Not Quite Over You
Page 51
Georgiana rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“I do, and yes, bride-to-be Jessica said she was bringing in someone to teach pole dancing.”
Georgiana looked over the drink list and grimaced. “Don’t these girls know the more sugar in the drink, the worse the hangover?”
“The theme is forever love and the party is supposed to be all things sweet.”
“Still, chocolate vodka shots and cotton candy champagne? What’s wrong with a nice Cosmo or a lemon drop?”
“It’s their party.”
“And they can barf if they want to?” Georgiana looked around. “Oh good. The way to the bathroom is clearly marked. Because you know they’re going to be throwing up later.”
“I really hope not. The strawberry Jell-O shots aren’t too sweet.” The vodka–Jell-O mixture had been poured into actual strawberries that had been hollowed out. Silver wasn’t sure if the addition of fruit was going to help or hurt.
Silver was prepared for a long night. Drew was going to stay with Autumn until Silver was done downstairs. Not only would he provide company for Autumn, he would let her know if they’d done enough soundproofing.
The bridesmaids began arriving a little after six. They were all pretty and dressed in cute flirty dresses and heels. Silver tried to put names to faces but they were a blur of Tiffanys and Chelseas. She made sure she knew who Brittany was. As the maid of honor, Brittany was making all the decisions.
“This space turned out fabulously,” the busty redhead said. “We’re super excited.” She pointed to the boxes the other women had carried in. “We’ll just get our banners in place. Tiff is bringing the balloon bouquets.”
Silver stared as several banners proclaiming One Penis Forever followed by a sad face emoji were fastened to the wall.
“Did the theme change?” she asked casually.
“Uh-huh. The forever love theme was just too cute, although we are definitely keeping the drinks and the food. We’re just mixing things up. Oh, and don’t worry about us getting drunk. Limos are coming at eleven. Then we’re going out on the town.”
At least once they left, they weren’t her problem, she thought with a smile.
More decorations went up. There was a mug shot station which Silver hoped wasn’t tempting fate too much, along with posters of naked men with massive erections. White plastic first aid boxes had been relabeled as Hangover Kits.
“They’re going to need those,” Georgiana murmured as she walked to the bar.
Just before seven, the rest of the women arrived. Jessica, the pretty blonde bride, wore a short white sundress and nothing but a thong underneath. When Jessica bent over to drop her handbag on the floor, Silver got a view of way more than she’d bargained for. It was going to be one of those nights.
By seven-thirty, all the women were on their third drink. By eight, when the pole dance instructor arrived, they were definitely drunk.
Adam was tall and male with muscles for miles. After setting up a pair of speakers and plugging them in, he turned to the group.
“Let me be clear,” he said cheerfully. “You are not the team I play for, so don’t bother coming on to me. Having said that, enjoy the show.”
Before Silver could figure out what he meant, he stripped down to a tiny thong that barely contained his, um, assets. He was tanned, muscled and five kinds of gorgeous, and the bridesmaids looked at him like hungry sharks at a surfing convention.
He set his phone in the docking station for the speakers. Instantly music began to pound. The girls shrieked and raced to poles.
“We’re going to start with a few stretches,” Adam said, winking at them as he shouted over the music. “I don’t want you to be sore tomorrow morning, at least not for the wrong reasons.”
Everyone laughed. Silver looked at Georgiana, who rolled her eyes. The music was incredibly loud. At least the soundproofing would get a big test.
Adam took them through basic moves. They started with the wraparound, then moved to easy climbing. More than one of the bridesmaids slipped to the ground. Two of them abandoned the lesson and started making out in a corner. Silver fought the beginnings of a headache.
While the girls continued with their lesson, she and Georgiana brought out the food. It was all appetizers.
“There’s a lot of salt here,” Georgiana murmured. “They’re going to be hungover and puffy and hungry. Of course they’ll be throwing up so they probably won’t notice being hungry. This is a bad plan. What were they thinking?”
“I just want this party over,” Silver told her. “Only two more hours.”
Adam finished his lesson, then joined the women on the sofas. Everyone had another round, but they were eating, too. Which was something, Silver supposed.
Her sense of being slightly out of control faded a little as time went on. Adam finished his drink, dressed and left. Silver put on her own music, at a slightly lower volume. The women continued to drink, but they were chowing down on the appetizers and seemed to sober up just a little. Just as they were settling down to open presents, a guy walked in.
