The Bridesmaid's Checklist: Laura's Wedding (BCL Book 1) Read online

  Funny, that’s how I felt about Laura. But at the moment, I could only look at Edward. And he noticed.

  He and I definitely had a history. A true history. In my threesome college experience, Edward had been the M in the F-M-F group.

  That’s right.

  He’d been my first love and had pretty much messed me up forever. It wasn’t something I even allowed myself to think about—the only moment of weakness I’d ever had with a man. I thought I’d left that part of my life behind me in Massachusetts after I’d finished college and moved on.

  I was so very thankful in that moment that my friends didn’t know about this part of my past. They’d all stayed in California to study (except Denise, who went straight to work after getting married), but I’d been offered a scholarship at UMass and gladly left for the best education I could afford. I’d also accepted, a little shamefully, that I somehow managed to disconnect from my friends during this phase of my life, since Edward and school had been the only focus. Our relationship had lasted a little too long, exactly between Denise’s and Natalie’s weddings.

  Apparently, today the past had chosen to come right back at me.

  What a way to start this wedding adventure.

  “Stop it, Josh. We’ve got company.” Edward brushed Josh off him and went to Laura. He gave her a tender hug and a steamy kiss, then looked into her eyes and asked, “Did you order something to drink, honey?”

  “We sure did,” Laura said as she melted into him. “Mimosas are on the way, although Kassie didn’t want to have alcohol this early. Oh, I’m sorry. Eddie, this is my best friend Kassandra. Kassie, this is my future husband Edward.”

  “Hello, Kassandra,” Edward said as he looked at me intensely. He remembered me. I could see it in his eyes. I learned to fear those looks of his; back then I would have done anything he asked of me if he looked at me that way. And I had.

  “Hi.” There wasn’t anything else I could think of saying. At least, I couldn’t think of anything appropriate for our meet-and-greet brunch reunion.

  We finally sat and took a look at our menus. The last thing on my mind at the moment was eating. I needed a drink. Whiskey sounded way more appealing than mimosas.

  I could feel Josh looking at me, but I did my best to ignore him. I also felt Edward’s eyes on me every now and then. Even though Josh and Laura were the ones sitting next to me, I could sense Edward the most, all the way from across the table. I didn’t want to look up and run the risk of meeting his gaze.

  How was I supposed to explain this to my friend?

  “You won’t believe this, Eddie. Apparently, Kassie and Josh already know each other,” Laura lightly commented. She was completely ignorant of the fact that I knew her future husband—intimately—and I wasn’t about to explain it to her.

  “It doesn’t impress me, to be quite honest. Josh is a total whore.” He sounded cold and bored. Exactly as I remembered him.

  Was that what he really thought about Josh, or was it about me?

  “What can I say? Life is good,” Josh commented as he placed his arm around me. This time, I didn’t even move. When I thought about it, I probably wasn’t even breathing right then.

  “Sure it is. And because of our wedding, Kassie gets to be my maid of honor and you get to be Eddie’s best man. Pretty cool, huh?” Laura was in her own little wedding world, oblivious to the hell I was living at that very moment.

  “The best,” Josh confirmed. “Especially ‘cause I get to play around with the bridesmaids.”

  “Well, not much, I’m afraid,” Laura said playfully. “All my friends are married except Kassie.”

  I knew what she was trying to do; she knew that Josh was exactly my type.

  Think again, Laura.

  She had no idea that Edward had actually been the one who set the trend when it came to my type. Edward was excruciatingly handsome—movie-star beautiful. With light blond hair and crystal-clear blue eyes, he was irresistible. Not only that, but now that he’d “grown up”, now that he wasn’t just a college boy, he’d gotten a lot better at showing everyone just how handsome he was. His refined suit and expensive-looking shoes screamed money. And that was probably the first thing that had attracted Laura to him.

  “Even better,” Josh said, tearing me away from my thoughts. “Can't wait to get her all hot and panting.” He kept teasing me, but I couldn’t respond.

