“Let us pray,” the officiant says, and I suddenly realize I’ve been thinking about vibrators in church. Yeesh.
I bow my head with everyone else. And a little while later, listen with tears in my eyes to the beautiful exchange of vows. Finally, the pastor says, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m thrilled to present to you: Mr. and Mrs. Logan and Kennedy O’Brien!” Of course, I clap and cheer along with everyone else in the church. And as I do, I’m feeling more determined than ever not to let my insides turn to mush over Colin, ever again. Starting now, he’s my friend and nothing more! I’m finally free of my crush on him, forever! Determined to open my heart and find true love!
As I bounce in place with excitement, each bridesmaid ahead of me in line links up with her assigned groomsman, until, suddenly, Colin Beretta is standing before me, his dark eyes soulful and his smile breathtaking.
Swoon.
He extends his arm and says, “You look gorgeous, Amy.”
Swoon.
“Thank you. So do you.”
I link my arm in Colin’s—swoon—and catch a whiff of his cologne—swoon—and practically dance down the aisle with him, buoyed by the cheers and applause all around us. And as I walk with Colin, my arm in his, his cologne in my nostrils, his sex appeal wafting off him like a physical thing, and his smile constantly directed at me, I can’t, for the life of me, remember a damned thing I promised myself only a few minutes ago.
Eight
Amy
Best. Party. Ever.
That fancy up-do I wore during the ceremony? Yeah, it’s down now. I pulled out the bobby pins holding it together and shook out my auburn waves hours ago, while shaking my booty on the dance floor with Colin and his incredible friends—Dax, Fish, and their beautiful partners, Violet and Alessandra—all of whom have welcomed me with open arms into their group.
At dinner, I snuck away from my stodgy, assigned table to dine with Colin and his four friends, at their invitation, at which point, conversation flowed as easily as the booze we were throwing back.
During the meal, the Goats asked me questions about the RCR tour and laughed at all my stories. In return, they told funny anecdotes of their own, like my experience somehow equated to theirs. Tour talk led to Fish and Alessandra talking about Alessandra’s upcoming debut album that was co-written and produced by Fish. And after that, I had an interesting conversation with Alessandra about flowers, prompted by my bridesmaid’s bouquet sitting on the table. Who knew there’s a whole “language of flowers” from Victorian times? So interesting.
After a bit, I had an amazing conversation with Violet and Dax about their toddler, Jackson, who’s staying the night at Dax’s parents’ tonight. At my urging, the proud parents showed me a million photos of their adorable boy, while telling me stories about him that made me guffaw.
When the boys went off to the bar to grab the table another round of drinks, Violet told me about the cancer charity she started in honor of her young brother who died. Plus, she told me about her passion for designing wedding dresses and showed me some of her sketches on her phone. Currently, Violet only makes actual wedding dresses for her closest family and friends, if requested, but, one day, Violet said she dreams of having her own wedding dress label.
Violet hadn’t met Kennedy before today, but I asked her what kind of dress she might have designed for my new sister-in-law, if requested. And Violet’s response was absolutely lovely. “Oh, I couldn’t have improved on Kennedy’s selection,” Violet said. “She looks absolutely perfect tonight.”
When the men returned from the bar with drinks and shots for all, we started talking about Colin’s upcoming movie. Interestingly, however, the conversation about the topic with Colin’s best friends bore little resemblance to the same basic conversation during the rehearsal dinner last night. Tonight, among Colin’s best friends in the world, he was exponentially more open and vulnerable—real and disarmed in a way he wasn’t last night with people he didn’t know well.
Plus, it helped that Colin’s best friends asked him much more meaningful and intimate questions about the movie and his preparation for his role. They didn’t care about whether the lead actor, Seth Rockford, is a douchebag in real life or how much money Colin is making on his small role. No, they wanted to hear about how hard Colin has been working with his acting coach this past month. They wanted to hear about whatever nerves he’s been feeling in anticipation. And I must admit, watching Colin’s much more vulnerable interactions with his friends made him even sexier to me. And not because of all the booze I was drinking while listening. Because Colin Beretta is a gorgeous freaking man, especially when he lets his guard down.
As promised, Colin also took several photos of me with 22 Goats during dinner, which I then posted to Instagram. And when we checked an hour later and noticed Nate the Asshole had liked my photos—since, unfortunately, Nate still follows me on Instagram—Colin and I high-fived like we were Bonnie and Clyde who’d pulled off a daring bank heist.
When dinner was cleared and the live band had started cranking out dance tunes, our group headed to the dance floor and let loose. And that’s what we’ve been doing, ever since. Presently, I’m on the dance floor with Violet and Alessandra, while the men stand in line at the bar again. But when the present song concludes, I tap Violet’s shoulder and gesture, letting her know I’m headed to the restroom, and then bound away to my destination as Violet and Alessandra return to our table to await the next round of drinks.
In the bathroom, I head to a stall and do my thing, wash my hands, and then bop into an adjacent powder room to check my makeup—and that’s where I find Kennedy and two bridesmaids, chatting and laughing while touching up their makeup.
“Sister!” Kennedy coos, before wrapping me in a hug. “Isn’t this fun?”
“So fun! It’s the best wedding ever.”
I chat with all three women for a bit about the amazing band, but when the other two bridesmaids leave, Kennedy leans in and gets down to business.
“Looks like things are going well with Colin,” she says suggestively, her dark eyes glinting.
“Yeah, we’re having so much fun. Unfortunately, it’s not what it looks like, though.” I explain the situation to my new sister-in-law: my job search, Colin’s idea for me to load up my Instagram to impress that employment agency, Nate the Asshole, and Colin’s kind willingness to keep blecchy Luke from flirting with me again.
When I finish talking, Kennedy looks skeptical. “I can’t imagine Colin’s been spending this much time with you, and looking so happy doing it, solely to help you get a job and keep Luke from asking you to dance. I know Colin’s an actor these days, but Robert De Niro couldn’t fake the kind of chemistry I’m seeing between you two.”
My heart is stampeding. But before I’ve replied to that bit of awesomeness, Logan’s amplified voice from the adjacent ballroom wafts into the small powder room.
“Someone, find Mrs. O’Brien!” my brother bellows. “I’ve got a big surprise for her!”
“Ooooh! Sounds like we’d better find Mrs. O’Brien!” Kennedy jokes, before giggling and grabbing my hand.