“You’re right,” I said, trying to keep my voice light. “It makes sense. We should have expected you’d want to move out.”
“I guess,” Annie said, clearly not convinced.
“Listen, we’re gonna stay really close,” Ginny said quickly. “I promise. I’ll see you guys all the time. It really won’t be that different.”
“Sure,” I said, my voice sounding falsely hearty in my ears. “We’ll hang out all the time.”
A sharp cry from upstairs interrupted us. Danny.
“I should go—” Ginny started to say, but Annie interrupted her.
“I’ll go,” she said. “I’ll get him.”
I understood completely. The thought of Danny moving was too horrible to accept. Just like Annie, all I wanted was to grab him and hold on to him for as long as possible.
“I should get some work done,” I said, turning away from Ginny so she couldn’t see my face. “I’m leaving for the airport really early.”
“Jen—” Ginny started, but I cut her off.
“I’m fine, Gin, don’t worry. I’ll help you guys look at places when I get back if you want.”
“Okay,” she said quietly, and I left the room.
I felt guilty, knowing she was upset. It was completely understandable that she would want to move out. I should have expected it, honestly. But the thought of this house without her, without Danny…It felt like something precious, something safe, was being taken away from me.
I knew if I let myself think about it anymore I would cry, and Ginny didn’t need to see that. Instead, I went back to my room and buried myself in work for Kiki’s wedding, determined not to think about Ginny or Josh all night.
Chapter Fifteen
I can’t believe I’m here right now.
Having never flown anything except coach, I had no idea what to expect when the limo picked me up the next morning to take me to the airport. The reality of the Barkers’ plane was beyond anything I could have imagined.
It was the definition of luxury. Ridiculously comfortable leather seats, marble tables, carpets so plush I was tempted to lay down on the floor, a chef on board with a full wait staff serving us breakfast. I couldn’t believe that people lived like this.
I’d had plenty of time to take it all in since we had boarded twenty minutes ago. Jason had immediately honed in on Kiki and her parents, and had been talking with them non-stop ever since takeoff. Eric and Matt were sitting together toward the black of the plane, each engrossed in newspapers. Out of Kiki’s bridesmaids, only her cousin Bella was joining us on this trip; she was sitting alone with a book and an expression that clearly said she would rather not be here.
This left me alone to enjoy myself. I fiddled with the controls on my chair for awhile, thrilled with the way it would lower and recline at will. It even had massaging controls and a button that seemed to turn on a butt warmer. So cool.
I finally managed to get a hold of myself, trying to stifle my excitement and act more like a professional. I looked up, hoping no one had seen my silliness, and found myself staring straight at Matt, who was standing in the aisle next to me, looking at me with a glint of amusement in his eyes.
“Having fun?” he asked.
I blushed. “It’s a very nice plane,” I murmured.
“It is indeed.”
“Have you traveled on it before?” I asked, trying to be polite.
“A few times. Kiki and Eric have planned a few weekends away with friends of theirs and they usually invite me.”
“That sounds great,” I said, thinking of the last trip I had taken with my friends. We had traveled in my Jeep over to Lake Michigan for a long weekend. Danny had screamed the entire drive, the hotel we had booked had messed up our reservation and put us all in the same room with a single queen sized bed, and it had rained for three days straight. A far cry from a private jet whisking us away to what I am sure was exotic locales.
“Kiki throws a nice party,” he agreed. He was looking at me strangely, as if trying to figure something out. “Well, anyhow, talk to you later.”
“Bye,” I mumbled as he headed off toward the bathroom (marble counter tops, bigger than my bathroom at home). I wondered, not for the first time, why this guy seemed to dislike me so much. He barely knew me! But so far most of our conversations had demonstrated what appeared to be his clear disdain, or, at the very least, complete indifference to me. A few times he had seemed somewhat amused by me, but that was hardly a compliment.
“How are you settling in?”
