Thirty-Four Going On Bride (The Spinster Series Book 3)

by Becky Monson

  Jared, with his dark blonde hair and light blue eyes, takes after his dad. Since Jared’s dad passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack when Jared was in college, the only way I could know this was from the pictures I’ve seen of him. The similarities are uncanny.

  “How are the wedding plans going?” Bobby asks. I could have predicted that would’ve been one of the first questions out of her mouth.

  “Good,” I say, hoping we don’t have to discuss it too much. I’m so tired of wedding planning. Plus, just thinking about it gives me palpitations.

  “Did your sister tell you about my champagne fountain idea?” she asks, eyebrows raised in anticipation.

  Wait, that was her idea? Since when have Anna and Bobby been chatting? They usually communicate through me. I’m not sure I like them talking—things could get hugely out of hand without me bringing in the reigns.

  “Uh, she did,” I say, unsure of how to go about telling her I vetoed it.

  “Well, what do you think?” she asks. “I saw it on that Say Yes to the Dress show and thought it’d be perfect. It’s the big thing right now,” Bobby says, and I have no gage for whether that’s true or not. I’m not up on anything, honestly. I barely got on Facebook, for crap’s sake—only because Jared said it would be good for the bakery. And I did it kicking and screaming.

  “Sounds like a great idea,” Jared interjects.

  “Really?” I look up at him. “I was kind of thinking the open bar would be enough.”

  “I’m sure no one would complain if there were more,” he says.

  “I’ll, um, think about it,” I say hoping that my not-very-committed answer will suffice for now.

  “How are things at the bakery?” Bobby asks as she picks up her water glass and takes a sip.

  “Good,” I say, happy to change the subject. “Busy, but that’s a good thing, right?” I turn to Jared and see a sparkle in his sky-blue eyes. I love that he always seems so proud when the subject of my bakery comes up.

  “Yes,” he runs a hand through his hair, “It’s going great. In fact, I found the perfect location for the second bakery,” he says, looking at Bobby.

  “Oh really?” She turns to me, and I give her a small shrug and a half smile.

  Jared starts telling Bobby about all of the reasons this will be the best location and blah, blah, blah. I’m really not up for discussing this tonight. I keep to myself and hope we can move on soon.

  I think what frustrates me most is that it’s not like Jared or I have tons of extra time right now. With the wedding and the bakery, I’m swamped. And Jared started his own consulting company just nine months ago, which is going rather well but also keeps him crazy busy. We barely even have time to see each other. At least not every day like I’d want. I don’t see how we can do it all.

  My phone beeps, signaling a text. I open my purse and peer into it, trying to see who it is without being obvious. I don’t want to be rude. Or make it obvious that I’m not listening.

  What do you think of a candy bar for guests?

  Anna with wedding stuff again. I should’ve guessed.

  A candy bar? Like a Snickers bar for every guest? As if she read my mind, another text comes through with a picture of a table lined with jars full of candy. Hmm. That’s actually kind of cute. Definitely more my style. Of course, I don’t know how well it’ll go with the champagne fountain, which doesn’t truly fit my modern fall wedding theme. That’s a bit fancier than I was going for.

  Actually, the theme was one of Anna’s ideas. Honestly, I was shocked she even presented it to me after all of the ridiculous antique-esque themes she had previously presented. This one had rich colors of burgundy, burnt orange, umber, and yellow. But what really got me was the splash of blue—a beautiful gray blue. It made all the difference.

  “Mark’s here,” Bobby declares.

  I look over and see Mark with a petite brunette on his arm walking toward us. She’s relatively tan, with a bright white smile. Very fashion forward from the looks of her outfit. Well, not like I’d know. I know nothing about fashion and only have a decent closet full of clothes because either Anna or my best friend, Brown, have helped me pick them out. Mark’s little lady is dressed rather swanky in an off-white, flowing, one-shoulder dress, and brown suede heel booties. Slightly over-dressed for the likes of this little Italian restaurant. She looks harmless at first glance. Maybe Bobby will like this one.

