The Wedding Bargain

“Thank you.” A little to her surprise, she meant it. Dancing with him had been…an experience.

“The pleasure was mine. Now, let’s go see about that drink of yours.”

“Oh, right.” She wanted to tell him she had it under control, but that persistent hand was propelling her toward the bar.

Before they got there, Rory intercepted them and linked an arm with hers. “I see you’ve met Michael. I need to steal my maid of honor for a few minutes,” she said to him. “It’s time to toss the bouquet.”

“I hope you’ll bring her back,” he said. “I promised her a glass of wine.”

“Ten minutes, tops. Then she’s all yours.”

Oh, please. Like she would ever be all his. Or anybody’s. But she let Rory lead her away, reminding herself that this was the last time she had to be a bridesmaid. Unless Paige got married again—and given the way she and Andy were all over each other, that possibility was looking more likely by the minute.

Face it, Jess. If your friends don’t stay married, your career as a bridesmaid could last forever. She loved these women…they were the only real family she had…but she’d be glad when they were all happily married and she could settle into being godmother and old maid Auntie Jess to everyone’s kids. Those roles didn’t require a reinforced bra and hazardously high heels.

“Where are we going?” she asked Rory.

“To the powder room. Until now, I haven’t had a moment to chat with all of you.”

Nicola, Paige and Maria were waiting for them. Maria was sitting on a chair, partially covered by a soft pink baby blanket and discreetly breastfeeding her baby girl. Finally, a practical use for a strapless gown.

Paige stood facing the mirror, and Nicola was trying to fix her hair. “What on earth were you doing to make such a mess of your updo?” she asked.

Paige didn’t answer.

“There you go,” Nicola said. “That’s the best I can do without bobby pins and hairspray.”

“She and Andy disappeared for a while,” Jess said, feeling a bit mischievous. “I’m guessing they finally decided to get a room.”

Paige swung around, hands on her hips. “We did not! We wanted some fresh air, so we went for walk. It’s a beautiful autumn evening, but it’s kind of windy.”

Nicola laughed. “We must be having a hurricane. Too bad Andy didn’t bring his camper. The two of you could have weathered the storm in there.”

Not even Paige’s professionally applied makeup could hide the deep pink flush that flashed across her face.

Maria rearranged her dress and lowered the blanket to reveal a sleeping baby. “Go easy on her, girls. She’s in love. She just hasn’t figured it out yet.”

Paige’s pink face flared red.

“I’d love to hear all the details,” Rory said. “And I do mean all of them, but I don’t want to keep everyone waiting. I just wanted to thank you gals for making my day so special. Everything’s been perfect and I’m so grateful to all of you. Especially you, Jess. You’ve been the best maid of honor a bride could hope for.”

Jess hugged her. “It’s been fun.” And she actually meant it. Rory’s easygoing and slightly unorthodox approach to wedding planning had made the process a lot more fun than she’d expected it to be. “Did you manage to finish packing for your honeymoon?”

Excitement sparked in Rory’s eyes. “We leave first thing in the morning.”

“I still can’t believe you’re going to Disneyland,” Nicola said. “And taking your stepdaughter.”

The bride laughed. “It’ll be perfect. Mitch said we could leave Miranda with his mother and go away on our own, but it didn’t feel right. I’m not just married, I have an eight-year-old daughter. Taking a family honeymoon feels like the right thing to do, and Miranda is so excited.”

Jess couldn’t imagine ever meeting a man she could trust that way, never mind letting her guard down long enough to marry him, but to throw in a ready-made family on top of the bargain? No way. Not even an adorable little girl like Rory’s stepdaughter. Then again, there was no chance any of this could happen to her. She hadn’t even been on a date in two years, not since taking over the bar when her grandfather died. She’d been too busy working her butt off.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Maria said. “You’re going to be such a great mom.”

Paige nodded somewhat wistfully. “You already are a great mom, and you’re so lucky to have such a terrific little girl.”

Jess gave her a playful jab in the shoulder. “If you keep sneaking off with Andy and letting him mess up your hair like that, you might end up being a mom, too.”

Everyone laughed at that, even a red-faced Paige.

Rory waved her bouquet of colorful gerbera daisies. “Okay. Time to find out who’s next,” she said as she herded them all into the corridor. Then she tapped Jess’s shoulder. “Can we talk for a few seconds?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“Let’s make sure Paige catches my bouquet.”

“This is just a tradition based on some crazy superstition. Catching it doesn’t guarantee a wedding.” Although come to think of it, Rory had caught Nic’s bouquet last fall, and look at her now.

“It’s symbolic, and it definitely seems to be Paige’s turn, don’t you think?”

The only thing Jess knew for sure was that it wasn’t hers. “How am I supposed to make sure she catches it?”

“There aren’t that many single women here, and the only two you really have to watch out for are Mitch’s cousins. Those two little brats have actually made a bet on which of them will snag it.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Although short of tackling them, she had no idea how to prevent them from being contenders.

She joined the group of single women on the small dance floor and took stock of the situation. Since there’d almost certainly be another round of wedding bells in Paige’s future, it sort of did make sense to let her catch the bouquet and give everyone a chance to gush about her being the next to tie the knot. The groom’s teenage twin cousins had other ideas. They had already staked out their respective territories at the front of the small group of single women and were glaring at each other.

Amateurs, Jess thought. This would be like taking candy from a couple of babies.

For a split second she allowed her attention to be diverted as she searched out the man named Michael. He was watching her, and she was surprised to feel her own competitive nature kick in. Part of her was tempted to ditch the stupid shoes, roll up her sleeves—if she had any—and grab that sucker when it sailed over Rory’s shoulder. Not that she wanted to get married—far from it—but catching the bouquet would show Michael…

Show him what? She had absolutely no idea. Besides, she had agreed that Paige should catch it. So instead of going on the offensive, she positioned herself directly behind the twins.

Rory surveyed the group before turning her back on it.

Jess adopted the best linebacker stance her shoes would allow.

The band riffed a suitably dramatic tune, but the drum roll was drowned out by cheering.

In case a change to running back was necessary to get the bouquet to the intended receiver, she toed off her shoes under the dress.

With the precision of a rocket launcher, Rory propelled the bouquet over her shoulder.

Jess blocked the twins and held them out of range.

The bouquet headed straight for…oh, hell. So much for Rory’s aim. It was heading straight for Jess.

She let go of one twin, reached for the stupid flowers and volleyed them in Paige’s direction.