I looked up again to see Kiki, bobbing excitedly from foot to foot in the aisle next to my chair.
“Great. This is such a beautiful plane,” I said, smiling at her.
“I know, right? Daddy usually uses it just for business, but it’s so fab when he lets us do something fun!”
“Want to sit?” I asked politely, gesturing at the empty chair next to me.
“Totally!” she said, seeming happy that I had asked. “Jen, this is gonna be amazing!” Kiki sighed as she settled in the chair. “We are gonna have so much fun. Daddy got us really great rooms at the Plaza and we have tickets for a show on Broadway! We’re gonna drive around in the limo for a while so we can see all the sights, and I have a list of good restaurants where we can eat—I’ve been asking around all my friends to find the cool spots.”
Kiki always talked like this, a mile a minute, excited by everything. It could be really tiring trying to keep up. But then she said something that caught me totally off guard. “…I know you’ve never been to New York before so I really want it to be special!”
I was touched. Kiki seemed genuinely excited for me, and there was zero condescension or judgment in her voice.
“Thanks, Kiki,” I told her, spontaneously reaching over to squeeze her hand.
“Don’t thank me!” she cried, squeezing back. “Just have a great time!”
I smiled at her. “I’m sure we all will.”
At that moment, Matt passed us on his way back to his seat. “Matt! Hey, Matt!” Kiki said, grabbing his arm. “I was just telling Jen how much fun we’re gonna have on this trip! Aren’t you so excited?”
“I’m sure it will be great,” he said, shrugging. It was clear he couldn’t care less about Kiki’s plans.
“Matt’s just irritated ’cause he knows he’ll have to try on tuxes. He thinks anything besides for jeans is totally lame.”
Matt shrugged again. “Whatever Eric needs.”
“Oh, go sit down, you big grump,” Kiki said, shooing him away with a roll of her eyes. “We won’t let you ruin our fun.”
I felt a swell of affection for her. Unlike me, she was totally unaffected by his attitude and rudeness.
“That’s right,” I agreed, feeling happy and confident all of a sudden. “We are going to have an awesome time. Miserable people can get out of our way!”
As Kiki laughed delightedly, Matt gave me that same searching look as before. But this time, instead of flushing or fidgeting, I met his gaze, my eyebrow raised slightly.
“I’m sure we’ll all have a great time,” he finally said, more friendly this time. “I’ll leave you girls to your planning.”
***
My room at the Plaza was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. I had never stayed anywhere nicer than a Marriot, so this was pretty much out of my league. Kiki, however, had apologized, calling my room “kind of modest”. Yeah, right. Kiki was down the hall in a suite, sharing with her cousin. Matt and Eric were in another suite together, as were Kiki’s parents. Jason and I, however, each had our rooms—to my great delight. I had never stayed in a hotel room by myself before.
We were all spending a few minutes relaxing and getting refreshed in our rooms before we headed out in the limo to see the sights. I had a feeling Kiki was doing very little relaxing—she was probably driving Bella crazy. I, however, was perfectly content to explore my room and the bathroom (I had a jet tub!), to sit in the comfy armchairs, to lay perfectly still on the pl
ush bed, to try out the movie channels on the flat screen TV. It was like heaven.
I was pleased to find that I was feeling much more relaxed than I had expected to. It was hard not to get swept up in Kiki’s enthusiasm. She seemed genuinely excited that I was there with her. I hadn’t had too much interaction yet with her parents, who I still found very intimidating, or with Jason, who always set me on edge. Even my anxiety about Matt had faded after the incident on the plane. Maybe it was possible to enjoy this trip after all.
I looked at my watch, realizing it was nearly time to leave. I jumped up from the bed and headed to the bathroom to reapply my makeup and brush my hair. It was important that I be on my game today. We were all going to spend a few hours riding around the city and seeing the sights before having lunch. At three, all of us except for Eric and Matt would be going to a top bridal salon, where I had scheduled our first appointment.