  “Finally, drinks are here,” Edward said. He grabbed two mimosa glasses from the waiter’s tray, gallantly giving Laura the first before he served himself the second.

  “Great! Let’s toast. For an epic wedding!” Josh held up his glass.

  Everyone held a drink but me. I had the most unappealing glass of Perrier in the world before me, and at the moment I regretted not having ordered something else.

  Without asking, I grabbed Josh’s glass and gulped down every single drop of that mimosa.

  “Oh, that’s rude, Kassie.” Laura frowned at me once more. “You said you didn’t want one.”

  “I didn’t know we were toasting,” I said. Or that I would need one so desperately.

  I knew she was about to start really noticing my strange behavior, so I needed to compose myself and act like everything was just peachy.

  “But now Josh has nothing to drink,” Laura stated.

  “That’s all right. Kassie gets what Kassie wants.” For whatever unknown reason, Josh was backing me up. At that moment, I was thankful. “I wanted a beer, anyways,” he added.

  As a gesture of apology, I called the waiter. “I would like another mimosa,” I said. “Oh, and he wants something, too.” I pointed at Josh so he could order his drink.

  Laura frowned at me; now she knew something was going on. “Excuse me,” she said. “I need to use the Ladies’ room.”

  I knew what she was doing. She was trying to get me alone with her so I could explain myself.

  It wasn’t happening.

  I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to say. She expected me to join her, but I didn’t feel like having a conversation with her about just how wonderful Edward was. So I stayed put. Laura looked around, trying to find some company to the restroom.

  Josh saved the day for the second time.

  “Yeah, I have to go too. I’ll come with you,” he said as he stood and playfully offered Laura his arm.

  “What a charmer, Josh. We’ll be right back.” They left, but not without Laura shooting me another one of her looks. The one that said, ‘We’ll talk about this later.’

  I wasn’t about to be alone with Edward. I’d rather sit through Laura’s questions and babbling than stay here with him.

  “Laura, I’ll come with you,” I said lightly, as if I’d suddenly changed my mind.

  Laura really surprised me when she said, “Oh, nonsense. Keep Eddie company. BRB.”

  Tragic, really tragic.

  I should have taken my chance when I had one. Now I was alone with a man I wanted to avoid with every part of my being.

  We were quiet for a few seconds before he said, “I see that you’ve been doing really well, Kassandra.”

  He loved to say my name, rolling the syllables on his tongue. I’d loved it, too, once. Now I hated it.

  “Yeah, well, thanks.”

  “You look mouthwateringly beautiful,” he added.

  The man had no shame. What exactly was he trying to do?

  “Why are you trying to make me uncomfortable?” I asked.

  “I wasn’t,” he said, as if this was completely boring him, nothing more than a brunch with old friends. Which, in a way, it was. “I simply wanted to loosen the tension between us before Laura noticed.”

  So he didn’t want to cause a scene. Good—that was good.

  “I can’t believe you’re marrying her. I can’t believe you’re marrying…anyone. What am I supposed to do with all this?” At least I managed to speak honestly.

  “Nothing,” Edward stated. “You aren’t supposed to do anything. Leave things as they are a
nd make no comments.”

  I didn’t exactly understand what he meant. Was he trying to make me feel better? Or was he threatening me? It wouldn’t be that easy.

  “No comments? How dare you—”

  “We’re back!” Laura surprised me and interrupted my almost heated outburst. “Were you talking about how wonderful I am and how lucky you all are to be part of my life?” She batted her eyelashes at Eddie and smiled at me.

  “Of course, honey,” he reassured her.

  The nerve.

  Asshole.

  I knew Laura’s new paramour was going to be a complete jerk. I simply didn’t have any idea how much more of a dick he could make of himself.

  “I knew it. It was exactly the same conversation Josh and I had,” she said, grinning, and sat down. “Oh, great, the food’s here.”