He looked nothing like Adam. He was of average height and attractive in an ordinary way. He wore jeans and a T-shirt. But what actually caught Silver’s attention was the stricken look on his face. This was not a groom jokingly crashing his bride’s bachelorette party—this was a guy with really bad news.
“Turn down the music,” Silver told Georgiana. “They’re going to have to be able to talk.”
“Who has to talk about what?” Georgiana spotted the guy. “Oh, that’s not good.”
“I agree.”
They both watched anxiously as the man approached Jessica. She looked up and saw him.
“Tyler! Hi! Were we expecting you?” She rose unsteadily to her feet. “Everyone, this is Tyler. He’s my baby brother.”
Brittany rolled her eyes. “Jess, we’ve known Tyler forever. Everyone here knows Tyler.”
“Oh right.” Jessica plopped back on a sofa and patted the seat next to her. “You’re here! That’s so great. You should have a drink. They’re wonderful. We’re having such a good time. I love you, Tyler.”
Her brother sat next to her and took her hand in his. Tears filled his eyes. Actual tears. Silver braced herself for whatever was going to happen next. She knew it was ridiculous, but there was a voice in her head warning her it was going to be bad.
Tyler swallowed. “Jess, I love you so much and I’m so sorry.” He brushed away more tears. “God, I don’t know how to say this. Jess, Dominic slept with Mom.”
The room went quiet except for the pounding beat of the music. Georgiana reached over and turned off the speakers, making the silence complete. The bridesmaids looked at each other, then at Jessica. Jessica stared at her brother.
“What?”
“Mom and Dominic. I walked in on them together at the hotel. I’m sorry, Jess. I didn’t know what to do. I’ve been driving around, but then I came here. I had to tell you. Please, let me know I did the right thing.”
His anguish was palpable. Silver’s stomach twisted as she thought about the nightmare that had just been unleashed. There was no recovering from the groom sleeping with the bride’s mother. The wedding hadn’t just been destroyed—an entire family was ripped apart.
Jessica sprang to her feet. “My mom slept with Dominic?” Her voice was a shriek. “My mother and Dominic?”
“I do, and yes, bride-to-be Jessica said she was bringing in someone to teach pole dancing.”
Georgiana looked over the drink list and grimaced. “Don’t these girls know the more sugar in the drink, the worse the hangover?”
“The theme is forever love and the party is supposed to be all things sweet.”
“Still, chocolate vodka shots and cotton candy champagne? What’s wrong with a nice Cosmo or a lemon drop?”
“It’s their party.”
“And they can barf if they want to?” Georgiana looked around. “Oh good. The way to the bathroom is clearly marked. Because you know they’re going to be throwing up later.”
“I really hope not. The strawberry Jell-O shots aren’t too sweet.” The vodka–Jell-O mixture had been poured into actual strawberries that had been hollowed out. Silver wasn’t sure if the addition of fruit was going to help or hurt.
Silver was prepared for a long night. Drew was going to stay with Autumn until Silver was done downstairs. Not only would he provide company for Autumn, he would let her know if they’d done enough soundproofing.
The bridesmaids began arriving a little after six. They were all pretty and dressed in cute flirty dresses and heels. Silver tried to put names to faces but they were a blur of Tiffanys and Chelseas. She made sure she knew who Brittany was. As the maid of honor, Brittany was making all the decisions.
“This space turned out fabulously,” the busty redhead said. “We’re super excited.” She pointed to the boxes the other women had carried in. “We’ll just get our banners in place. Tiff is bringing the balloon bouquets.”
Silver stared as several banners proclaiming One Penis Forever followed by a sad face emoji were fastened to the wall.
“Did the theme change?” she asked casually.
“Uh-huh. The forever love theme was just too cute, although we are definitely keeping the drinks and the food. We’re just mixing things up. Oh, and don’t worry about us getting drunk. Limos are coming at eleven. Then we’re going out on the town.”
At least once they left, they weren’t her problem, she thought with a smile.
More decorations went up. There was a mug shot station which Silver hoped wasn’t tempting fate too much, along with posters of naked men with massive erections. White plastic first aid boxes had been relabeled as Hangover Kits.
“They’re going to need those,” Georgiana murmured as she walked to the bar.
