Susan comes in and gives me the same smile she has every morning: fake, pinched, like she wants to kill me but won’t because her cousin loves me. And that’s the smile I receive when I’m nice to her.
“Thank you, Susan.”
She leaves, sighing.
“She has an attitude,” Ryan says, looking at the door.
“Yes, but she’s good at her job and she’s Luke’s family.”
“Ah, then she’s certainly afraid you're going to break his heart. When are we telling V?”
“Please, could you tell me why you’re here? I don’t have much time, and discussing my life isn’t on my agenda today.”
He leans forward and drums his fingers on my desk as if he’s getting ready to make a big announcement. I wait impatiently, my heart racing a little from how annoying he is.
“I’m marrying Virginia.”
I raise one eyebrow. “She said yes?”
“Not yet.”
“So you’re marrying her, but you didn’t propose?”
“I have it under control,” he says, puffing out his chest and fidgeting. He looks like a mosquito with ADHD.
“Does she know you want to marry her?”
“More or less. I have three weeks to organize it. Once I can finally fuck her, I’ll propose and if she says yes, we’ll get married that afternoon.” Ryan has been abstinent for a while now. After rehab, his therapist recommended for him to not fornicate for six months. He apparently has three weeks to go before the big day.
I ask the obvious. “What if she says no?”
“She won’t.”
“That’s really presumptuous of you. Has she even said she loves you yet?”
He smiles. “She doesn’t need to. She shows me her love every day.”
I blink rapidly. “Okay, so you’re going to propose to her in three weeks and marry her the same day?” He’s fucking crazy. His plan gives me hives just thinking about it.
“Yep”—he nods—“and I want her parents there, you as her man of honor, Luke as my best man, Ian walking her down the aisle, Asher officiating, and Julie and Emma as guests. I guess that’s it.” He settles back in his chair and puffs his chest a little.
“Great! You have it all planned out. Is that what you wanted to share with me?” I look at my watch, trying to speed things up.
“Help me organize everything?” He smiles from ear to ear.
I can’t say no to helping two of my best friends get married, especially if the bride doesn’t know it’s happening. I sigh but nod nonetheless. “Of course. When are you telling Luke?”
“I was thinking of going over to the parlor now and asking him to be my best man.”
That’s a bad idea. If Luke hears from someone else that I’m helping organize a surprise wedding, he’ll give me shit for it.
“Let me talk to him tonight,” I say. “I need to warn him that I’ll be a little busier in the coming weeks.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle almost everything. I created Pinterest boards and I’m following wedding trends on Instagram. Asher is helping as well.”
If those words are meant to be reassuring, they aren’t. The idea of Ryan and my nephew pinning pictures on Pinterest scares the shit out of me.
Once home, I open the best bottle of wine I can find. After the scare I gave Luke last week, I know he’ll be a little skeptical about my helping Ryan. I need to smooth it all out.
For once, I’m at my apartment before him. I would have moved out already, but it’s closer to my office than Luke’s house is. I still have to put the penthouse on the market though. The real estate agent Ryan used some years ago has a great reputation, and she assured me she could sell it quickly. The way she wiggled her eyebrows indicated she didn’t realize I don’t eat pussies, but she seemed competent otherwise. I could sell it myself, but Luke would kill me.
When Luke arrives, I can see he’s already frustrated. Something shifted after my trip to the ER. He’s broodier. I think he worries too much about me. I’m fine, but he doesn’t believe me. We spoke about it over and over, and we disagree on how to handle my stress. I want to handle it myself, and he wants to handle me.
“Hey, beardy.”
It comes out too chirpy, so he looks at me suspiciously. “Do you have to travel for work?”
He removes his jacket and enters the little powder room next to the entrance door.
“No.”
“Are you taking on more clients?” He washes his hands while I pour him a glass of wine.
“Come on, Luke, nothing like that.”
“You’re too happy. Whatever you have to tell me, I know I’m not going to like it.” He comes out and frowns at the glass of wine I’m offering.
I’m a fantastic negotiator. If I wanted to manipulate him, I could, but I don’t want to play games with Luke. He’s also not acting like he used to and I’m not sure how to deal with this side of him yet. Gone is my laid-back Luke, and worried Luke is all I get these days.
“Ryan and Virginia are getting married!” I smile.
“Awww, that’s nice, another fucking wedding to attend. When’s the big day?” He leans in for a kiss.
“In three weeks.”
“Three weeks? When did he propose?”
“He didn’t yet. He’ll do it in three weeks.”
Luke’s eyebrows shoot to his hairline in surprise. “What? Is he going to propose and marry her on the same day?”
“Yes, and… he needs help organizing it.”
Luke steps back and his face falls. I can see he’s trying to stay calm and not scream so I won’t lose my temper and maybe end up in the hospital again. “Tell me you are not taking on Ryan and Virginia’s wedding?”
I shrug. “He asked. What am I supposed to do?”
“Fuck! We just talked about this last week. You need to make time to take care of yourself and what do you do? Take on more. Isn’t it enough that you work more than twelve hours a day? Now you have to organize a wedding? Aren’t they hiring someone? Are you also a fucking wedding planner now?”
I sometimes wonder if my boyfriend needs anger management therapy. “I just want to help my friends. That’s no crime.” I raise my voice, not willing to let him decide this for me. I already gave in a lot to comfort him, and I won’t back down on helping Ry and Virge.
“Want to help them or want to control the situation?” he snarls, and I shake my head at his ridiculousness. “Why can’t you say no? Ryan’s plan is insane, and now it involves you?”
“And you—”
“Me? What the effing fuck?” As if he’s going to war against me, his feet are solidly planted on the floor, his arms crossed, and his eyes carry as much fire as the underwear of a horny fifteen-year-old.
“I shouldn’t say anything, but he’s going to ask you to be his best man.” I smile to appease the beast.
“And you’re what the man of honor?” He tilts his head, still obviously annoyed.
I nod.
“Seriously, this is fucked up. The bride doesn’t even know she’s getting married!”