The Bridal Squad

by Samantha Chase

  She nodded. “Uh-huh.”

  He raked a hand through his hair as he leaned his head back. A long, wary sigh came out but he didn’t look at her. “So…I guess now you’ll want…”

  “You lied to me,” she said, instantly cutting him off.

  “Um…what?”

  “You totally lied to me,” she repeated, twisting in her seat to look at him. “All this time you downplayed what you do and made it sound like you were working at the gym to supplement your income!”

  For a minute, he looked at her as if she were crazy. “Wait a minute…are you…are you seriously pissed off right now?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I’m pissed off!” she cried.

  “Why?” he asked, his gaze narrowing at her.

  “Brady, I’ve been brutally honest with you about every aspect of my life! You know everything – the good, the bad and the ugly. You witnessed my greatest humiliation at the hands of my mother time and time again. And you didn’t think you could share with me what you really did for a living? Why?”

  At first he didn’t answer and that just pissed her off even more. But she could see the tension building in him – he gripped and released the steering wheel about a dozen times before he finally spoke.

  “Do you know why it took me so long to ask you out?”

  She shook her head.

  “Because – not unlike you – I don’t have a great history with the opposite sex.”

  “Wait…”

  He shook his head and let out a sound of frustration. “I made a big name for myself when I was fairly young,” he explained, “and I used to brag about it a lot. Suddenly, everyone wanted to be my friend and women threw themselves at me. I didn’t mind it so much because I was young and a guy and…it was all great. But when I decided I wanted to settle down a bit and have a serious relationship, it was harder to find than I thought. Every woman I dated was more interested in my income than me.”

  It was kind of hard to feel bad for him at the moment, she thought. Poor rich guy…all the beautiful women want to be with you. She frowned.

  “Anyway, after a while I just got…discouraged. Disillusioned. That’s when I stopped being the tech-guy and focused on doing the gym thing.”

  “So wait…you don’t do the game stuff anymore? You said you consult?” she asked with confusion.

  He nodded. “I do consult. I own a company and…I’m really just a figurehead. Other people run it. I have some ideas for another game, another series but…I’m not the same guy that I was when I first started. I’m doing it because it’s just the way my brain works – I enjoy creating things and making them work. But I have a team of people now who take my ideas and make them into something. And I’m okay with it. I like the way my life is now. I like who I am now.”

  She swallowed hard and tried to process everything he just said.

  “I need to go,” she said quietly. “I need to think about this.”

  “Why? I don’t see what the problem is here. I explained why I didn’t tell you everything and…I’m sorry for that. I don’t see why it has to change anything.”

  “Brady,” she began, “it took a leap of faith for me to go out with you. I looked at you and I made a snap decision and realized it was wrong – that I shouldn’t lump you in with some preconceived notion I had. I trusted you. And now you’re telling me that you…you essentially lied to me.”

  “But not in a way that changes anything, Harper,” he pleaded and reached for her hand. “I’m still Brady. You’ve been to my home, we’ve been around each other almost non-stop for weeks. Nothing’s going to change except now you know the full description of my job.”

  Maybe, she thought, but it still felt like more of a betrayal.

  “I just really need to let this all…settle in. And even then, it’s going to be weird.”

  “Why?” he asked gruffly.

  “Because now that I know, now that I understand, I’m always going to feel like you’re watching me and waiting for me to do or saying something off, something that makes you feel like I’m making demands on your money and…I don’t know if I can live with that. I don’t want you thinking anything different about me.” She paused. “I don’t want you to not trust me.”

  He was so quiet that Harper could barely hear him breathe.

  He released her hand and sat back in his seat. “Why don’t you call me tomorrow?” he said quietly. And with nothing more than a nod, Harper got out of the car.

  Fifteen

  “Good morning! I’m Julianne and this is Zumba! Do we have any first-timers here today?” Julianne said as she began her spiel. Several people raised their hands. “Awesome! I am so glad you decided to join us today! This is a cardio dance class but don’t worry if you don’t have any dance experience –you don’t need any. And don’t worry if you don’t pick up the steps right away because we’ve all been there!”

  Kayla mouthed the words along with Julianne. It was habit now. For whatever reason, Julianne had her script and she stuck to it. It was probably comforting to some people to come in and hear the same thing and know what was coming, but Kayla wouldn’t mind hearing her friend ad lib a little.

  “So let’s all let go of our stress and worries for the next hour and just dance and have fun!” Julianne called out and the music started.

  “I’m totally not feeling it this morning,” Harper said from Kayla’s right.

  “Me either,” Natalie said from the left.

  “Do you think Julianne would be mad if we all sort of bailed?” Kayla asked.

  They all looked at each other and one by one, danced their way to the exit. Julianne caught Kayla’s eye as she was leaving but all Kayla could do was mouth “Sorry”. Sometimes, you just needed to not Zumba.

  Within minutes they each had their gym bags and were piling into Kayla’s car. “Cafe or bakery?” she asked.

  “Cafe,” Harper said. “I feel like I need an omelet and about forty slices of bacon.”

  “Ooh…that does sound good,” Natalie agreed. “And coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.”

  There was a collective round of “amens” at that.