There was a sharp knock on my door. “Jen? You ready?” I heard Kiki call from the hallway. I could picture her excited face, her body wiggling like a puppy as she waited to start another fabulous adventure. I smiled at myself in the mirror.
“Coming!” I called out as I grabbed my purse, feeling very nearly as excited as Kiki myself.
***
I could live here, I thought to myself two hours later as we strolled through the West Village, window- shopping and people-watching. New York was fabulous. The energy, the bustle, the green spaces tucked away within the concrete and skyscrapers. I loved it all.
“Jen, doesn’t it feel like we’re in a movie or something?” Kiki asked me. She was walking arm-in- arm with Eric, a gleeful smile on her face.
“It does,” I told her happily, not even trying to sound cool. “It’s just like Sex and the City.”
“Oh my God!” she squealed, frightening a couple of pigeons into flight with the high-pitch volume of her yell. “You’re totally right! I love that show! Oh my God, Jen, we are totally like Charlotte and Carrie!”
I didn’t ask who was supposed to be whom; I just smiled at her.
“So what would you like to see next?” she asked me. We had already driven through Times Square and browsed a little at Bloomingdales. We had reservations for lunch at the Boathouse in Central Park in an hour and a half. After that we were hoping to have time to wander through the park before we had to be at the salon.
“Hmm,” I said, considering. “Would we have enough time to see the Empire State Building? I’ve always wanted to go there—actually, my favorite movie of all time takes place there.”
“Ooooh, me too!” Kiki cried. “You mean Sleepless in Seattle, right?”
I heard a snort behind me and spun to see Matt rolling his eyes.
“No,” I told her, rolling my eyes right back at him. I’d had about enough of this guy. “I actually meant An Affair to Remember.” Kiki looked blank. “It’s an old movie; Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. It’s classic, Kiki, very romantic. You’d love it.”
“We should rent it tonight!” Kiki said. “We can get in our PJs and watch it in our room. Oh, that would be so, so much fun, don’t you think?”
“Well in that case,” Matt interrupted, looking at me with a slight smile, “the Empire State Building it is.”
***
Less than two hours later we were being seated at a table out on the patio at the Boathouse, overlooking Central Park and the lake. It was beautiful. I hoped the food would be on par with the rest of the day.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had such a good time. Kiki was surprisingly fun. Her excitement about everything was contagious. She was friendly to everyone and she seemed to genuinely want us all to have a good time. Before long, she even had Matt laughing a little.
Jason seemed content to hang back with Mr. and Mrs. Barker. He was constantly on his phone throughout the morning—I had a feeling he thought this made him look busy and important. I just thought he looked like a pretentious prick.
Over starters of calamari and stuffed mushrooms, Kiki and I made a game plan for dress shopping. I had made appointments at five stores in the city, including a few exclusive designer houses. I was absolutely dying to get into Vera Wang’s showroom, but that wouldn’t be until tomorrow. Today we were going to hit Kleinfeld, a huge salon that carried a staggering number of dresses. I hoped our energy would last after the busy day we had already had.
“What are you guys doing this afternoon?” I asked Eric.
“We’re seeing a Yankee game,” he replied, looking excited.
I gasped in mock horror. “What self-respecting Tigers fans would pay money to see the Yankees?” The Tigers were, of course, Detroit’s baseball team, and as both they and the Yankees were in the American League, there was a long-standing rivalry there.
“Tickets were free,” Matt said. “An associate gave them to Mr. Barker when he heard we were coming. So there, Miss Judgmental.”
I smiled in spite of myself. He was teasing me! I had to admit I kind of liked it.
“I still think it’s sacrilegious,” I said. “My father would disown me if he found out I was rooting for the Yankees.”
“Who said anything about rooting for them?” Matt said, offended. He reached down and pulled up his sweater to reveal a white Tigers jersey—and a small flash of a perfectly toned stomach. I felt my heart rate automatically speed up.