  “What the…” I hear Jared say under his breath. I turn to him and see his eyes are about to bug out of his head. “Lisa?” he questions as Mark and the newest flavor of the month walk up to the table.

  “Jared?” Mark’s girlfriend scrunches her eyes at him.

  “What are you doing here?” Jared asks, standing up from his seat, a broad smile spreading across his face.

  “Everyone, this is Lisa,” Mark declares to the table. “You two know each other?” He looks back and forth between Lisa and Jared.

  “I should be asking you the same question,” Jared says to Mark. “How do you know Lisa?”

  “We met at a club,” Mark says.

  “Oh my goodness,” Lisa says, her voice trailing off as she considers the situation. “Your last name is Moody?” She turns to Mark.

  “Yeah,” Mark says, as if it’s normal for the girl he’s dating to not know his last name. Actually, that is probably normal for Mark.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” she shakes her head dubiously.

  “Wait,” Mark says, eyes going wide. “You’re Lisa … college Lisa?” He looks at her as if seeing her with a new set of eyes.

  “And you,” she says, pushing her index finger into his chest, “you were that punk in high school.” Her eyes search his face, trying to reconcile this fact.

  Huh? I’m so lost right now.

  I clear my throat and Jared turns to me.

  “Julia,” Jared says, grabbing my hand and pulling me up to stand next to him, “this is Lisa. We dated in college. And she’s apparently now dating my brother.” He motions toward Mark with his hand.

  Well, this is funny. Not funny ha-ha, but more like slap-you-in-the-face funny. I’ve always wanted to run into one of Jared’s exes. And by “always wanted to” I mean never. Especially the one from college—the only one he’s mentioned more than once. Jared hasn’t said much about past girlfriends, but he’s actually talked about this Lisa person. Not in a nostalgic way or anything, but he’s also never spoken of her in a distasteful way, as I would have preferred.

  “This is so crazy!” She says loud and bright, taking a few steps closer to Jared. “Come here, you!” She grabs him by the arm and pulls him into a hug. “How the heck are you?” She asks when they release from the embrace.

  “Really good,” Jared says, looking a little shell-shocked. “What’ve you been up to?” he asks, his full attention on Lisa. I’m still standing next to Jared, feeling a little strange, almost like I’ve suddenly become invisible.

  “I’m working at the Denver Post, actually,” she says. Her eyes are focused on him, almost as if the rest of us have disappeared and it’s just him and her.

  “So you got your dream job, then,” he shakes his head, clearly impressed.

  “I did,” she dips her chin once, a confident smile on her face. She’s actually quite stunning up close. I kind of hate her.

  “Your hair …” Jared says, pointing to her shoulder-length shiny brown locks.

  “I got rid of the blonde.” Lisa reaches up and twirls some strands with her finger.

  “It, uh, looks nice,” Jared says, as if he’s not trying to compliment her at all, but still did.

  Well, that’s settled. That strange feeling I’m having? It’s jealousy. I’ve only known Lisa for all of two minutes, and so far she and Jared have only exchanged pleasantries, yet I’m ready to pee a circle around Jared to mark my territory.

  “That’s why I didn’t recognize you—your hair used to be blonde,” Mark says, his face looking as if he’s finally put all of the pie
ces of the puzzle together.

  “Lisa,” Bobby says from the other side of the table. I’d actually forgotten she was there, she was being so quiet.

  “Bobby!” Lisa says brightly and rushes over to Bobby’s side of the table and leans down to give her a side hug. Bobby half-hugs her back, the look on her face saying that she’s none-to-pleased by this coincidence.

  Her and me both.

  “And who’s this?” Lisa gestures to me, coming back to our side of the table and away from Bobby.

  “Uh, yes,” Jared says, slinging an arm around my waist and pulling me into him. “This is Julia, my fiancée.”

  “No way!” Lisa exclaims. “You’re engaged?” She looks from Jared to me. “Did you get him to commit to a date? I never thought he’d commit. Definitely not with me, at least,” she says, punching him lightly on the arm. “But I guess it wasn’t in the cards for us, was it, Jared?”

