Blushing Pink (32 page)

Late the next afternoon the wedding party was rehearsing at St. Catherine's Church. Father Gregg provided a steady onslaught of corny jokes. Meanwhile Reese's gut churned with such a ferocious jealousy she thought she might explode.

She couldn't believe Brian had brought Veronica! How
dared
he bring another woman to the church where Reese was confirmed? Couldn't he see the indecency of that? The
anathema?

When he'd introduced Veronica to everyone, he'd referred to her as his "friend"—please, what a crock.
Don't think about it. Forget him.

But what was the alternative? Devoting rapt attention to the stale matrimonial humor that Father Gregg undoubtedly used at every ceremony he performed? Anyway, it wasn't Reese's fault that she was so fixated. It wasn't like she
wanted
to obsess on every single thing Brian was doing only a few feet away from her.

"Okay, let's run through it again," Joanna declared. Was there ever any doubt? They'd been "running through" everything for almost two hours; Reese was beginning to wonder if the abuse would ever end. "All right, bridesmaids come down here," Joanna said. "We're going to walk up the aisle." Dutifully, Angela, Reese, Lane, and Deb retraced their steps back to the front of the church. "Good, now, Brian, you come to my right." Joanna motioned to Ben's cousins. "And Chris and James, you get behind Brian."

"Hey, who's
running
this show?" Father Gregg cracked rhetorically. Out of the corner of her eye, Reese saw Veronica waving to Brian from her pew, and barely stifled a scream.

"Reese, you've got to pay attention!" Joanna said.

"I-I am paying attention," Reese lied. "Why, what did you say?"

Joanna heaved a great sigh. "I said, commence with the processional."

"Oh, right." She led the bridesmaids up the center aisle as the groomsmen began walking along the side.

"Actually—you know what?—wait," Joanna said abruptly, as she rubbed her neck. "I changed my mind. I think we should go back to the original idea of having the groomsmen and bridesmaids walk together in pairs. Here, come back to the front, everyone."

She motioned for the men to stand beside the women, and by the time everyone was sorted, Lane was paired with Chris, Deb was paired with James, Angela was paired with Drew, and Reese ended up right next to Brian. Could her luck get any worse today?

"This is perfect!" Joanna said cheerily. "I don't know why I couldn't see it before."

As the processional got under way, Brian's elbow accidentally brushed Reese's.
"Ow,"
she whispered, glad for an excuse to be a bitch. Well, not so much as an excuse as an opportunity. Brian muttered, "Sorry," but he didn't sound all that sincere.

When they got to the altar, the men veered to the right, the women to the left. Joanna motioned frantically for Ally to get off the pew she was lounging on, and to stand between her and Michael. Then she waved over Aunt Jacy and Aunt Aileen, who had raised Ben after his parents had died in an accident when he was seven. Both ladies were barely five feet tall, round as teapots, and clad in housedresses and wool cardigans. They scurried toward Ben, who stepped in between them, towering over both.

"All right, teamwork!" Father Gregg cheered.

Reese forced herself not to look at Brian, who was directly to her right, so close she could almost smell that sexy, masculine aftershave, and she could almost feel his heat.

She hoped her rage over Veronica's presence wasn't as obvious as it felt. True, she did have a scowl that wouldn't quit, but she figured her family would think she was just being a generic bitch today, and leave it at that.

Joanna, Ally, and Michael started up the aisle.

"No, Michael, you're not doing it right," Joanna scolded. "You're straying from the rhythm."

"I am?" he said, surprised.

"Yes, can't you tell? One foot, then wait. See? You're off."

He shrugged. " 'If your head is wax, don't walk in the sun.'"

"What's that one mean, Dad?" Angela said, angling her head back.

Michael smiled broadly. "It means I have no rhythm, and she knew that when she married me."

"Oh, Michael..."

"I
thought
you two looked familiar!" Father Gregg cracked.

Reese rolled her eyes, and spared a glance back at her parents. Accidentally, her gaze locked on Veronica sitting in the third-to-last pew, with her hair up in a perfect chignon and her delicate shoulders in perfect posture. Compared to her, Reese felt like a compact car: squat and clunky.

