Sister of the Bride (Fool's Gold #2.5)
Susan Mallery
One
"Katie, honey, you need a date for your sister's wedding."
"I had a date, Mom. He's marrying the bride."
"All right, fine. Your sister stole your boyfriend," Janis McCormick said with a sigh. "And it was wrong. But that was nearly a year ago. It's water under the bridge. They're getting married. The whole family is flying in and we have two hundred other guests. We're going to have a long weekend of all kinds of events and, trust me, you'll feel better if you have a date. The extended family will torture you if you don't, and that will make us both crazy." Her mother finally paused for a breath. "For me, Katie? Please?"
At times like this Katie really hated the whole concept of growing up and acting mature. There were situations where a good temper tantrum seemed like the exactly right solution to a problem. Like this one. But she'd never been into drama--that was her sister's thing. And it was difficult to refuse her mother. Mostly because Janis didn't ask for very much. She was one of those warm, loving parents who worried and slipped Katie an extra fifty dollars every time they had lunch, despite the fact that Katie had been on her own since college and had a great job that she adored.
"Mom," she said, "I love you. You know that."
"Don't say 'but.' I'm on the edge as it is. Your sister is driving me nuts. I didn't have to start coloring my hair until she got engaged. I swear, the second she brought over bride magazines and started talking tulle, I began going gray."
Katie leaned forward in the booth of the restaurant. She and her mother were having a quick lunch to talk about the latest changes Courtney had made to her wedding. The fact that it was only two weeks away didn't seem to worry Courtney.
Nor had stealing Katie's boyfriend.
She wasn't going to be bitter, Katie reminded herself. She was going to rise above petty emotion. Courtney was her sister and the sisterly bond was powerful and lasting. And if Courtney woke up with a zit the size of Cleveland on her wedding day, well, that would be fun, too.
Katie cleared her throat. "However, as much as I would love to bring a guy to the wedding festivities, there isn't anyone. We're talking Fool's Gold. You know there aren't a lot of single guys hanging around. I can't come up with anyone I would trust to pretend to be involved with me."
"Are you telling me you haven't dated since you and Alex broke up?"
Technically, they hadn't broken up. Katie had brought Alex home for one of their usual Sunday-night dinners with Katie's parents. Something she and Alex had been doing regularly for months. The only thing that had been different about that night was the feeling Katie had that Alex was going to pop the question. Mostly because she'd accidentally found a receipt for a diamond ring in his coat pocket when he'd loaned it to her at a football game.
Katie hadn't been sure Alex was the guy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, but she'd figured being unsure was normal. After all, how could anyone know any particular guy was the one? Only, he hadn't proposed. Their friendly dinner had been interrupted by Courtney's unexpected arrival. Alex and Courtney had taken one look at each other and Katie had ceased to exist.
"Katie?" her mother asked. "You're not seeing anyone?"
"No. I've been busy with work and not in the mood."
Her mother sighed. "It's four days of family and stress. I know I don't want to have to field questions about your lack of love life and you have to want it even less. You have to bring a man."
"Sorry, no."
"What about Howie?"
Dear God, no.
Katie thought about banging her head against the table, because honestly, the pain would be less. "Mom, no."
"Why not? He's smart and rich and very funny."
And his name was Howie. He was the son of her mother's best friend. The two women had been doing their best to fix up their kids for years. Katie had resisted with all her might. The last time she'd seen Howie, he and his mom had been visiting Fool's Gold. He'd been maybe sixteen and smart enough that he was already in college. Tall, skinny, with too-short pants, thick black-rimmed glasses and a way of peering at her as if she were an uninteresting form of bug. They'd had nothing to say to each other.
"Most of the time I'm willing to take one for the team. But I'm not interested in Howie," she said firmly. "I'd rather deal with the awkward questions." No one was desperate enough for Howie--certainly not her.
"Katie, don't make me use my bad-mom voice."
Katie smiled. "Mom, I'm twenty-seven. The bad-mom voice doesn't work on me."
"Want to bet?" Her mother sighed again. Worry darkened her eyes. "Please? I'll beg. Do you want that? I'm desperate. I want you to have a good time." She paused. "Well, as good a time as you can have at this. And I don't want you to worry about what everyone else might be thinking. It's four days. You'll barely have to see each other."
It was four days trapped in a hotel with her family at the top of a mountain. Where was she supposed to go to avoid them--and Howie?
"He's doing some big project at work," her mother added. "I'm sure he'll be busy most of the time."