  I’m pretty sure that should be rhetorical, but from the look on her face I think she’s hoping for an answer. Jared doesn’t say anything, just smiles at her. I, on the other hand, am feeling the need to punch something. Like, for example her. I shouldn’t feel like this so quickly but I can’t help myself. My Spidey senses are on alert.

  Now it’s Mark’s turn to clear his throat and Lisa finally takes her attention off Jared.

  “Well, this is awkward,” he says looking at Jared and then Lisa. “Shall we sit down?” he asks, pulling a seat out for her. The seat right next to Jared. Really?

  “Yes, of course!” she exclaims, as she takes the seat and then places her gold clutch purse on the table. She’s loud and much too cheerful for my taste. Also, I’m suddenly now regretting my quick attempt at makeup. I should’ve tried a little harder.

  “It’s so great to see you all again,” Lisa says, nodding her head toward Bobby as if they’ve known each other for years. Of course they probably did know each other fairly well when Lisa and Jared were dating. Why does that thought annoy me so much? It was years ago.

  “You as well, Lisa,” Bobby gives her a small, thin smile. From the tone of her voice I’d say it’s just out of manners. I can’t say for sure, but from the looks of it, Bobby doesn’t care for Lisa. Hmm, there must be a story there that I’ll need to find out about. Not right now, of course. I’ll wait until later so we can talk behind Lisa’s back like grown adult women should do.

  “Wow, this is crazy, isn’t it? What a small world,” Lisa shakes her head, looking at Jared and then to Bobby.

  “Yes, definitely,” Jared says, smiling, the initial shell-shocked look now gone from his face.

  “So, what are we ordering?” Mark asks, rubbing his hands together as if none of this just happened. Evidently he’s done feeling awkward. He’s good at moving on; me … not so much.

  The restaurant we’re at is Italian family style, which means we all order things to share with the table. I was looking forward to it, but now it doesn’t sound quite as fun to share food with Jared’s ex-girlfriend and Mark’s current girlfriend. I’m trying not to be petty here, but who are we kidding. Being petty is sort of my thing.

  I see Bobby glance at Lisa over the top of her menu, her lips pressed together, eyes narrowed. It was such a swift look of irritation, I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who caught it.

  After a couple of minutes of mostly awkward silence as we look at our menus, the server approaches the table and takes our orders.

  “So,” Lisa says, after the server leaves. “Tell me how you two met.” She points to Jared and then me.

  “Uh,” I say, ready to tell her a shortened version. No need for her to know all the details of how Jared and I came to be.

  “Funny story, actually,” Mark says, a big goofy smile on his face. “They met at work. Jared got her fired.” He laughs a deep-throated laugh.

  Well, there goes the heat crawling up my face as I turn a deep shade of red. That’s just lovely. Thank you so much, Mark. Remind me to pay you back the favor later.

  “No way!” Lisa says loudly, slapping Jared on the arm yet again. “How did that all happen?”

  “Well, I own a consulting business,” Jared starts.

  “Oh, I should’ve guessed that. I bet you’re super successful, aren’t you,” she says, touching his arm lightly with her hand.

  Wait a second … touching someone casually on the arm is totally a flirting move. I mean, I wouldn’t know because I’m a terrible flirt, but I could swear I read it in a magazine once.

  “Well,” Jared says, the tips of his ears turning red. “I do fine.”

  “Oh, stop being so modest. I know you, Jared. You always had it in you.” She touches his arm again and I consider moving my seat in between them. An obvious move on my part, but at this point, who cares. Besides, she doesn’t truly know him. They dated years ago. My Spidey senses have moved from just on alert to extremely high alert. I do not like this chick.

  “Okay so back to the story of how you met … um …” Lisa trails off, her head gesturing to me.

  “Julia,” Jared interjects quickly.

  Yes, nothing says, “I couldn’t care less about you” than forgetting your name within the first five minutes of meeting one another. I’m going to start making a list in my head of all the reasons I don’t like Lisa. First on the list is the fact that she forgot my name. Second on the list is her stupid pretty face and her shiny dark brown hair that even I wouldn’t mind running my fingers through. It looks ridiculously soft. Dang it!

