The Bridal Squad Page 9

  Another exchanged glance between Harper and Kayla silently conveyed that while Kayla’s issue was hard on her, whatever was going on with Natalie needed an immediate intervention.

  “Nat, what happened? Are things okay between you and Jayce?” Kayla asked.

  “Okay, everyone!” Hailey called out excitedly. “Get your notepads and pens ready because here comes Julianne with gown number one!”

  All three of them on the sofa groaned because the timing sucked.

  “We’re not done with this,” Harper whispered hastily as she put down the muffin and grabbed the pen. “As soon as Jules goes back to change, we’ll come back to this. Natalie? You’re up first so be prepared to share a condensed version of what’s going on at home!”

  And then Julianne stepped into the middle of the room wearing a strapless gown that had the biggest skirt Harper had ever seen – very Cinderella-ish. It wasn’t the dress – she knew that immediately – but she caught her sister’s eye in the mirror and smiled.

  At least someone here today was happy and settled and on her way to a happily ever after.

  ****

  By the time Julianne came out in her twelfth gown, Harper already knew which one was her favorite – the third one. It was so unlike anything she ever would have envisioned for her sister and yet when she’d walked out in it, Harper just knew it was the one.

  She’d secretly given Julianne the thumbs up in the mirror and she knew by her smile that she felt the same way too.

  The gown was more pink than white – which Harper heard her mother negatively comment on because, “Wedding gowns should be white…”

  Yeah, well…and Harper used to think that way too, but something about this gown just screamed Julianne’s name and it looked amazing on her. As Hailey had described it, the gown had illusion sleeves, floral appliqués and a tiered blush-hued ball gown skirt. The neckline was a plunging V-neck – another thing that had their mother shaking her head and making tsking sounds – but it didn’t seem to faze Julianne. Hailey finished up her description of the gown as if she knew it was the one and was trying to build excitement up for it – “A simple A-line wedding dress meets whimsical shimmering embellishments. And if the pretty-in-pink hologram sheath doesn't make you break into a smile, we don't know what will!”

  Every gown did look good on Julianne – she just had the perfect figure for modeling wedding gowns. But it was the third one that really seemed to make her shine. So with her job done, Harper put her pad and pen down, finished her third mimosa and sat back to relax. They didn’t have much time to talk in between gowns like she’d hoped. Every time Jules went to change, Angie came out to talk to them as a group about the gown and gave examples of helpful comments versus what they should all keep to themselves.

  God, she really wanted this woman to come to a family dinner with the Burkes!

  The most they’d managed to get out of Natalie was how Jayce was taking her for granted because he opted to watch some sort of game on TV instead of having a romantic dinner with her. And as sympathetic as Harper was, she had a feeling this may be a slight exaggeration on Natalie’s part. There had to be more to the story.

  Julianne had stepped down and went back to the dressing room to put her own clothes back on and they were all advised to come up with their favorite, which Harper had already done. Then when Julianne came out, they’d discuss all of the gowns.

  It was all very diplomatic.

  Julianne wasn’t going to say what her pick was until after they had all discussed each of the dresses individually. The theory behind this plan was so the group wasn’t swayed by what Julianne wanted. Hailey was confident that Julianne wouldn’t be swayed too much by the comments her friends and family made.

  Seemed like a great plan.

  And when Julianne came out and Hailey started directing the conversation – surprise, surprise – their mother was the most vocal.

  “The first dress was the one, Julianne,” she said. “It was the perfect princess gown and I can see you in a tiara and veil along with your grandmother’s pearl choker. You’re going to look beautiful in it!”

  But her sister had merely smiled and helped herself to a mimosa, listening as everyone explained their pros and cons for that particular gown. She caught Harper’s eye at one point and winked.

  She’s missed her all week and was so relieved that they were okay now and that she wasn’t missing this. Julianne wasn’t the kind of person who let anyone make her decisions for her. She rarely let anyone sway her decisions. But Harper had a feeling that if it came down to it and she wasn’t here and their mother was, their mother would almost bully Julianne into agreeing with her.

  Well not today!

  It wasn’t easy to contain her excitement when they discussed the third gown – the gown – but Harper liked to hold her cards close to her chest and not give anything away.

  Mainly because she knew if her mother even sniffed that this was the dress she was voting for, she would have done her best to shoot it down.

  On and on and on it went until they went through them all. Everyone was on their best behavior and part of her had hoped for at least some drama – other than her mother’s exuberant declaration over the first dress – and that Natalie would chime in with some wedding knowledge as “someone who was most recently a bride.” But she didn’t.

  And that’s when Harper really, really knew that something was wrong with her. Maybe it wasn’t just her exaggerating about Jayce choosing television over date night. And now she kind of felt bad for all the times she picked on her.

  And mocked her.

  And tripped her that one time at Zumba.

  Damn. Way to load up on guilt when she was feeling so good!

  “Julianne,” Hailey began, “we’ve gone through all of the gowns you tried on and you’ve heard what everyone here thinks. Do you feel like you found your gown today or do we need to keep looking?”

