Chocolate for Two (30 page)

Lauren Flaig, out of nearly two dozen people I’d interviewed, was the only one who seemed truly happy with her professional life.

Was that because she was running her own business?

Or was it because running her own business was a choice of her own making, and
that
was what made her happy?

I sighed.

I’d gone to my office to figure out what I wanted, but now I was more confused than ever.

I don’t want to give this up.

But I know I can’t do everything.

I know Eunice isn’t the perfect fit.

But she can do the job.

And I have to do something.

I closed my eyes.

I
have
to do something.

It’s time for me to take control of my destiny.

I kept my eyes closed for a few moments, then stood up and walked across the still-undecorated office to the window. I gazed across the East River toward Manhattan, then to the bridges on my left and to my right. Dumbo offers a rare close-up view of both the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, two formidable structures that allow for quick travel between the two boroughs in a way that hadn’t been possible before, all because someone had thought of a better…solution.

Then I thought about something Jake had said about Paige’s decision to move to Tennessee. I’d wondered aloud if she was giving up too much, and he’d disagreed. “She’s compromising, not sacrificing,” he’d said to me. “There’s a difference.”

As usual, he was right, because even though she was leaving New York, Paige was happier than I’d ever seen her.

I closed my eyes.

Jake was saying healthy relationships are about compromise, not sacrifice. Just like Davey and Paige have been telling me I can’t live my life for other people.

Compromise, not sacrifice.

Compromise, not sacrifice.

They’d been talking about personal relationships, but the more I thought about their words, the more I realized they could apply to more than just that. They could also apply to how I’d been—

I interrupted my own thoughts with a new one.

Oh my God.

I know what to do now.

About everything.

I hurried back to the conference table and reached for my purse.

I had a few phone calls to make, and each one was going to begin the same way.

Hi, it’s Waverly. I really need to talk to you.

I looked in the full-length mirror and adjusted my dress.

Then I leaned in close to inspect my hair and makeup, my fingers gently rolling over the strand of pearls draped around my neck.

Then I tried to convince myself this was really happening.

This is it.

I’m really getting married.

To Jake.

I took a deep breath.

I turned around and held my arms out to the side. Andie was sitting on the couch, playing Angry Birds on her phone.

“Well?” I held out my arms.

She looked up and smiled. “Wow, you look beautiful.”

“Really?”

She nodded and stood up. “Prettier than I’ve ever seen you. Now let’s get a move on, or we’re going to be even later than we already are.”

“Are you ready?”

I smiled and nodded. “Very.”

“I’m
so
happy for you, Waverly.”

I felt my eyes well up with tears. “Thanks, Mackie. I’m so happy for me too,” I whispered.

“You look stunning, by the way. I just love your dress. It’s so
you
.”

I put my fingers on the spaghetti straps and looked down at the plain ivory bodice that flowed in a slight A-line cut to about an inch above the knee. “Thanks. I know it’s simple, but simple just feels…
right
, you know?”

She squeezed my shoulder. “Waverly, everything about you and Jake feels simple and right, just the way it should.”

I leaned over and hugged her as much as I could, given how enormous her belly was becoming. “Thanks so much for coming. I know traveling is a huge pain right now.”

“I wouldn’t have missed this. Plus this way the baby can say he was at Auntie Waverly’s wedding.”

“He?” I raised my eyebrows.

She laughed. “Or she.”

“Okay, just checking.”

Just then Andie walked over and handed me my bouquet. “Okay, women, enough hugging, it’s showtime.” I could hear the soft harp music in the distance.

McKenna put her hand on my shoulder. “Are you ready?”

I nodded. “More ready than I’ve ever been.”

Andie clapped her hands together. “Chop chop. Let’s get this show on the road. You’ve got a couple of anxious men waiting for you, starting with that handsome one right there.” She gestured toward my dad, who was quietly standing a respectful distance away. He knew how important it was that I have this moment with my best friends.

I swallowed and nodded again. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s do this.” Then I looked at my dad and waved him over. “Mr. Bryson, you ready too?”

“Baby, you just say the word.” He walked over and held out the crook of his arm, a grin on his face that bordered on silly.
Is he really that happy for me?
My dad was hardly the emotional type, and I was touched to see him this way.

McKenna and Andie walked away, leaving the two of us standing there on the grass.

“I’m just overjoyed for you, baby,” he said. “You look beautiful.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Dad. And thanks for going along with this. I know it’s a bit…well…a bit unusual.”

He shook his head. “Not at all. I get to walk my daughter down the aisle
twice
. What father wouldn’t want to do that?”

“I think the better question is probably,
What father would?
”

He laughed. “I guess it depends on how you look at it.”

I smoothed my hair with my hand. “And I apologize for the short notice. I just knew if we waited any longer, it would be way too cold to do this outside.” It was already chilly, but for once I didn’t care.

“Not to worry. So are you ready?”

I smiled. “Yes, I’m ready.”

My bouquet in one hand, the other wrapped around my dad’s arm, we slowly walked across the grass, my low heels squishing into the soil. I could hear the music grow louder as we approached the secluded area where Jake had proposed to me. As we rounded a big tree, I squeezed my bouquet and lifted it to my face.