  “Yes, sorry,” she gives me a super fake apologizing glance. “So back to the story.” She touches Jared’s arm again, to urge him on. Or to flirt. My money’s on the latter.

  “We met at a consulting job I took here in Denver,” Jared says, turning his head toward me, a soft smile on his face. “She lured me in with her baking skills,” he says, reaching over and grabbing my leg. I beam at him.

  Did you see that Lisa? Huh? Did ya?

  “I’m confused on the whole firing part,” Lisa says, resting her chin in her hand, elbow perched on the table.

  “Well,” Jared laughs a little uncomfortably, and rightfully so. I mean, this is all in the past and was definitely for the best, but it’s still a bit of a sore subject.

  “Jared was at the company to reorganize it,” I jump in. If the story is going to be told, it might as well be from me, since I was the one who got fired.

  “When it came time to do layoffs, I happened to be on the list of people being let go.” I don’t bother going into the fact that the department I was in had fallen to shambles when it became known that my boss, the CFO, had been stealing money from the company. And also that the only real reason the president of the company wanted to keep me there was because of the cupcakes I brought in from time to time.

  “No way!” Lisa says again, slapping Jared lightly on the arm once more. That has to be getting on his nerves by now. It’s definitely getting on mine.

  “It was all for the best,” I say, looking at Jared whose ears are starting to turn red on the tips again. “It was a dead-end job for me, and now I own a bakery,” I say. Dang it, that rhymed. I hate it when I do that.

  “Yes, a very successful bakery,” Jared adds. “She won Cupcake Battles last season.”

  Ha! In your face, Lisa. That look of pride was for me.

  “I love that show!” Lisa says brightly. Then her eyes go wide. “Wait a sec … oh my gosh, you were the one who threw up!” She slaps the table with her hand, laughter bellowing out of her mouth.

  I blush profusely and uncomfortably push my hair behind my ear, but since my hair is in a bun and there is nothing to push back, I just look ridiculous. Throwing up on national TV was not one of my finer moments. Why can’t people focus on the fact that I won? I just hope she doesn’t remember the cupcake stand debacle. Please, oh please, don’t let her remember that.

  “And you had the phallic cupcake display!” She exclaims. “That was hilarious!”

  Kill me now.

  “Yes,” I fina
lly say, willing the heat in my face to go away. “That was me,” I give a closed-mouth smile, wishing I could be anywhere but here right now.

  “I couldn’t believe you won! I thought for sure the other team would take it,” she shakes her head in amazement. “They must’ve really wanted you to win for the ratings,” she says, pointer finger resting on her chin.

  Wait, was that a slight? I feel like that was a bit of a jab in my direction. Am I reading too much into things here?

  “Well, I’m pretty sure it was the cupcakes themselves,” Bobby says from out of the blue. She’s being rather quiet, which is not like her.

  “Oh sure, yeah. Of course,” Lisa says, half-heartedly.

  The waiter brings our drinks, thankfully. Maybe this conversation can go in a different direction now. Like Lisa feeling sick and deciding to go home. That’d be more of the path I’d like to go on.

  “So now,” Lisa says, eyes on me, finger tapping on her chin, “you own a bakery.”

  I nod my head in reply.

  “It’s downtown,” Mark says. “Right off Fifteenth. Hey, we should go there sometime,” he bobs his head at Lisa, who’s looking at him like she forgot he was even here.

  “Yes, definitely,” she says, although her eyes are not looking like they’re in agreement.

  “It’s a great bakery,” Jared pipes in. “We’re actually looking into expanding.”

  I give Jared a look that says shut up, and he shoots back a confused furrowed brow. I don’t want to go into all that right now. And I certainly don’t want this Lisa person to know about it. They may all have a past with her, but we’ve only just met. And also, she annoys me.

  “She’s also being recognized at the Denver local business gala next month,” he says, clearly ignoring any of my facial expressions. I’d think that by now he’d know what my “shut the heck up” face looks like.

  “I’ll be there!” Lisa says extra enthusiastically. “I’m covering it for the paper.”