  The waiter arrived with our food, and on his tray were Josh’s beer and my mimosa. He was kind enough to take both drinks from the tray and place them on the table.

  I grabbed my second mimosa and drank the whole thing in one swing before the waiter placed the hot dishes on the table.

  “I’ll be needing another one of these,” I said to the waiter.

  “Calm down, babe. There’s plenty of time to celebrate.” Josh patted my thigh a little too amorously for my taste. But I let it go. I was more scared about the meaning of his words.

  Celebrating.

  He’d just reminded me of my other pressing anxiety. Wedding preparations had just started.

  Chapter 5

  I thought I would be happy once I got in my car and on my way home.

  I was wrong.

  The part of the equation I hadn’t contemplated was that my friends thought I was unable to drive due to (and I quote) ‘excessive drinking.’

  Unbelievable.

  As if my drinking was unjustified.

  “I told you I could drive myself home,” I repeated for possibly the fifth time.

  They discussed how Eddie didn’t like anyone touching his toys, or driving his car, as was the case. Well, guess what? I didn’t like my car driven by other people either. But did they listen to me? No. They just decided, and now I had to deal with the handsome blond driving me home.

  “I know, babe. But after five mimosas, we didn’t want to take any chances,” Josh lightly said. “Besides, I’m really curious to know what happened between Eddie and you. The tension was almost palpable in the restaurant.” He glanced at me.

  I couldn’t believe it.

  Had I been that obvious?

  Now that I thought about it, yes. I was possibly too apparent.

  “Do you think Laura noticed?”

  “Not really. She thought the tension was between you and me, not really between you and Edward.” At least he tried to ameliorate my shame. Regardless, Josh wanted to fish for information, that much was obvious.

  “This is so bad,” I said.

  “Not really,” he repeated. “I explained to her that the tension between us was sexual. That it’ll go away after we sleep together.”

  How did he so simply assume I would have sex with him? “Not in a thousand years.”

  He laughed at my response. It always got under my skin how he was so sure of himself. Problem was, he reminded me too much of Edward. Today I learned why.

  “So, that’s what happened, right?” Josh asked me insistently.

  “What happened?” I, of course, was playing dumb. I knew exactly what he wanted to know. I simply didn’t want him to know it.

  “You had sex with him.” This time, he didn’t ask a question; he made a statement. As if it was a fact.

  I hated that he was right.

  I simply ignored him. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of an answer.

  “Was it before or after they got engaged?” Josh curiously asked once more.

  How dare he infer such a thing? “Shut up!” I had to take a deep breath. “I would never sleep with any of my friends’ lovers. There’s plenty of men out there for me to fool around with, and I don’t need to get my picks from their drawers.”

  When have I ever done such a thing? Not once.

  Josh had followed me around enough to notice who I’d taken home. Guys I picked up at bars and met on the spot. I rarely had the same guy twice, or even fuck buddies. My thing was one-night stands, and that was about it.

  Okay, I wasn’t a whore, but I was perfectly happy being single. And it wasn’t as if I’d slept with thousands of guys—not really. I just fooled around more often than anything. However, I didn’t do relationships. Not since Edward. He was my first and only. Been there, done that. Not interested anymore.

  “But you did fool around with him.” Josh was really persistent. And observant, apparently. “I might not know you that well, and I have to say that that’s entirely your fault, but I know him. He’s had you before and he’s proud of it.”

  “Well, Eddie can blow me!” I couldn’t contain myself anymore.

  “That’s way more information than I needed,” Josh said with humor in his voice. Anyone could tell he was enjoying himself.

  I, on the other hand, was not.

  “It’s not what you think it is.” I knew it would be a better choice to explain myself after my outburst. I didn’t like the idea of Josh thinking something totally inaccurate. “It happened a long time ago, during my senior year of college. Long before he met Laura, I promise.”

  He listened attentively and, after a moment, he asked, “Then, what’s the problem?”

  “I don’t like him.” It was that simple.

