’t like anything she’d ever felt with anyone else. It killed her that she had been a disappointment to him tonight.

  “Do you love my brother?” Lauren asked again.

  “What makes you think he loves me when he asked someone else to be his date tonight?”

  Lauren barked out a laugh. “You think he asked Hilde to be his date? My mother is trying to get Hilde’s father to invest in some run-down museum she wants to renovate. She made Aaron bring Hilde to get in her parents’ good graces.”

  Always the dutiful son. “Okay, so he’s not dating someone else, but I’m not sure he’s in love with me. In fact, I think he might be more disappointed in me tonight than I am.”

  “Do you love my brother?” Lauren asked one more time. “Answer the question. Don’t come up with reasons why he couldn’t possibly love you, because I have already talked to him about this and he’s extremely clear about how he feels.”

  Bonnie’s heart shuddered. Being loved was a gift.

  “Yes,” she answered. “I love your brother.”

  She’d done it. She’d said it. Admitting her feelings out loud felt good, even if she hadn’t said the words to Aaron himself.

  Lauren actually smiled. Could she be pleased about this? “I wish someone would have made sure Mitch and I were on the same page about the whole love thing before we walked down the aisle. That’s why we didn’t make it.” Lauren gave a little shrug and rolled her eyes. “That, and he’s a doofus.”

  Bonnie covered her mouth, feeling guilty for laughing. “Now what?” she asked.

  “Now I let my brother be happy even though I’m maybe not.” Lauren pressed her lips together and dropped her eyes, like she was trying to maintain control of her emotions. She looked back up. “I’m also going to let my best friend be happy, because she deserves it after the way I treated her.”

  Where had this Lauren been for the last few months? Why had she stayed away for so long? “I’m sorry you’re not happy. I know you think you were supposed to marry Mitch, but fate has bigger and better plans for you.”

  Lauren laughed. “Two minutes ago you were telling me how evil I was, and now you feel bad for me? You are the opposite of mean and hateful. It’s just not in you, Bon. You are too nice.”

  Sometimes nice didn’t feel like a compliment. “I don’t want to be a pushover, though.”

  “You have stood up for yourself more times than you should have needed to this summer. You’re no pushover. And don’t feel bad for me. I won’t always feel this way. There’s someone out there who will love me the way Aaron loves you.”

  Aaron loved her. He loved her in spite of her flaws. Hopefully.

  Lauren touched Bonnie’s arm. “I also should take a minute to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I said and did that hurt you. And I’m sorry for asking other people to hurt you as well. Most of all, I’m sorry for not trusting you even though you’d never given me a reason not to.”

  Okay, this wasn’t real. Could she have hit her head at some point? Maybe Lauren had walked up to her and knocked her out instead of talking to her. Sorry wasn’t in Lauren’s vocabulary unless she was referring to how someone else was about to feel. Bonnie discreetly pinched herself.

  “Can you repeat that?”

  “Ha ha. You heard me. I. Am. Sorry. I grew up thinking I d
idn’t need to apologize for being me, but let’s be honest, that attitude is what got me left at the altar.”

  She wasn’t wrong.

  “If we’re apologizing, I better go,” Mary said. “Lauren, I’m sorry for not telling you that you were being a terrible person and for not being honest with you about how I felt. Friends don’t let friends be jerks.”

  “Apology accepted. I’m sorry I asked you to shun someone you care about. I shouldn’t dictate how anybody lives their lives.” Lauren and Mary hugged it out.

  When they were finished, Mary turned to Bonnie. “I’m sorry for being more worried about my social standing than being a good person to another good person. You deserved better than that.”

  “I’m sorry for thinking both of you would ruin Aaron’s house. I’m also sorry for putting on this dress tonight and for showing up with Mitch. That was a low blow. It didn’t make me feel good, and all I want to do is tell Aaron the same thing.”

  “I can’t believe you’re still here.” The gang was all here. Kathy’s sneer and Jeanne’s scowl came to fight. “Do you want us to get security to throw her out, Lauren?” Kathy asked.

  Lauren took Bonnie by the hand and gave her a reassuring smile. “No.” She looked over at the two of them. “I would like you both to apologize for being mean to Bonnie to impress me. Anyone who is impressed by meanness and cruelty shouldn’t be someone you want to impress.”

  “What?” Jeanne’s scowl turned into a confused grimace.

  “You want us to apologize to her?” Kathy clarified.

  “You should want to apologize. You have been really mean.”

  Bonnie didn’t want them to say anything. If they had to be commanded to apologize, it wasn’t much of an apology. “Let’s just agree the slate is clean between us all. How about that? Let’s start over.”