I’m almost afraid to hear what she has in mind – almost. “What do you mean?”
“I’m sure Grandma would be interested to know why her golden boy Luke refuses to talk to Violet. In fact.” A smile spreads across her face. “I wouldn’t put it past Grandma to be able to squeeze the reason you and Violet are mortal enemies out of you.”
“You wouldn’t.” The last thing I need is Grandma on my case.
“Try me.” She leans back in her chair with a triumphant grin covering her face.
“High five!” Shelby shouts. When Frankie refuses to play, she picks up Frankie’s hand and slaps it before turning to Bailey who quickly raises her hand and high fives her.
I wait until they calm down before I respond, “You’re not playing fair.”
“All’s fair in love and war,” Shelby sings.
Well, this situation is definitely not love, not after Violet betrayed me. But war? Yeah, war is a good comparison.
“Will you at least consider talking to Violet?” Bailey asks. “I can hold off the wacky twosome for a while.”
“Fine,” I grumble. “I’ll consider it.” When Shelby starts to cheer, I glare at her. “But I’m not making any promises.”
“Now, that’s settled. We need to discuss my wedding,” Shelby says.
“Babe, do I have a dick?”
“Well,” she shrugs, “I haven’t seen it, but I assume by the way you fill out your Levi’s, you have a magnificent dick.”
I groan. I should have known better than to refer to my anatomy in her presence. “As a man, I don’t do wedding planning.”
“But you’re a groomsman.”
“And I’m honored. Tell me where and when to show up for my tux fitting and I’m there. Anything else? I’m out.” I stand and motion for them to get up and start moving. This discussion is over. Talking about Violet is painful enough. I am not discussing wedding details. Weddings are for idiots who believe in love. Not me. I know better.
“Are you kicking us out?” Shelby isn’t moving. I grab her arm and pull her up.
“Move it. I have work to do.”
“Come on, Nerd,” Frankie shouts from the hallway. “I need to get back to the office.”
“You are such a workaholic, Freak. I thought we were stopping for lunch.”
When I shut the door to the break room, Bailey is waiting for me in the hallway. I expect her to start in on me again, but she doesn’t. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to team up on you but—” She nods towards Frankie and Shelby.
“It’s okay, babe.” I squeeze her shoulder. “Nothing to be sorry about.”
She kisses my cheek before sauntering off to join her friends. I watch until I can’t see them anymore before sagging against the wall. Talking about Violet always exhausts me. But I am sick and tired of missing out on events because my ex might be in attendance. I will never forgive her, but maybe it is time to let bygones be bygones. And get my life back.
Chapter 3
Matchmaking and love are for delusional idiots. Count me out. ~ Violet’s Secret Thoughts
“If this is a set-up, I’m going to lose my shit,” I complain to Frankie as we walk into her grandma’s house. The grandmother in question is a menace. She thinks she’s the world’s answer to matchmaking. The woman is not even on the list of possible answers.
“It’s not. Promise. Go on.” She pushes me towards the living room. “I’ll meet you in there. I need to grab something from my old room.”
I watch to make sure she walks into her room and doesn’t circle around to ambush me. Once she’s safely out of sight, I take a deep breath and enter the living room. Frankie’s grandmother, Nancy, and Shelby are sitting close together on the sofa whispering to each other. Not a set-up, my ass.
“What are you talking about?” I ask louder than necessary.
“Argh!” Shelby screams and jumps to her feet while flailing her arms about. If she wasn’t missing her right hand and forearm, she would have knocked Nancy out. I’ll probably wish she had knocked Nancy out by the end of this visit. “What are you doing sneaking up on us?”
“You invited me here, remember? To talk about your wedding.”
Although, why we’re talking about her wedding with Nancy in attendance is anyone’s guess. She’d be the last person I’d want helping to plan my wedding. She thinks approaching strange people in the grocery store and inviting them to dinner is perfectly normal. What will the woman do if unleashed on the world to plan a wedding?
“Oh, yeah.” Shelby bobs her head. “The wedding.”
I narrow my eyes in suspicion. Shelby and Nancy are most definitely up to something. Fingers crossed I am not the latest victim in some Nancy matchmaking scheme.
“Where’s Bailey?” Bailey, Frankie, and I are Shelby’s bridesmaids. We were told our attendance at today’s wedding planning meeting was obligatory. I’m here, but why I am is anyone’s guess. I didn’t expect to get an invite to Shelby’s wedding, let alone be asked to be a bridesmaid. But I did get asked and no one can say no to Shelby.
“She couldn’t make it. Some board meeting or something.” Lucky her. Bailey complains all the time about the boring-ass board meetings. Personally, I could sit in a crap ton of boring meetings if someone handed me an inheritance of several million dollars.
“Come on.” Nancy stands and motions us to the dining room. “I’ve got us all set up on the table.”
All set up? Not sure what there is to set up for a planning meeting, but I follow the group. I gasp when I see the dining room table covered in every concoction of wedding cake imaginable. “Did you bake these?”
“Of course not.” Nancy huffs. “I can’t be baking the wedding cake myself. I have too much to do at the wedding and reception to be the baker as well.”
“Too much to do?” Shelby asks.
“As your wedding planner.”
I rub my hands together as the sparks are about to start flying.
“You are not my wedding planner.”
“Sure I am. I already arranged the bachelorette party and everything.”
Shelby closes her eyes and stares at the ceiling. “Please tell me you didn’t arrange strippers.”
“Of course, I arranged strippers. You can’t have a bachelorette party without strippers.” Nancy looks offended at the very idea.
“What’s the deal with not wanting strippers?” I ask Frankie as she joins us. I wouldn’t mind some strippers. Men with hot bods taking off their clothes is precisely what I need to get over Luke.
A picture of him stripping down to his birthday suit pops into my head. When I knew Luke before, he was young. Sure, he was hot, but he hadn’t yet grown the muscles he now sports. I bet he’s even sexier naked than he was before. Crap. I shake my head. Why am I thinking about Luke naked? The man is a grade-A asshole. I don’t want to see him at all, let alone naked.
“Shelby was traumatized when we took her to a stripper show and Grandma got her groove on with some of the dancers.”