15. Bailey

"He still hasn't sentthe NDA for me to sign." I hoped that the panic I was experiencing over hiring Cole wasn't evident in my voice as I grabbed my razor from my shower to pack it in my overnight bag.

Cole was picking me up in less than an hour, and I was in full what-the-actual-hell-had-I-been-thinking mode. In fairness, that mode had been percolating in the background all week, but it had definitely risen to the surface today.

It had taken me a week to gather the courage to go over and ask Cole to accompany me to the wedding. I thought once I did, I'd feel better. That hadn't happened. Since he'd agreed, I'd only been more anxious. This morning, I'd awoken to a full-blown panic attack. I hyperventilated, and even had to breathe into a paper bag.

"Maybe he's just eye candy after all," Olivia observed as she put her feet up on the ottoman and reclined back in the chair Whiskey had claimed as her throne.

Duke and Whiskey were both stereotypical antisocial cats. Whenever my sisters, or Olivia and Trevor were over, they made themselves scarce. Whiskey was terrified of men, although she tolerated Trevor. Duke was just on his own program and only deemed company worthy of his presence on very rare occasions.

"That is reverse sexism," Trevor stated as he flipped through my closet with purpose.

I wasn't sure what he was looking for or what I should pack. This was a work trip. Yes, I'd agreed to attend the wedding as a guest, but until the actual event, I would be working. Sort of. Technically, Miranda would be taking the reins before the welcome mixer, but there was no way I was going to let anything slip through the cracks. I didn't want to give anyone a reason to think I'd done anything to sabotage Simon's wedding.

Simon's wedding. I'm not sure the reality of what was happening had truly sunk in yet. I felt numb. Maybe I was in denial. Maybe all the anxiety I had about hiring Cole was just misplaced emotions that I was transferring onto a situation with a lot less at stake.

"Reverse sexism?" Olivia repeated as she rubbed her ever-growing belly.

I still couldn't believe that my best friend was not only married and pregnant; she was expecting twins. I had never seen that plot twist coming in the story of her life. Just like I'd never expected to be planning Simon's wedding to a twenty-two-year-old woman or hiring an escort for the occasion.

So yeah… Plot twists for everyone, it seemed.

"Yes, Lawyer Barbie, reverse sexism."

Besides being called The Maneater, Olivia had also earned the moniker, Lawyer Barbie. Her blonde hair, generous curves, and beauty translated to her not always being taken seriously. I found it amusing that Trevor was calling her out for showing the same disregard for Cole.

"Do you think Lawyer Barbie would ever not get an NDA signed?"

"Touché. But I think this might not be a case of forgetfulness. I think maybe Mr. Plus One Professional would like to be Mr. Plus One Personal."

Olivia's brows lifted the way they did when someone said something she hadn't thought of but agreed with.

"No! What?" I shook my head as I zipped up my toiletry bag. "What are you talking about?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you. He definitely wants things to get personal," Trevor emphasized.

"No," I insisted. I'd seen his expression when I'd asked him if he was free this weekend. And I'd seen the relief in his face when I'd told him that I wanted to hire him. "This is just a job to him, nothing else."

Trevor grinned. "So, you've paid him?"

"Well, no. But I mean, I will."

Olivia and Trevor once again exchanged a knowing glance before Trevor turned his attention back to my closet. He emerged with a strapless red dress I bought six years ago when Simon was in town around Valentine's Day. It still had the tags because Valentine's Day came and went, and I never heard from him.

Looking back, I couldn't believe how long I'd held onto the hope that he was the one. It was embarrassing and pathetic. Almost as embarrassing and pathetic as packing to go to his wedding.

I still wasn't sure what was compelling me to attend. When I handed my sisters their invitations and dropped the bomb that Simon was marrying Devin, they both were Team Fuck This Wedding. They wanted me to just wash my hands of the entire thing. Maybe I was just a glutton for punishment, but something inside of me wouldn't let me do that.

"This dress is four-alarm fiyah hot."

"I'm not wearing a red dress to the wedding."

Trevor's heavy sigh indicated he was not happy about my refusal. He placed the red dress back in the closet and continued his search.

"Fine. What about this?" he asked as he pulled out a jade-colored dress.

It was the dress that I'd bought to wear the next time Simon was in town, and he took me out to dinner. The form-fitting, scoop-neck, backless dress came to mid-calf. The material formed to my curves like it had been tailored to my exact measurements. It wasn't in-your-face-sexy. It was subtle-sexy.

"The green matches your eyes. Cole won't even remember what an NDA is if he sees you in this."

"It won't matter. He's color blind."