Just before seven, the rest of the women arrived. Jessica, the pretty blonde bride, wore a short white sundress and nothing but a thong underneath. When Jessica bent over to drop her handbag on the floor, Silver got a view of way more than she’d bargained for. It was going to be one of those nights.
By seven-thirty, all the women were on their third drink. By eight, when the pole dance instructor arrived, they were definitely drunk.
Adam was tall and male with muscles for miles. After setting up a pair of speakers and plugging them in, he turned to the group.
“Let me be clear,” he said cheerfully. “You are not the team I play for, so don’t bother coming on to me. Having said that, enjoy the show.”
Before Silver could figure out what he meant, he stripped down to a tiny thong that barely contained his, um, assets. He was tanned, muscled and five kinds of gorgeous, and the bridesmaids looked at him like hungry sharks at a surfing convention.
He set his phone in the docking station for the speakers. Instantly music began to pound. The girls shrieked and raced to poles.
“We’re going to start with a few stretches,” Adam said, winking at them as he shouted over the music. “I don’t want you to be sore tomorrow morning, at least not for the wrong reasons.”
Everyone laughed. Silver looked at Georgiana, who rolled her eyes. The music was incredibly loud. At least the soundproofing would get a big test.
Adam took them through basic moves. They started with the wraparound, then moved to easy climbing. More than one of the bridesmaids slipped to the ground. Two of them abandoned the lesson and started making out in a corner. Silver fought the beginnings of a headache.
While the girls continued with their lesson, she and Georgiana brought out the food. It was all appetizers.
“There’s a lot of salt here,” Georgiana murmured. “They’re going to be hungover and puffy and hungry. Of course they’ll be throwing up so they probably won’t notice being hungry. This is a bad plan. What were they thinking?”
“I just want this party over,” Silver told her. “Only two more hours.”
Adam finished his lesson, then joined the women on the sofas. Everyone had another round, but they were eating, too. Which was something, Silver supposed.
Her sense of being slightly out of control faded a little as time went on. Adam finished his drink, dressed and left. Silver put on her own music, at a slightly lower volume. The women continued to drink, but they were chowing down on the appetizers and seemed to sober up just a little. Just as they were settling down to open presents, a guy walked in.
He looked nothing like Adam. He was of average height and attractive in an ordinary way. He wore jeans and a T-shirt. But what actually caught Silver’s attention was the stricken look on his face. This was not a groom jokingly crashing his bride’s bachelorette party—this was a guy with really bad news.
“Turn down the music,” Silver told Georgiana. “They’re going to have to be able to talk.”
“Who has to talk about what?” Georgiana spotted the guy. “Oh, that’s not good.”
“I agree.”
They both watched anxiously as the man approached Jessica. She looked up and saw him.
“Tyler! Hi! Were we expecting you?” She rose unsteadily to her feet. “Everyone, this is Tyler. He’s my baby brother.”
Brittany rolled her eyes. “Jess, we’ve known Tyler forever. Everyone here knows Tyler.”
“Oh right.” Jessica plopped back on a sofa and patted the seat next to her. “You’re here! That’s so great. You should have a drink. They’re wonderful. We’re having such a good time. I love you, Tyler.”
Her brother sat next to her and took her hand in his. Tears filled his eyes. Actual tears. Silver braced herself for whatever was going to happen next. She knew it was ridiculous, but there was a voice in her head warning her it was going to be bad.
Tyler swallowed. “Jess, I love you so much and I’m so sorry.” He brushed away more tears. “God, I don’t know how to say this. Jess, Dominic slept with Mom.”
The room went quiet except for the pounding beat of the music. Georgiana reached over and turned off the speakers, making the silence complete. The bridesmaids looked at each other, then at Jessica. Jessica stared at her brother.
“What?”
“Mom and Dominic. I walked in on them together at the hotel. I’m sorry, Jess. I didn’t know what to do. I’ve been driving around, but then I came here. I had to tell you. Please, let me know I did the right thing.”
His anguish was palpable. Silver’s stomach twisted as she thought about the nightmare that had just been unleashed. There was no recovering from the groom sleeping with the bride’s mother. The wedding hadn’t just been destroyed—an entire family was ripped apart.
Jessica sprang to her feet. “My mom slept with Dominic?” Her voice was a shriek. “My mother and Dominic?”
