“You and Tony? That’s f**king hilarious,” Juls says and continues cutting up her chicken. “And even if you were, he has no right to act like that.”

“I know,” I agree loudly and get quickly shushed. “Acting all holier than thou. I’m sure he waited a whole five seconds before he threw another girl into his bed after I left it.” I shove a piece of chicken in my mouth and start chewing as Brooke leans across Joey’s lap.

“I heard him tell you that you looked beautiful. That was really sweet,” she whispers and earns herself the evil eye from all three of us.

“Shut up, Brooke,” we all say in unison as we continue eating our meals. I don’t look down the table again for the rest of the night and keep my conversations with anyone other than Juls and Joey to a minimum. This evening has been exhausting and I’m emotionally drained and unsure how the hell I’m going to handle tomorrow. I’m reassured that I’ll only really have to deal with Reese during the ceremony and that once we’re at the reception, I can stay as far away from him as I’d like. But it’s the mere fact that we’ll once again be at a wedding together, where this whole f**ked up situation started that is going to have me in knots. I need to focus on making sure that everything runs smoothly for Juls so that’s what I’ll do. It’s my job as her maid of honor and it will keep my mind off unwanted memories of falling into laps and bathroom sex romps. Speaking of bathrooms, I plan on avoiding the ones tomorrow at all costs.

Twenty Three

Juls and Ian’s big day has finally arrived and miraculously, everything is running smoothly. I got up early and delivered the cake with Joey to the reception hall before we headed over to the bridal suite where we are all currently getting ready. Juls is glowing, Joey is routinely sneaking out to get a peek at the men who are dressing at the other end of the church and Brooke is completely sober and has her wits about her. After slipping into my stunning chocolate brown floor length strapless dress, I help Juls into hers along with her mother.

“Oh, sweetheart. This dress,” Mrs. Wicks says, tears filling her freshly painted eyes as I try to hold mine back. My makeup is looking pristine and fabulous and I have no desire to ruin it with unwanted tears. We finish buttoning her up and step back. She’s stunning, absolutely gorgeous in her wedding gown and I bite my lip to hold my emotions in.

“Damn, Juls. I have money on Ian losing his mind when he sees you at the end of the aisle,” Brooke says as she smooth’s out her dress. Joey comes bustling back into the suite and drops his jaw on the floor.

“Holy f**k. You look amazing.”

“Joseph! You’re in a church,” Mrs. Wicks sternly informs him, both hands flying up to her hips. “Easy on the language today please. And that goes for all four of you. Especially you, Dylan.” She flicks her daggers at me.

“Me? Please, I’m such a lady.” I shrug and catch a wink from Juls in the mirror as the suite door swings open again, this time revealing a very handsome and slightly nervous looking Mr. Wicks.

“Oh my. Darling, you look so beautiful.” He moves and stands in front of Juls, grabbing both of her hands in his and pulling her off her stool. “That’s it, weddings off. You’re too pretty for that man.”

“Daddy,” she says through a huge smile and he softens in front of her. I move up to the mirror and take a good look at myself as they exchange a private father-daughter moment, Joey joining me at my side. My hair is pinned up into an elegant twist; a few pieces pulled out and tucked behind my ears that are adorned with the amber stud earrings Juls gifted us with this morning. My makeup is sophisticated but subtle, a light dusting of rose lip gloss that I’m somehow managing to pull off without looking like I belong on a street corner, and my dress is perfect, hugging me across my chest and showing a classy amount of cle**age if there ever was such a thing. I feel Joey’s hand on my lower back.

“Look at us. We almost look too good for this wedding. I’m afraid we might just upstage the bride,” he whispers as we both glance over at Juls who is hugging her father.

“Not a chance,” I say and he nods in agreement. Mr. Wicks backs away from his daughter and turns towards all of us.

“It’s time people. Let’s move this along before I lock my daughter in this room and refuse to let Ian have her.” We all giggle at his comment, hearing the hint of seriousness in his tone as we file out of the bridal suite and down the back staircase that leads towards a hidden area where we’re supposed to line up. I haven’t seen the inside of the church since we arrived here hours ago and I’m a bit nervous at the number of people in attendance who will be watching me walk up the aisle. My heels are insanely high, dark brown sling backs that I’ve scuffed the bottoms of to prevent any major slip up. But I’m still nervous about walking in them. Karma could easily give me a right shove in the back and send me falling flat on my face given the amount of hate she’s shown me lately. All this animosity. And for what? Because I fell in love with a man that only cared about f**king me? Nice Karma. Way to stick with your fellow woman.

We line up in order behind the double mahogany doors and wait patiently for them to open, the soft sound of violins streaming through the air. Another decision on Ian’s part. The man apparently loves classical music. I clutch my beautiful bouquet in my hands, grateful to have something to hold on to as the doors slowly open in front of Brooke. My view is blocked entirely by Joey’s massive frame but I feel him, I always feel him. And I know that as soon as I start walking, my eyes are going to lock on to his and I’m going to give into it. Whatever. I just have one more day to endure and then I can go back to my shitty life. I turn around and spot Juls who is smiling at me, eyes gleaming and hand tightly looped through her father’s arm. I give her a quick wink before I turn slowly and step forward, seeing Joey make his way towards the middle pews. It’s now my cue to start walking, but I can’t. My eyes have locked on to the most glorious sight I’ve ever seen and he’s standing, waiting for me at the front of the altar in a tux. Holy f**king shit.