the same dress Maddie had bought me the other day.
“How embarrassing,” I told Brandy. “We’re going to show up in the same outfit.”
She gave me the ghost of a smile but stayed silent.
“We also went and talked to some florists but didn’t really come up with any ideas on what to get. If I get something purple, will it be too monochromatic? And if I get a different color, will it look weird?”
“Hard questions,” I said solemnly. Ones I didn’t want to answer.
“Maybe you can come back with me and take a look at some of their books?” Maddie was giving me that hopeful, cheery smile that was so good at inspiring guilt in me.
“I don’t know,” I said vaguely. “Depends on my schedule.”
“Well, let me know. Let me go grab Seth—maybe he has some ideas.”
Good luck with that, I thought. Seth was notoriously awful at offering opinions, and he’d seemed particularly non-committal about this wedding stuff, no pun intended. Maddie left Brandy with me, and I gave her a genuine smile.
“So how’s it been going?” I asked. “Did you have fun shopping?”
Brandy crossed her arms over her chest and tossed her blond hair over one shoulder. She was wearing a formfitting Rocky Horror Picture Show T-shirt. Really, I thought. She was one step away from turning into her uncle.
“No,” she said bluntly.
I arched an eyebrow in surprise. Last I’d known, shopping and having people buy you clothes was pretty sweet when you were a teenage girl. Maybe I was out of touch. “Why not?”
“Because,” she said dramatically. “This wedding is a joke.”
I cast an uneasy glance at the doorway. “Better not let them hear you say that.”
Brandy looked unconcerned. She wasn’t exactly scowling, but it was pretty close. “Uncle Seth isn’t supposed to be marrying her.”
“Why not? They’ve been dating for…well, a while.” That was kind of true, guilt-induced engagement or no. “He proposed. She accepted. Easy as that.”
“She’s not the one,” said Brandy stoutly. “He’s supposed to be marrying you. ”
Yeah, I really wished the door was closed. “Brandy,” I said, pitching my voice as low as I could. “Your uncle and I broke up. That’s how it is. People move on.”
“You two weren’t supposed to. You guys were in love. ”
“He loves her too.”
“It’s not the same.”
This was not a discussion I’d ever expected to have. I’d known Seth’s nieces still liked me, but I’d hardly thought I’d left this sort of impression. “Do you not like Maddie or something?”
Brandy gave a half-hearted shrug and averted her eyes. “She’s okay. But she’s not you.”
I didn’t say anything for several moments. I wondered if Brandy’s resentment toward the wedding was because she had greater devotion to me than Maddie—or if it was part of some romantic ideal girls her age often had about love and soul mates.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Love in the real world doesn’t usually work out the way stories make us think it should. We don’t always get fairy-tale endings. People split up and move on. Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you can’t love someone else.” I shivered. This was remarkably similar to a conversation Carter and I had once had, shortly after the (first) break-up with Seth.
“It’s still not right,” said Brandy obstinately.
Seth and Maddie retrieved her shortly thereafter, for which I was grateful. I really didn’t want to have to play devil’s advocate and defend a marriage that I was hardly thrilled about myself. I felt that sorrow that always seemed to plague me when I thought about them surface…and then remembered Erik’s comments. Don’t give in to it. Stay away from it—that was what kept leading me into trouble.
Easier said than done, just as I’d told him. Distraction seemed to be the key to it all, and I just didn’t feel up to another liaison tonight. I certainly didn’t need the energy.
“Distract me,” I
“How embarrassing,” I told Brandy. “We’re going to show up in the same outfit.”
She gave me the ghost of a smile but stayed silent.
“We also went and talked to some florists but didn’t really come up with any ideas on what to get. If I get something purple, will it be too monochromatic? And if I get a different color, will it look weird?”
“Hard questions,” I said solemnly. Ones I didn’t want to answer.
“Maybe you can come back with me and take a look at some of their books?” Maddie was giving me that hopeful, cheery smile that was so good at inspiring guilt in me.
“I don’t know,” I said vaguely. “Depends on my schedule.”
“Well, let me know. Let me go grab Seth—maybe he has some ideas.”
Good luck with that, I thought. Seth was notoriously awful at offering opinions, and he’d seemed particularly non-committal about this wedding stuff, no pun intended. Maddie left Brandy with me, and I gave her a genuine smile.
“So how’s it been going?” I asked. “Did you have fun shopping?”
Brandy crossed her arms over her chest and tossed her blond hair over one shoulder. She was wearing a formfitting Rocky Horror Picture Show T-shirt. Really, I thought. She was one step away from turning into her uncle.
“No,” she said bluntly.
I arched an eyebrow in surprise. Last I’d known, shopping and having people buy you clothes was pretty sweet when you were a teenage girl. Maybe I was out of touch. “Why not?”
“Because,” she said dramatically. “This wedding is a joke.”
I cast an uneasy glance at the doorway. “Better not let them hear you say that.”
Brandy looked unconcerned. She wasn’t exactly scowling, but it was pretty close. “Uncle Seth isn’t supposed to be marrying her.”
“Why not? They’ve been dating for…well, a while.” That was kind of true, guilt-induced engagement or no. “He proposed. She accepted. Easy as that.”
“She’s not the one,” said Brandy stoutly. “He’s supposed to be marrying you. ”
Yeah, I really wished the door was closed. “Brandy,” I said, pitching my voice as low as I could. “Your uncle and I broke up. That’s how it is. People move on.”
“You two weren’t supposed to. You guys were in love. ”
“He loves her too.”
“It’s not the same.”
This was not a discussion I’d ever expected to have. I’d known Seth’s nieces still liked me, but I’d hardly thought I’d left this sort of impression. “Do you not like Maddie or something?”
Brandy gave a half-hearted shrug and averted her eyes. “She’s okay. But she’s not you.”
I didn’t say anything for several moments. I wondered if Brandy’s resentment toward the wedding was because she had greater devotion to me than Maddie—or if it was part of some romantic ideal girls her age often had about love and soul mates.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Love in the real world doesn’t usually work out the way stories make us think it should. We don’t always get fairy-tale endings. People split up and move on. Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you can’t love someone else.” I shivered. This was remarkably similar to a conversation Carter and I had once had, shortly after the (first) break-up with Seth.
“It’s still not right,” said Brandy obstinately.
Seth and Maddie retrieved her shortly thereafter, for which I was grateful. I really didn’t want to have to play devil’s advocate and defend a marriage that I was hardly thrilled about myself. I felt that sorrow that always seemed to plague me when I thought about them surface…and then remembered Erik’s comments. Don’t give in to it. Stay away from it—that was what kept leading me into trouble.
Easier said than done, just as I’d told him. Distraction seemed to be the key to it all, and I just didn’t feel up to another liaison tonight. I certainly didn’t need the energy.
“Distract me,” I
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