  “Oh, Lord…please let her have found her dress today!” their grandmother called out and everyone laughed.

  “I have to admit, I didn’t think it was going to happen today,” Julianne said. “I figured I’d come and try the gowns on and have to think about it a bunch before I knew what I wanted. But somehow, you managed to find my perfect gown!”

  They all cheered and Harper had to laugh as Kayla gripped her arm while waiting for Julianne’s decision. It was very un-Kayla-like and yet that only made it better. She squeezed her back as they leaned forward and waited for Julianne to say which one she picked.

  Not that Harper had any doubt in her mind.

  She just hoped she could refrain from jumping up and high-fiving her sister while shouting something like “In your face!” to their mother.

  That image almost made her laugh out loud.

  “For me, I knew as soon as I slipped it on and did that first turn in the dressing room,” Julianne went on. “It’s the third one with the illusion sleeves. It was just…it was so different and so unique that I immediately fell in love!”

  And then Harper did stand up and go over to hug her. She couldn’t help it. And when she felt the urge to turn and taunt their mom, she opted to squeeze her sister a little tighter instead.

  And that was just as satisfying.

  Five

  It was after two in the afternoon when the four of them were finally alone. And as anxious as Kayla was to share her tale of woe, she knew Natalie needed help more.

  Never let it be said that she kicked someone when they were down.

  They were all sitting around in Julianne’s living room. “So out with it, Nat,” Kayla said. “Start from the beginning.”

  “Wait, what’s going on? What’s Natalie starting from the beginning?” Julianne asked in confusion.

  Kayla gave the quick rundown of the situation and then motioned for Natalie to start. For fifteen minutes, she talked about how she had planned the perfect date night – dinner, music, lighting…right down to the sexy underwear and her plans f
or a night of lovemaking.

  Ugh…she was one of those…it’s sex. A night of sex. Why did people feel the need to make it sound more romantic than it was?

  “He asked me to make him a plate so he could watch the game in front of the TV!” Natalie cried. “I mean…there I was in a sexy dress and heels and the whole place set up like a damn scene from a romantic movie, and he wants dinner on a tray in the living room!”

  “So what did you say?” Julianne asked anxiously, as if this might be something that’s happened in her own relationship.

  Natalie sagged a little. “Nothing. I…made him the plate. I served it to him and I went and ate alone in the kitchen.”

  “Oh, Nat…” Julianne said as she walked over and sat beside her. She put her arm around Natalie and hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”

  “He even asked for the salt and I brought it to him. Like he couldn’t be bothered to get up and miss a second of his precious game, but he could miss out on time with me,” she said miserably. “I lost my appetite after that. And I went to bed and read for a while and when I finally looked at the clock, it was after midnight. I still don’t know what time Jayce came to bed, but he certainly made no effort to wake me up or apologize.”

  “Did you see him this morning before class?” Harper asked.

  She shook her head. “He likes to sleep in on Saturdays. And he knew I had all of this planned today and I wouldn’t see him until this afternoon.” She sighed. “I didn’t let him know we were coming here after lunch. I’ll bet he doesn’t even realize I’m not home yet or that I’m late.”

  “Maybe you should at least text him,” Julianne suggested.

  “Why? Seriously, why?” Natalie snapped. “It’s obvious that this is more of a one-way relationship. I do all the work – I take care of the house, I manage the bills and the banking, I cook, I walk the dog – and I have a job! You know what Jayce does? He has a job. That’s it. He does nothing else!”

  “I’m sure he does…” Julianne began but Natalie immediately cut her off.

  “No! He doesn’t! When we bought the house, I envisioned us working on it together –painting, hanging wallpaper, doing yard work, all of it. Do you know what we’ve done together? None of it. He hired landscapers and painters and I wallpapered alone.” She sighed. “He’s a spoiled brat. That’s what he is. And I have enabled him all along! He’s got three sisters and as the only boy in the family, he never had to do anything! And then I come along and just keep that dysfunctional dynamic going!”

  “Natalie…”

  “Does Gavin help you around the house?” she asked.

  Julianne nodded.

  “When you painted the dining room last month, did you hire painters?”

  Julianne shook her head.

  “And that beautiful vegetable garden you have in the yard. Who did that?”

  Kayla could see that Julianne felt uncomfortable with this line of questioning and decided to speak up.

  “Not all couples are alike, Natalie,” she said reasonably. “I mean, some guys just aren’t handy around the house. It’s not a crime.”

  Natalie looked at her for a moment as if she had forgotten Kayla was there. “Normally I would agree with that. But even those who aren’t handy at least make an effort. Jayce doesn’t. With anything.”

  “That’s not true,” Julianne said. “You’re always telling us how romantic he can be and how you guys go out all the time and he’ll surprise you with flowers or a weekend getaway…”

  “Oh, please. It’s nothing he has to even think about. His assistant can handle all of that for him and I know that she does!” Then she gasped as she realized what she just said. “I…I mean…”

  Kayla leaned forward in her seat. “How do you know that?”

