City Wedding by Maggie Carlise Page B

wedding
itself so much – though the thought of being at the center of such
a splashy affair intimidated her more than a little bit. No, her
stress pretty much began and ended with her mother. Willa Scarpelli
didn't deal with her ex-husband, Jessica's dad, very well at the
best of times. And the wedding of their only child, an occasion
wherein his wife couldn't be excluded, did not qualify as the best
of times.
    She'd felt selfish about it, Jessica had –
but she was near to kissing the feet of her aunts at the mere
prospect of their taking her mother, and her mother's stresses and
gripes, off her hands for a few days. She loved her mother very
much...but after months of wedding planning, she really needed a
rest.
    And it had been a great couple of days, it
really had – though not as carefree as Jessica had envisioned. Aunt
Patricia and Aunt Grace had been pretty relaxed – and even Willa
had unwound a little in her sisters' company. But Autumn and Megan
hadn't been able to match their mothers' ease.
    Autumn had arrived tense, and any relaxation
that accumulated through a day with her relatives evaporated with
each nightly phone call home. She didn't go so far as to say
everything was fine – but she glossed over her home life so
breezily, it was impossible to ferret any details without asking
outright. And Jessica had hesitated to pry so pointedly. But
something clearly wasn't right.
    Megan had hardly been less worrisome than
Autumn. She'd been chipper enough when she'd arrived, but her
spirits had soured progressively as the days passed. In the
inveterately cheerful Megan, this kind of moodiness was
particularly striking – and perplexing to Jessica. She'd known
Megan long and well. In her experience, it took a very particular
event to put her cousin out of sorts.
    Or a particular person.
    And there was the rest of the issue. Whatever
was bugging Megan had something to do with Ed's brother, Liam,
Jessica was almost positive. What she couldn't figure out was what . Liam and Megan had been pretty tight in the six months
Megan had spent living abroad with Jessica – when Jessica and Ed
had been solidifying their relationship.
    At least, Jessica had thought so. Granted,
she'd been pretty wrapped up in Ed in those months. But still – she
had eyes. She wasn't imagining the fact that Meg and Liam had spent
nearly all their free time together, that they laughed constantly,
that they had been, apparently, good friends. Very, very good
friends.
    It had never been more than friendship
between them – so they'd both said. And, as Jessica couldn't see
why they'd possibly lie about it, she'd always taken them at their
word. But it occurred to her now that they hadn't kept in touch, to
her knowledge – despite the volume of time they'd spent together
before. Despite a friendship that had seemed to run pretty
deep.
    That was kind of odd.
    And Megan had cried on the plane trip home,
she remembered. She'd forgotten that until now. Meg had blamed her
emotions on a headache and a hangover – but even at the time, that
hadn't seemed like the whole truth. And now...?
    Something wasn't adding up.
    Megan came out of the bathroom. “Forgot my
shampoo.”
    Should she ask her about it again? Jessica
pondered it, as Megan dug around in her suitcase again. They didn't
really have time, she supposed. Still...
    A tap on the door decided the issue.
    Megan opened it – and had an instant armful
of flower girl.
    Jessica jumped out of bed. “Randi, you look
beautiful!”
    “I have leaves in my hair!” said the
three-year-old, running to her.
    “You sure do.” The wreath of fall leaves
looked beautiful in Miranda's golden curls. And the burnished
yellow of the flower girl gown suited her coloring, bringing out
the rose in her cheeks and the bright green of her eyes. She looked
like a picture.
    “Mommy's dress is pumpkin-colored,” Miranda
announced, twisting to eye Autumn.
    Jessica followed her gaze. “Oh, Autumn. You
look fabulous.”