Olivia and Trevor's heads both swiveled toward me.

"He's color blind?" Olivia questioned.

"Yep."

"I've never actually met anyone who is color blind." Trevor repeated the same sentiment I'd had.

I nodded as I bit my lip, remembering the moment that he'd asked me if I had green eyes and blonde hair. The feeling of his touch grazing the edges of my ear.

"Why are you biting your lip?" Olivia pointed at me in accusation.

"What? I'm not," I lied. Olivia leveled me with a stare that would have me shriveling if I were on the stand being cross-examined by her. "Fine, remember I told you we got locked in the upstairs bathroom?"

At the mention of being locked in the upstairs bathroom, the energy in the room shifted. Olivia and Trevor shared an in-the-know look. Clearly, they knew something I did not.

"What?!" I demanded.

"I may or may not have directed Mr. Plus One to go up there," Trevor admitted sheepishly.

"Trevor told him that the downstairs bathroom was out of order. And he told him to shut the door because Billie told him that it locked from the inside."

"You did? Why?"

"Um, hello, did we all forget I'm a matchmaker?" Trevor lifted his hand. "That's what I do. I facilitate meet-cutes. I am a meet-cute facilitator."

"I was working. He was there with Holly's sister. We didn't know it wasn't a real date." I argued all of the reasons why a meet-cute had been totally inappropriate.

He waved his hand dismissively and said, "People meet at work all the time. He clearly wasn't interested in Jenna. And, yes, we did know it wasn't a real date." Trevor pointed at himself as he emphasized we. "And thank god we did, because look at you now. You're heading off for a romantic weekend in wine country with Mr. Plus One. Sooo, back to your Ana-Steele lip-biting. What are you not telling us?"

"Ana Steele?" I questioned.

"Fifty Shades of Grey," Olivia explained.

Right. I'd read the books. She had done a lot of lip-biting.

I took a breath. "It's nothing, it's just, when we were looking for the earring, he asked me if I had blonde hair and green eyes. I thought he was being, I don't know, I didn't know why he was asking me, but then he told me he was color blind, so he didn't know, and that's why he asked."

Olivia's head tilted to the side. "So, what? He was just guessing?"

"Or he asked someone to describe you, but he wanted to know they weren't lying to him," Trevor reasoned.

"Maybe." I hadn't gotten the impression it was either of those things, but I guessed it could be.

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to find out this weekend. You can ask him over pillow talk." Trevor moved to my dresser and opened the drawer that my bathing suit was in.

"We're not sharing a room, and I don't need a bathing suit."

"Yes, you do." Trevor, of course, grabbed my slinkiest black bikini and pulled it out. He held it up and must have approved, because he placed it in the suitcase on my bed. "And what do you mean you're not sharing a room?"

"I'm staying with Billie and Birdie. I got Cole his own room."

"What a waste." Trevor looked equal parts disgusted and disappointed in me as he shook his head and began spraying perfumes in the air and sniffing them before settling on one and adding it to my toiletries bag.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Olivia asked.

"I mean, he's going to be here in thirty minutes. I think it's a little late to cancel now."

"I'm not talking about Cole. I'm talking about going to Simon's wedding and working it."

"I'm not working it." The argument sounded pitiful even to my own ears.

"I still think Devin knew exactly what she was doing by hiring you," Olivia maintained.

"Of course, Ms. Cameron Diaz knew exactly what she was doing," Trevor insisted.

As soon as Trevor made the comparison, it clicked that that was exactly who Devin looked like. Cameron Diaz when she was a brunette. The smile. The eyes. The legs. All of it.

"How did you know Devin looked like Cameron Diaz?" I asked Trevor.

"I didn't," he gasped. "Does she?"

"She does," I confirmed.

"Oh, I was referring to Ms. Diaz's role in My Best Friend's Wedding. She asks Julia Roberts to be her bridesmaid to keep her enemies close."

It was strange how she'd just shown up because she was ‘in the neighborhood' and that she'd followed my social media but didn't know who I was. Still, that could be explained by Simon not telling her about me. Why would he? Yes, I was just his ‘oldest friend' and ‘family'.

"I don't think she's doing that." I closed my suitcase.

"She is," Olivia and Trevor chorused.

"I'm not the enemy." Clearly. Devin was not at all threatened by my relationship with Matty. Why would she be? She was wearing his ring. He'd asked her to spend the rest of his life with him.

"I'm just worried that you're doing this to prove a point, but it's not the healthiest thing for you to do." I could see the genuine concern in Olivia's eyes.

"It's one weekend. It's just another wedding. I'll be fine," I said aloud. I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince Olivia or myself.