  She looked like she was ready to cry. “Because she told me,” she said sadly. “I stopped by the office one day and she was sort of questioning me about what kind of things I liked and places I enjoy going and I thought it was odd. And when I said that to her and asked why she wanted to know, she said…it’s part of my job.” She paused and wiped away a stray tear. “And after that I noticed how I got all the things I had mentioned to her – the pink lilies…the Chanel perfume…the trip to Asheville…”

  “Jayce knows you like those things too, Nat,” Julianne said quietly. “You two dated long enough that he knows you.”

  Natalie shook her head. “If he walked in here right now and you asked him something about me – something about the things I liked – he’d have a hard time remembering them. He knows a few of them; don’t get me wrong, but for the most part he doesn’t pay attention. And now…now I feel like our marriage is failing.”

  “Oh, sweetie,” Julianne began, “it’s not failing. Marriage takes work and communication. If you don’t tell Jayce what you want and want you need from him, how is he going to know?”

  “By paying attention!” she cried.

  Kayla let out a mirthless laugh. “Natalie, men don’t pay attention. Trust me.”

  And that seemed to make Natalie straighten a little. “Oh, God. You were dealing with the same sort of thing this week and I just took over the whole conversation.” She covered her face and shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

  The last thing she wanted was to make Natalie more upset than she already was. “It’s okay, Natalie. Really. And besides, you seemed like you really needed to talk it out.”

  “But so do you! You were saying how Adam just…just dumped you…and that’s devastating!”

  “Wait, wait, wait…” Julianne said as she came to her feet and looked down at Kayla. “Adam broke things off with you? And you didn’t call me?”

  Okay, bad best friend move.

  “I…I didn’t know what to say. I mean it’s not like we had a real relationship…”

  “Are you an idiot?” Julianne accused. “Seriously, are you this stupid?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You totally had a real relationship,” Julianne stated firmly.

  Nervously, Kayla looked over at Harper and Natalie and found them nodding in agreement.

  “Um…no, we didn’t,” she argued. “It was a friends with benefits sort of thing.”

  “Kay,” Harper said and she could hear the caution in her voice, “you guys were more than that.”

  But Kayla didn’t believe her. “We really weren’t.”

  “Didn’t he used to take you away for surprise weekend getaways?” Harper asked.

  “He did, but…”

  “And remember the time he took you to see Maroon Five?” Natalie asked.

  “Everyone knows I love me some Adam Levine. He just happened to get some tickets.”

  “That show sold out in twenty minutes, Kayla,” Julianne said with exasperation. “He didn’t just happen to get them. Anyone who got tickets to that show worked to get their tickets.”

  With a loud sigh, Kayla stood up and walked around the back of the sofa and started to pace. “Those are all things friends would do for each other,” she argued. “Remember the time I rented that beach house for us? Or the time Harper stayed home from work all day to get us tickets to see Billy Joel? It’s the same thing.”

  But when she looked at her friends, they were all shaking their heads in disbelief.

  “It’s not?” she asked weakly.

  “Didn’t you two ever talk about your feelings?” Natalie asked. “Didn’t you ever wonder where the relationship was going?”

  Before she could answer, Julianne did it for her. “She’s not like that. And for what it’s worth, I can see why you and Adam…worked. You’re both busy and career-oriented and the personal side of the relationship was just a natural thing because of the time you were already spending together.”

  Kayla thought about the first time she and Adam kissed.

  They were in Ireland for a photo shoot on castle ruins. They had visited about a dozen different sites and she had been so overwhelmed by it all – the beauty of the count
ryside, the history of the castles – that she kissed him as a way of thanking him for the assignment. Her plan had been to just give him a kiss on the cheek, but he turned his head and she touched her lips to his and…she was lost.

  They went back to their hotel and to Adam’s room and didn’t come out for two days.

  It was quite the ending to her first European trip.

  As hard as it may be for some people to believe, they never talked about what they were doing…they just…were.

  They had reasons to talk because of assignments and then they’d make plans to see each other but it always seemed so casual, like when she and the girls got together. They hung out, watched movies, had amazing conversations and just had fun.

  And the sex? Well, that was a perk.

  A really great and satisfying perk.

  “I think she’s starting to understand,” Harper whispered and both Julianne and Natalie nodded in agreement.

  “So…so now what do I do?” Kayla asked.

  “That depends,” Julianne began, but rather than continue, she walked into the kitchen and came back a minute later with a bottle of wine and four glasses.

  “On what?” Kayla snapped as the wine was poured.

  Julianne handed out the glasses and sat back down and patted the sofa cushion next to her. When Kayla reluctantly sat down, she continued.

  “It depends on what you want from the relationship. It seems to me that Adam – in a really vague way – was telling you that he was kind of tired of this casual relationship and saw something more for the two of you. And then you, being you, totally missed that cue and blabbered on about your career.”

  Kayla huffed. “In my defense, it was presented like a work question. I didn’t think he was referring to my personal life!”

  “Maybe if you had been paying attention to Adam lately, you would have noticed,” Julianne said patiently.

  “Um…” Harper raised her hand. “You can’t really say that.”

  “Why not?”