Sighing, she turned to face front again, and caught Brian's eyes on her. He was watching her—studying her. She swallowed hard, while her pulse pounded in her ears, and she willed herself to look away... but
herself
never did listen too well. And something was sparking between them right there in the middle of St. Catherine's Church.

Finally she tore her gaze away. Maybe Brian had brought Veronica to the rehearsal just to hurt Reese. Or maybe he hadn't given any thought to Reese's feelings at all. Or maybe he was so crazy in love with Veronica, he couldn't bear to spend even one moment apart from her. Well, none of those scenarios was too comforting.

Just thinking about the rehearsal dinner tonight, and sitting across from the lovebirds, made her fume. Then pout... until finally her anger was replaced with total sadness. A lump formed in her throat, and her eyes watered.
No, you can't cry. He's a creep; don't cry.

"Reese!"

"Huh?"

"Sweetheart.
You're supposed to collect all the flowers from the other girls and set them down on the altar."

"We don't have any flowers now."

"You still have to
rehearse
it." Joanna turned to Michael, and in a strategically unsteady voice, said, "This is getting too stressful for me."

"Can we just get this done?
God."
Ally said.

"Hey, I thought I was the only one on a first-name basis with Him!" Father Gregg said, laughing and holding his belly.

After that, Ally and Ben went through the drill of saying their vows.

Twenty minutes later the rehearsal finally wound down. Then, on their way out the door, Joanna suggested that everyone run through it again. "Just once more."

Reese wouldn't have expected anything less.

* * *

Reese went down to the hotel lobby at 6:15 to meet Kenneth. She'd told him he didn't have to come to the rehearsal dinner (hint, hint), but he'd insisted. She supposed she was a little relieved to bring a date, since she knew damn well Brian was taking Miss Prima Ballerina.

To boost her confidence, Reese was wearing a low-cut, black wraparound dress and silver high heels. She'd also put on a silver heart necklace that had never particularly brought her luck, but she liked to pretend it was her good-luck charm. She'd done the whole red-raspberry Chap Stick thing again, but this time it was just for her.

Kenneth came through the rotating glass doors and approached efficiently. "Hello, Reese. How are you?" he said, and handed her a red rose.

"Hi. Oh, thank you," she said, smiling, and feeling pretty uncomfortable. "How was the drive?"

"It was very good, thank you. Not too much traffic."

"Oh, great," she supplied lamely. "Well... do you wanna get going? We're meeting everyone in the dining room."

"Yes. That sounds good."

Everyone was already seated at the table when Kenneth and Reese arrived, and everyone said hi except Brian.

"I'd like you all to meet Kenneth—my date," Reese said brightly.

Brian locked his jaw, and opened his menu.

"Oh, I'm so glad you could make it!" Joanna gushed.

"Kenneth," Michael stated, "good to see you again. Glad you could join us." Kenneth cleared his throat and mumbled something quasi-gracious.

At that moment, Reese decided to play up this Kenneth thing for all it was worth.

"Brian, you remember Kenneth, don't you?" she said, forcing him to acknowledge them.

"Yeah, hi," he said curtly.

"Oh, you've met Kenneth?" Joanna asked Brian conversationally.

"Yes," Reese said, "they met at the bookstore last week. Kenneth stopped in to say hi, and I introduced them."

"Oh, you and Reese know each other?" Veronica asked, sounding surprised.

Brian started to answer when Reese cut him off. "No, we don't—believe me." She and Kenneth took their seats at the table, and Reese stole another look over. Brian was staring at his menu with his cheek clenched, and she felt a perverse sense of satisfaction.

When she looked down at her own menu, all the words blurred together.

"What's that flower, sweetheart?" Joanna asked.

"Oh, this?" Reese said, holding up the rose for everyone to see. "Kenneth gave it to me—wasn't that sweet?" She leaned into him a little, beaming.

Lane said, "Well, aren't you two
cute."

Brian still wasn't looking at her. He was busy studying his damn menu like it was a physics textbook.

"Baby, what do you think you'll get?" Angela said, leaning over to share Drew's menu.

He leaned over and pressed a quick kiss on her temple. "I don't know, babydoll; what will you get?"

