“So, there’s more,” Honor said.
“What now?” Mom asked.
“The bride wants a red-carpet experience, with limos and spotlights and paparazzi for her grand entrance.”
The disgusted look on their mother’s face was priceless.
“She does realize she’s at a country vineyard and not in Hollywood, doesn’t she?” Mom asked.
“I don’t think she cares at this point,” Honor said. “She wants what she wants and her father is willing to pay to give it to her.”
“But are we willing to give it to her?” Brenna asked. “I mean, limo, fine. But spotlights and a herd of photographers? Where are we going to find those at this late date?”
Erin had an idea. “They don’t have to be real photographers, do they?”
Honor shook her head. “No. Just the idea of people running up to take her photo like she’s famous.”
“We know people,” Erin said. “We’ll get some flash cameras and grab some of our friends to act as the horde of paparazzi.”
Brenna leaned back in her chair. “Really. And who are you going to get to give up their Saturday night to do that?”
She thought about it. “I don’t know. Finn. Jason. Clay will probably be on board. If Alice is in town she’ll think it’s totally fun.” Then she thought about the new friends she’d made over the weekend. “And a few more people, maybe. Trust me, I can get a crowd that’ll wow her.”
“Awesome,” Honor said with a relieved smile. “I’ll take care of renting the spotlights.”
“Honor, you’d better make sure we bill them accordingly for this,” their mother said. “With profit tacked on for the utter last-minute inconvenience. And the ridiculousness of it all.”
“Oh, believe me, I intend to.”
Erin was making furious notes about who to contact.
Actually, this could turn out to be fun.
“Okay, so that’s taken care of and thank you all for your input,” Honor said. “Now there’s another thing I wanted to bring up.”
Erin was still making notes and to-dos on her list while Honor was talking.
“The Phillips/Kanady wedding is in two weeks.”
Erin’s hand stilled. She’d totally forgotten about Ryan Phillips’s wedding. She looked up at Honor.
“Oh, shit.”
Brenna’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit, Erin.”
Owen was a groomsman in Ryan Phillips’s wedding. She’d totally spaced and forgotten he would be on site for that wedding. In two weeks. She’d have to see him.
Mom reached over to grasp Erin’s hand. “How do you feel about that?”
“I . . . don’t know.”
“You could leave for the night,” Honor said. “We can handle the wedding without you being here.”
Erin lifted her chin. “I will not be banished from my own home just because Owen is going to be here.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
She shrugged. “Ignore him as much as possible.”
“You have to talk to him eventually, cailín deas,” Mom said. “Maybe you should do that before the wedding.”
She felt the beginnings of a headache sliding up her temples, that familiar tension tightening between her shoulder blades. “I know I do. But not . . . right now, okay?”
“What are you putting it off for?” Brenna asked. “Just confront him. He’s back from his honeymoon, isn’t he?”
“Brenna,” Mom said in her warning voice.
“Yes, he’s back. He texted Jason asking about me.”
“He texted Jason.” Brenna slanted a look at her. “Not you. Jason.”
“Yes.”
“That makes no sense,” Brenna said. “So he hasn’t even tried to contact you?”
Erin shrugged.
“What a dick.”
“Brenna,” their mother said again.
“Sorry, Mom.”
Erin did not want to be having this conversation, least of all with her family. At least Dad wasn’t in the room. Oh, God, Dad. How was he going to react knowing that Owen was going to be here? Hopefully no one would tell him, and that night he’d be in the house watching a ball game and the whole event would pass him by without his knowledge. The last thing they needed was their father to confront Owen during Ryan and Yolanda’s wedding. Talk about a disaster.
Mom’s phone rang and she answered it.
“Okay, hang on a second.” She muted the phone. “This is a supplier I need to talk to. I have to step out.”
After Mom left, Brenna turned to Erin.
“You have to talk to Owen,” Brenna said.
“I don’t have to do anything, Brenna. I’ll do it when I’m ready.”
“So, what? You’re just going to wait until he shows up for the wedding and then hide in the house?”
Erin lifted her chin. “I will not hide in the house. It’ll be business as usual.”
Brenna rolled her eyes. “Come on, Erin. You know that’ll never happen. You’ll be pissed off and won’t be able to stop yourself from confronting him. Which will ruin Ryan and Yolanda’s wedding.”
“Trust me, I won’t ruin anyone’s wedding. And why aren’t you on my side?”
“I’m always on your side. Which is why I think you should talk to him. The sooner you put this all behind you, the sooner you can move forward with your life.”
She snorted out a laugh. “Oh, like you’ve done since your divorce from Mitchell? I don’t see you doing much moving forward, Brenna.”
Brenna shot visual daggers at her. “We aren’t talking about me right now.”
“Well, you can’t offer me advice on how to live my life, considering you aren’t doing a good job of living yours.”
“I had a date.”
“And how did that go?”
“He left the table after dinner to go brush his teeth.”
Erin gasped. “Dear God. Did you report him to the police?”
“Not funny. He was rude and I didn’t like him.”
“You always find fault with guys you go out with so you won’t have to admit that no guy is going to be good enough for a second date, and then you can continue to hide out at home.”
Now it was Brenna’s turn to gasp. “That’s not true.”
“Hey, you two,” Honor said, her tone even. “Please stop. Brenna can date or not date whomever she pleases. And Erin can choose to see Owen or not.”
“You’ve been quiet through all this, Honor,” Brenna said, switching her attention to Honor. “What’s your take on this whole Owen business?”
Honor looked down at her lap. “He texted me.”
Erin’s heart rate shot up. “What? He texted you, too? When? What did he say?”
Honor looked over at Erin. “Right when he got back. He asked how you were doing.”
She couldn’t believe Honor had kept that from her. “And what did you say?”
“The truth. I said you were miserable and unhappy and I asked why he did it. He said he wanted to talk to you. I told him he should text or call you, not me. He said he would. Obviously, he hasn’t.”