  “You know Jules is going to be pissy about this, right?” Harper commented.

  “I think this is the first time in a really long time that we’ve bailed on her,” Kayla said.

  “Yeah, but it’s the first time we did it as a mass exodus, so…I’m thinking she’s going to lecture us later. We should brace ourselves,” Harper said. “Trust me.”

  The cafe wasn’t far, but it was crowded and it took almost thirty minutes for them to be seated.

  “Okay, I know why I wasn’t into class this morning,” Kayla said as soon as they were sitting. “What’s your story?”

  During their wait, it had been too loud for them to do more than talk about trivial stuff like work, the weather and what they were going to order. Now that it was a little less overwhelming, it was time to really talk.

  “I’m avoiding Brady,” Harper said miserably.

  “Still?” Kayla cried with disbelief. “Dude, it’s been like…two weeks! What are you obsessing about? And – might I add – you’ve seen him during that time so your avoiding skills suck.”

  “I know I’ve seen him – we went to dinner twice and a movie – but…I’m so freaking self-conscious about the whole damn relationship now!”

  “Why? It seems to me that he came clean and it’s all good. He’s rich. Like really, really rich. How is that a bad thing?”

  Their waitress came, poured their coffee and took their order before Harper could respond. Once she was gone, Natalie asked, “I’m kind of curious too. Why are you sabotaging this?”

  “I’m not sabotaging anything,” Harper said, stirring cream into her coffee. “Don’t you see? If things go well, people will think I’m just with him for the money. If they crash and burn, I’ll forever hear that I was stupid enough to let the rich guy get away…”

  “Yeah, but that’s just from your mom and I
thought you and Jules and your dad put her in her place?” Kayla asked.

  “We did but…you know my mom. It will come up eventually.”

  “So, let me get this straight…you’re willing to kill a perfectly good relationship with a great guy because of something your mom may or may not say. Do I have that right?” Kayla asked sarcastically. “Because the other excuse – the one about the money – that’s all in your head. Brady knows why you’re with him. You were into him when you thought he was a gym rat who was everything you swore you didn’t want. The money hang up is yours, Harps, and yours alone.”

  “Maybe…”

  Kayla took a sip of her coffee and turned to Natalie. “What about you? What took the zum out of your ba?”

  Natalie looked at her in confusion for a moment before she finally chuckled. “Good one.”

  Kayla grinned with satisfaction. “I know. So? What’s your deal?”

  “Jayce,” she said with a sigh.

  Kayla and Harper looked at each other and then back at Natalie. “Um…that’s nothing new. That’s been going on for over a month now. What specifically is going on?”

  “My mother-in-law invited me to go to lunch today.”

  “No!” Harper gasped. “Are you going?”

  Natalie nodded. “I am. I have no idea what I’m going to do or say but…she’s been calling and asking to see me since I left and I’ve been putting her off. I’m finally going today.”

  “Okay, that’s a good reason not to feel like cha-chaing this morning,” Kayla said. “What time are you meeting her?”

  “At one. I’m starving right now but I also want to throw up.”

  “Don’t throw up,” Kayla replied. “Because I’m also starving and want to eat. Don’t ruin it for me.”

  Natalie sighed. “Fine. Whatever. And what’s your deal? Why don’t you have any…you know…zum?”

  “I got an amazing job offer,” she murmured as she looked down at her mug.

  Harper and Natalie exchanged glances. “And…?” Harper prompted.

  “And…it’s not for Adam’s magazine. I got a call from an editor for an archaeological magazine and they’re doing a ton of work on sites over in Europe and they want me to go on and do the pictures.”

  “That’s amazing, Kayla!” Natalie said excitedly. “I bet that would be fascinating! But I still don’t see the downside. You’ve done work for other magazines before. Adam’s not going to be upset because of that.”

  Looking up, she almost felt like crying – and she hated crying. “It’s an eight-month gig. I’d need to go through some training on digs so that I’d understand what kind of pictures they’re looking for and I’d essentially be moving away for the entire time. I wouldn’t get to choose when I’d have time off.”

  “So you’re basically committing to being on-site for the full eight months,” Harper said.

  “Yup. And it will be closer to nine if you count the training time.”

  “Damn.”

  “I know.”

  Their food arrived and they ate in silence for several minutes. It was a welcome distraction but Kayla knew it certainly wasn’t going to give her any answers. If she took this job – this amazing and incredible job – she’d not only be missing out on Julianne and Gavin’s wedding, but she’d be leaving Adam. They were finally in a good place and the timing of this job would certainly seem suspicious.

  Talk about sabotage…

  There was no way she could ask Adam to wait for her and yet, she wasn’t ready to walk away. So where did that leave her?

  “Omelets? You all walked out of class so you could eat omelets?”

  They all looked up to stare at Julianne who was hovering over the table, breathless.

  Fortunately, she took one look at the three of them and slowly unclenched. Turning to the waitress passing by, she asked, “Can I get a western omelet and a coffee?” With a nod, the waitress went on her way and Julianne sat down and grabbed a slice of Harper’s bacon.

  “Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “Me too.”