Huh?
Had Reese missed something crucial here? Angela and Drew were holding hands on top of the table, and appearing more blissful than ever. Reese would definitely have to grill her sister for details as soon as she got a chance.

Drew smiled amiably at Reese. "Hey, Angela told me you got a room at the hotel for yourself. You wanted a taste of the good life, huh?"

She grinned with self-deprecation. "Oh, yeah. I'm a real hedonist."

"You've got a room?" Aunt Aileen asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "What do you need one of those for?"

Joanna said, "Oh, she's in room eight-sixteen, so if anyone needs anything before the ceremony, or anytime, just ask Reese." She smiled brightly at her daughter, thanking her for volunteering, which of course she hadn't.

"By the way, sweetheart," Joanna went on, pushing her luck as always, "without you biting my head off, have you prepared your toast for tomorrow?"

"What toast?" Aunt Jacy asked.

"Oh, we're having Reese, as the maid of honor, say a few words at the reception," Joanna explained.

"But aren't you the maid of honor, too?" Aunt Aileen asked Angela.

"Yeah, but—"

"Public speaking is Reese's thing," Joanna explained matter-of-factly.

Right. If public speaking were Reese's thing, why couldn't she think of a damn thing to say to Brian right now? All she could manage was to shoot him daggers with her eyes (and he wasn't even looking, of course).

"You know what would be a good idea?" Jacy said. "For the best man and the maid of honor to say something together. I saw that at a wedding once, and I thought it was real cute."

Reese's head shot up, and
now
she caught Brian watching her. Intently. Powerfully. She couldn't tell if it was anger she saw in his eyes or hunger, but it didn't matter, because just as soon, the spell was broken. Veronica put her hand on his arm; she might as well have dumped ice water on Reese's head.

"What do you think?" Jacy asked, tapping Brian on the arm.

"What? I'm sorry, I missed that."

"We're suggesting that you and Reese say a few words together tomorrow," Aileen explained, as she opened up a presumably vegan vacuum-sealed bag. "What do you think, Benny? Isn't that a good idea?"

Ben was busy assailing the bread basket, and didn't seem to have much of an opinion at the moment. Ally said, "I don't know, you guys; that's kind of putting him on the spot."

"Oh... no, it's okay," Brian offered. "I'd be happy to."

Jacy smiled and said, "What a nice boy."

Hmm. Reese thought about the way Brian had kissed her, felt her breasts, rubbed his groin into her crotch, and she couldn't help noting that the last thing he was, was a
boy.

"But it has to be prepared together," Jacy went on, opening her own vacuum-sealed pouch. "That was the whole reason it was so cute—remember Aileen, at Tory's wedding?"

"Mmm-hmm, it was so darn precious," she agreed, smelling her water before sipping.

"I don't think that's going to work," Reese said, unable to hold her tongue any longer, "Um, Brian and I really don't even have time to prepare something now."

"Well, it doesn't have to be anything fancy, sweetheart," Joanna said, "Just make sure you run it by me before the ceremony."

"May I get anyone something to drink?" their waiter asked, coming out of nowhere. That deflected the conversation, as everyone ordered their drinks.

Reese glanced down the table and found Brian watching her again. As if on cue, Veronica slid her arm through his, and leaned in close to look at his menu. Brian didn't seem to respond, but it didn't matter, because Veronica's intimate gesture only served as a reminder of all that stood between them.

So, in mature fashion, Reese did the only thing she could do—she slid her arm through Kenneth's and thanked him again—loudly—for the flower.

Brian's eyes shot up, as Kenneth explained some of the socially constructed signification of a red rose, and analyzed possible origins. And Reese stared doe-eyed, as though astounded by his brilliance.

"That's so fascinating," she said, making sure the whole table heard. "Tell us more."

Brian clenched his cheek tighter. Then he nudged a little closer to Veronica and asked, "Do you want to split an appetizer?"

Reese's jaw dropped.
Split an appetizer!
If that wasn't the most couple-y thing in the world, she didn't know what was.

Fine, she hoped they choked on it. Well, just enough to turn blue. She sipped her cabernet sauvignon to keep from cursing, and tried to steady her nerves. No matter what, she'd have to get a tougher skin, because it was obviously going to be a very long night.

Chapter 25