  Josh gave himself another minute before he chuckled and said, “Oh, I see. He dumped you.”

  “He used me. I dumped him,” I corrected.

  No one dumped me. Not even Edward.

  “Burned, I see.”

  This guy was so going to pay for making fun of me so much. “He plays with women. Just like you,” I replied. Eat that up, Mr. Know-it-all.

  “Hey, stop judging me.” He didn’t sound offended, per se, but at least he gave me the satisfaction of not correcting me. That’s how I knew he didn’t like my comment.

  “Besides,” he continued, “if it’s any comfort, he’s head-over-heels for Laura.”

  At the moment, it didn’t provide much comfort at all, but in a way, I was glad he was really into her. Maybe this time, his feelings were real.

  “Just thought you might like knowing,” Josh clarified.

  “Good to know.” As if it mattered. It didn’t change what Eddie was.

  We were quiet for a couple of minutes, listening to a silly hard rock station he chose. To be honest, I let him; they were playing 80s music, and I’ve always been into it. Even still, I would never admit that to him.

  Josh finally broke the silence with a question that caught me off guard. “What about you? Are you with anyone at the moment?”

  “None of your business.” It didn’t take me long to respond, though. It really wasn’t any of his business.

  “That’s a no.” How he decided that my response was equivalent to a no was beyond me. After my answer, he made yet another personal question. “What about you and me hooking up?”

  “Not happening.”

  I needed to be very clear with him. There was no we or us, as in a relationship. He could surely get some women of his own.

  Or maybe that was the problem.

  “Been having a hard time with the ladies recently?” If he was getting up close and personal with me, then I was getting up close and personal with him. Tit for tat.

  “Ladies come to me on their own. Thanks for your concern,” Josh explained with some kind of satisfaction on his face. “I just happen to want you.”

  That was a bit shocking—his sincerity. Under different circumstances, I might have considered it, but…

  “Not interested,” I repeated before I could even finish my own thought.

  “We’ll spend a lot of time together before the wedding. You’ll change your mind.”

>   I couldn’t wait to prove him wrong. “Womanizer isn’t exactly my type,” I explained.

  “Womanizer isn’t exactly what I am,” he defended.

  Did he think I was blind? I’ve seen him in action. Always in the best clubs. Surrounded by the most beautiful women. Everything around him was always shiny, expensive, and extravagant.

  Certain signs indicated whether or not a man was a womanizer. One just needed to be observant.

  Yep. I learned all those from Edward, and I could see them all on Josh’s face.

  He was a womanizer.

  “Doubt it. I’ve seen you in action,” I said, voicing my thoughts out loud. Part of them, at least.

  “And there’s much more for you to see.” He had a never-ending supply of flirting. He knew exactly what he was doing.

  We stopped our conversation until we arrived to my apartment complex. I lived in one of the best areas of L.A., and even if it wasn’t the most expensive, it was expensive enough. I worked hard to own a place like this one.

  Josh didn’t seem impressed by it.

  Well, then. It was time for him to get a cab and go back to the restaurant where he left his own car.

  He drove into the parking lot and passed security with a smile on his face. As if he belonged here and he wasn’t only visiting.

  “This is good enough. Thanks,” I said after directing him to my parking spot.

  He turned the car off. “Won’t do, babe,” he said as he gave me my car keys and a peck on my cheek. “I’d rather walk you to your door.”

  “You’re a pain in the ass,” I commented, dramatically cleaning his kiss from my face and grabbing the keys he offered. Then I got my purse and exited the car, slamming the door in the process.

  It was infuriating. Treating me as a lousy drinker.

  It took more than five mimosas to get me drunk.

  He came up behind me as I stopped at the elevator. I ignored him, and then he whispered in my ear, “I may be a pain in the ass, but I’ll gladly make it feel better.”

  For an unknown reason his comment made me laugh. I was used to men making observations of my ass—I had a really nice one, if I did say so myself. I worked hard on it and I was proud of the outcome.