  ****

  There wasn’t enough bacon in the world to fix what was clearly broken around this table, Julianne thought.

  She had been majorly ticked off when the three of them left her class earlier, but honestly, she was amazed by how often they’d all been showing up lately.

  When had life gotten so damn complicated? What could they have done differently? And was this really what being an adult was all about? Because if it was, then she was seriously over it.

  Today she was supposed to go to Enchanted Bridal and cancel her wedding. Yes, she’d known for two weeks that she needed to do it, but for some reason she just couldn’t make herself take that last step to pull the plug. What the hell was that about? And all around her, three of the best friends a girl could want were all dealing with shitty situations. Judging by the looks on all of their faces, Kayla had told them about the job offer. She’d called Julianne last night to talk to her about it and honestly, she had no idea how to help.

  Looking around the cafe, it was filled with people laughing and smiling and their table looked as if they were on their way to a funeral.

  And really, weren’t they?

  She was getting ready to deal with the death of her wedding plans.

  And Kayla, Harper and Natalie were all facing the death of their relationships.

  How fucking depressing was that?

  They ate in silence – Julianne taking another slice of bacon from her sister and a square of toast to hold her over until her own food came. Their waitress brought her cup of coffee and promised the omelet would be out in a minute. “Can you add a side of bacon to that?” she called out and got a nod in response.

  She hated this. Hated how they had gone from four happy women in four happy relationships to…this. And what was worse was that they were all just sitting here and taking it. Where were her fighters? The women who danced their asses off and kicked giant punching bags and screamed like warriors? Where had they gone?

  Their waitress put Julianne’s plate down and she smiled and thanked her as she studied the food. She shook her head. “This is bullshit.”

  Kayla, Natalie and Harper all looked over at her.

  “What? Did they get your order wrong?” Harper asked.

  “No. My breakfast looks fantastic. What’s bullshit is the four of us!”

  Natalie choked on her coffee.

  Harper dropped her fork.

  And Kayla smirked.

  Julianne didn’t even wait for one of them to question her statement. “Look at us!” she cried. “I mean really look at us! We are sitting here like the most pathetic people in the world and we’re all acting like victims when we are the ones in charge of making things happen! We are responsible for our own happiness and we’re all sitting here letting our fears of what other people want for us cripple us!”

  “Jules,” Harper began, “that’s not quite what’s going on here.”

  “Oh, really? You’re not sitting there obsessing about your relationship with Brady because of how other people are going to perceive it?”

  No response.

  “Newsflash, Harps, that goes with the territory for everyone. We’re all being judged.”

  “And that’s what I’m tired of!” Harper cried. “I’ve been dealing with it from Mom for years! I thought that what I had with Brady was safe! Then he goes and drops a bombshell on me and…and…it’s too damn much!”

  “Oh, boo-freakin-hoo. Your boyfriend’s rich,” Julianne said sarcastically. “If you’re going to have an issue, have a real one.”

  Harper’s wide-eyed stare was her only reaction.

  Julianne looked at Natalie. “And you!” she stated firmly. “You know what I think? I think you convinced yourself that life was supposed to be a fairytale, and it’s not. I think you’re approaching your one-year wedding anniversary – in five days, might I add – and you realized that the honeymoon phase of life is over. Not forever, mind you, but
every married couple gets into a rut, Nat. And you’re willing to walk away from your marriage over it.”

  “Hey!” Natalie snapped at her. “Where the hell is all of this coming from?”

  “It’s been there all along but I was afraid to say anything because…” Julianne sighed. “I didn’t want to add to your stress. But now I see that by not speaking up, I was contributing to something worse.” Reaching across the table, she grabbed one of Natalie’s hands and squeezed it hard. “Do you love Jayce?”

  “That’s not…”

  “Do. You. Love. Jayce?” Julianne asked fiercely.

  Natalie stared at her with annoyance. “Of course I love him! I’ve always loved him!”

  “Then why are you doing this? Why aren’t you fighting for him? He’s been trying so damn hard…”

  “He has?” Kayla asked. “Since when? I thought that all stopped with the flowers.”

  Natalie pulled her hand back and looked down at her plate and sighed. “He’s been…he’s been sending stuff and doing stuff – really good stuff – since we went for coffee.”

  “And you didn’t say anything?” Harper asked. “What the hell, Nat?”

  “I told Jules, but…I was afraid to share it with everyone because I’m really enjoying it. The attention he’s giving me…it’s like the way things were when we first started dating. And I was afraid you and Kayla would look at me like…like I was crazy. Like I was stupid for falling for it.” Another sigh. “That you’d go back to treating me like you did before I left him.”

  Silence.

  Julianne let Natalie’s statement sink in for a moment before she turned to Kayla. “Have you talked to Adam yet?”

  Kayla shook her head.

  “I’m going to ask you something and I want you to say the first thing that comes to your mind.”

  “Hell no,” Kayla said, tossing her own fork down. “I told you how I hate that game. You know how much it bothered me when Adam did it! That’s not the way my brain works! I have to have some time to think things through!”

  Julianne nibbled on a slice of bacon and then handed one to Harper to replace the ones she’d taken earlier.

  “You owe me like three more,” Harper murmured.