Chapter Nine

April 2019

Mandy hung up from yet another call with yet more bad news and stepped out of the bedroom to the main room of her hotel suite, where Ashley had been waiting patiently for her.

"I'm so sorry," Mandy said.

"Don't worry about it. This isn't my first wedding. I've built in plenty of time to make sure we get you more beautiful than you already are. So this isn't something you need to stress about." She gestured around them.

Just hearing those words—that someone else had control—made Mandy want to cry. "Thank you." She sucked in a huge breath. Tears, however, couldn't happen. Not unless she wanted to redo her makeup—which she didn't.

Ashley stood and grabbed a black cape, swishing it like she was a matador. Something about the way the silky fabric rolled like a gentle ocean wave calmed Mandy. Maybe it was that she was finally moving on to the next step—and that was one step closer to marrying the person she loved.

And then her phone chimed.

She should've turned it on silent. She should've left it under a pillow on the bed. But it was in her hand, and before she could stop herself, Mandy checked the screen.

Nikki: Call me real quick!

Because it was Nikki, and because Mandy knew "real quick" did in fact mean real quick, she clicked on Nikki's contact info and let the phone ring. Mandy held up a finger to Ashley. "Just one more second." Then Mandy walked back into the bedroom.

Nikki answered the phone. "Girl, are you sitting down? You need to sit down."

Mandy could not take any more bad news. She sat on the end of her bed. "What is it. Did someone die? Is the venue on fire? Or wait, I'm dead and this is all just a big, huge nightmare."

"Laura is bringing her in-laws."

"What!" Mandy yelled. No, this wasn't as bad as someone dying, it was worse. "But the tables are all set, and everyone has an assigned seat, and we already confirmed the number with the caterer—"

"I know. I told Laura it was bullshit, and she couldn't just show up with random people you don't even know. Who the fuck invites their in-laws to someone else's wedding?"

"Right?"

"I'm telling you this in case you hear from her, but I told her under no circumstances was she to call and even ask you if this was okay. So if you see her name on your screen, ignore her. Or better yet, just block her number. I also told her if she shows up with them, I will break into her house and shave her head in the middle of the night." Nikki totally would. Thank god for her.

"You're the best."

"Don't you worry. I got your back. See you soon. Ciao." Nikki hung up.

Why would anyone think they could just bring extra people to a wedding at the last minute? And how did boats go missing? And who the heck didn't serve blueberry muffins just because it's past a certain time? What the hell was going on today?

Mandy took a deep breath. And then another. But there was a gremlin inside her stomach crawling, clawing its way up and making her entire body shake. She grabbed the closest pillow and screamed into it as loud as she could. She screamed until her throat was dry and until she had to come up for air.

When she put the pillow down, Ashley stood in the doorway. "Everything okay?"

Nothing was okay. Practically everything had gone wrong, and she hadn't even gotten her hair done yet. The absurdity of that question made Mandy laugh.

And laugh.

And laugh.

Fuck, her stomach hurt from laughing so hard. It was like doing a million crunches all at once. She could barely catch her breath. The entire day was falling apart, and it wasn't even noon yet.

That was it. Why hadn't she thought of that before? Thank god it wasn't noon. There was still time. Candy would fix the fish problem. Nikki was probably sharpening her clippers at that very moment. And Mandy needed to get her hair done, so she could get dressed, take pictures, and then get married.

She could do this.

The universe was testing her. Seeing if she would fall apart. Screw you, Universe! Not today!

Okay, maybe not "screw you," but she got it. And she could do this and the next thing, and she would get through it.

Mandy caught her breath and finally responded to Ashley, "I'm good."

There was a knock on the door.

"That's room service with your muffin." Ashley dipped away to answer it.

See. Her muffin was here. The thing they said they wouldn't be able to get when they delivered the sandwiches, but they did. Things were going to finally fall into place.

Ashley popped her head back in the doorway. "Victory!"

"Victory!" Mandy echoed.

"Now let's get you gorgeous!"

"Let's do it." Mandy's cell rang. Laura's name was on the screen. Not today, satan. Mandy clicked the phone to silent, placed it under her screaming pillow, and walked away.