“Now you’re forgiven,” I said, trying to keep my voice light. “I just hope you don’t get your ass kicked.”
Jason looked up at me sharply, and I wanted to slap my hand over my mouth. How could I be so stupid, swearing in front of the Barkers? Just because they were nice didn’t change my position: I was their employee, and this was business. But Kiki and Eric were laughing, and Matt was smiling at me.
“I never would have pegged you for a baseball fan,” Matt said.
“I’m not really,” I admitted. “But my dad is, and he’s very loyal to the hometown team.”
“Sounds like my kind of guy,” Matt said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.
“You’re a baseball man then?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Baseball’s great but hockey is my favorite.” That figured. Hockey was very popular in Detroit.
“Daddy has season tickets for the Red Wings,” Kiki said happily. “I love going to the games. Hockey players are so hot.”
I burst out laughing at the disgusted looks on Matt’s and Eric’s face.
“Those seats are totally wasted on you,” Matt groaned.
“Matt used to play hockey in college,” Eric explained. “He thinks Wings games are a religious experience.”
This sparked my interest. Of all of the sports my dad had forced me to watch growing up, hockey was by far my favorite. I loved the speed of it, the primal nature of the hitting and the fights. Furthermore, I agreed with Kiki that hockey players were particularly sexy.
Just what I need, I thought. Another reason to fantasize about Matt.
“What position did you play?” I asked, leaning forward over the table slightly.
“Defense,” Matt said.
Mmmm, lots of hitting then. Nice.
“Where’d you play?”
“U of M,” he answered modestly.
“Wow, not bad,” I said, impressed. That was a really good program.
“It was fun,” he said. “But I wasn’t that great.”
“Yeah, right,” Eric said, rolling his eyes. “He got drafted. He totally would have made it to the NHL.”
I raised my eyebrows at Matt, wishing he would explain but not wanting to press.
“I got injured,” he said composedly. “End of the road for me. But I was a long way from playing professionally. It wasn’t that big of a deal.”
“You must really miss it,” I said softly. How horrible. Despite what he said, I knew enough about hockey to know that you didn’t make it to playing for U of M if you weren’t seriously good. And to be that good you had to be damn committed. It would be awful to have that taken from yo
u.
“I still play,” he said, smiling at me. “Don’t you go feeling sorry for me. I’m on a great rec team; we play twice a week. We don’t get the same amount of fans coming to our games—” He winked and I felt a little shiver in my spine. “—but that’s never what it was about anyhow. It’s just fun to play the game.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kiki looking at me with a huge smile on her face. Shoot. I was probably being really obvious, leaning over the table towards Matt, my face all lit up. I bet I totally looked like I was flirting. I would have to watch myself around him. He was definitely the kind of boy Annie would call dangerous. The kind of boy that could make you forget things, forget yourself. I usually loved that kind of boy, but I was supposed to be working.
I felt even more disconcerted later when we were getting back into the limo after a stroll through the park. “I can’t believe that just happened,” Kiki whispered in my ear.
“What do you mean?” I asked nervously. Was she pissed because she thought I was flirting?
“Matt telling you that stuff about his injury,” she whispered in my ear. “I mean, I only know about it because Eric told me. I have never—and I mean never—heard Matt tell anyone about that. He must really trust you.”
I wasn’t sure what was more troubling: Kiki’s words, or the way they made me feel.
Chapter Sixteen
We found Kiki’s dress at Amsale’s showroom the second day of the trip. Of course, she didn’t buy it right then. She was having way too much fun playing dress- up, and we still had three appointments—no way was she going to cancel any of them.
I had really done my research for this trip. I had pored over websites and catalogues until I had a detailed list of what I wanted to see Kiki try on—and what shops carried those dresses. I was very pleased when she tried on that Amsale dress I had picked out for her. I had a good feeling about it and I wasn’t disappointed. I knew the second she tried it on that it was for her.
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