I closed my eyes to breathe in the fragrance of the flowers.

Casablancas.

Celebration
.

Then I opened my eyes and saw him.

He was standing about twenty feet away, staring at the ground, his hands clasped behind his back. Next to him was Nick, who
through the magical powers of the Internet had recently become an “ordained minister” to perform the ceremony.

When I saw them together like that, the full force of what I was about to do hit me. I caught my breath and froze.

I can’t believe this is finally happening.

I can’t believe this is real.

I can’t believe how happy I am.

As if reading my mind, Jake looked up and smiled at me. As soon as we made eye contact, everyone and everything around me disappeared, and my anxiety melted away. I knew Andie and McKenna were there, and Jake’s parents, and Betty, but I couldn’t see anyone but Jake. I could feel myself holding onto my dad’s arm, but I could no longer see him either. I didn’t even hear the music of the harpist just a few feet away.

I kept my eyes firmly locked on Jake, who was all that mattered.

I hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and prepared to take my first step down the aisle.

My first step toward my future as a married woman.

I was just about to move when Jake mouthed the words
I love you.

And everything was right.

I smiled at him and tried to lift my foot.

Only I couldn’t.

Because my heel was stuck in a soft patch of soil.

“Are you
kidding
me?” I looked down at the ground, then held on to my dad’s arm and yanked my leg up.

The heel came free, unleashing a swirl of grassy dirt with it, and everyone laughed. Even Jake’s mom. She hadn’t been thrilled when we’d told her about our plan to have two weddings, but in the end she’d come around, especially after I told her I’d have
the second wedding in a church—officiated by Father McMillan. With Jake at my side I’d finally stood up to her, but with respect for her feelings, and she’d responded in kind. I gently touched the pearl necklace and smiled. Jake and his dad had been right all along. She could be a handful, but her heart was in the right place. His siblings were completely on board but were following McKenna’s lead and planned to attend just one event, families in tow.

“You okay, baby?” my dad asked.

I laughed too, then stood up straight and smoothed my hair with my hand. “I’m fine. Now let’s do this.”

Then I walked down the aisle, where Jake McIntyre was waiting to become my husband.

“Here’s to the married couple.” Andie held up her glass for a champagne toast. It was about thirty minutes later, and the entire wedding group, all nine of us, were at the picturesque Central Park Boathouse to celebrate.

I held a finger up to my lips and laughed. “Shhh, that’s a secret until after the eighteenth of February.”

Jake, Andie, McKenna, Nick, and I were sitting in the lounge area, sharing a bottle of champagne. My dad and Betty were outside, admiring the scenery and chatting with Jake’s parents.

“What if one of your fans spotted you and already posted something on Twitter?” Andie said. “Then the jig would be up.”

I briefly panicked and looked around the room. “Oh Jesus, do you really think that could happen?”

McKenna laughed. “Waverly, please. First of all, that’s highly unlikely. And even if it did happen, do you really think any of
Jake’s mom’s friends are following the Twitter feeds of random housewives from Nebraska?”

“Good point,” I said

“So why all the secrecy, anyway?” Nick handed me a fresh glass of champagne. “If you wanted a small wedding, why didn’t you just have a small wedding?”

I took a sip and smiled at him. “Thank you. And if you hadn’t noticed, I
did
just have a small wedding.”

He gave me a look. “Given that you’re
also
having a monster of a wedding in February, I believe you are missing the point of my question.”

I looked at Jake and spoke with my eyes.
Help
.

“We decided this was a good compromise,” he said. “A way for Waverly to be in two places at once, if you will.”

I nodded. “Compromise, not sacrifice. That’s our motto.”

Andie shrugged and drank some champagne. “I don’t like to compromise. I like getting what I want. Always.”

I smiled. “And somehow, you always do.”

Nick put his arm around her and smiled proudly. “Damned straight she does. She got
me
, didn’t she?”

My smile turned into a laugh. “Yes, she did, and she’s a lucky girl for it.” Nick and Andie weren’t engaged, but they were still together, which was good enough for me.

“Have you ever noticed that I love you?” I said to Nick.

Andie rolled her eyes. “Don’t encourage him. So we really have to go through another wedding in February? The whole nine yards?”

I nodded. “You, yes. Mackie, no. She gets a pass.”

McKenna smiled at Andie and put her hands on her bulbous stomach. “I’ll be thinking of you in your floor-length, navy-blue bridesmaid dress. I hear it’s just gorgeous.”

“I hate you,” Andie said. “Do you know how much gaudy gold jewelry is going to be on display that weekend? God knows how much alcohol I’m going to consume to get me through the spectacle.” Then she looked at Jake. “No offense, of course. Nothing against you and your people.”

Jake laughed and raised his hands. “None taken. I know it’s going to be a scene.”

I leaned over and kissed Jake on the cheek. “I’m actually looking forward to it. Now that I have all I really wanted, which was to marry this amazing man in front of my closest friends, I can relax and enjoy a big fancy party at a gorgeous hotel. What’s not to like?”