into his suit jacket. He looked good, happy. And the surprise of the century, it had snowed two days ago, and it had stuck to the ground. That rarely happened at this time of year. It had to be a sign of good things to come.
“Are you sure Anna has everything ready?”
“Positive. She’s been running around all morning to make sure everything is perfect.”
“It would have been perfect if the whole damn town wasn’t showing up,” he muttered.
“Yeah,” I chuckled, gripping his shoulder. “I can’t say I’m sorry about that. It’s what we do to each other.”
He rolled his eyes at me. “You mean it’s what you guys do to me. I haven’t done any shit like that.”
“Give it time,” I chuckled. “I’ll be expecting payback for my tricks.”
“You know what? It doesn’t matter. I’m marrying Kat today and nothing can ruin this day.”
“Not even John’s chili?” I grinned.
He adjusted his tie in the mirror and smoothed down his suit, then turned to me. “If I play my cards right, we’ll be gone before the chili is served. Then you can deal with it,” he said, slapping me on the shoulder and heading for the bedroom door.
I laughed, pulling out my phone as it buzzed in my pocket. We only had ten minutes until the ceremony started. Who the hell would be calling me now? I checked the caller ID and almost sent it to voicemail. It was Rebecca. Sighing, I answered the call.
“Rebecca, how are you?”
“I’m great, but I hope you don’t mind.”
“Mind what?”
“I’m coming to your wedding. I had to get away from my husband and this was a great excuse. I’m in town. I just need directions to your brother’s house.”
My eyes widened and my heart thudded out of control. This was so bad. I ran out of the room, searching for Eric.
“Uh…you just want to take Main Street out of town and take the third left, then follow that to the stop sign and take a right.” I spotted Eric and waved him down. He looked at me funny, but came over. “And then follow that for two and a half miles. The house is on the right side of the road. It’s a two story house. You’ll see all the cars out front.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you soon. Oh, and don’t tell Anna I’m coming. I want to surprise her.”
“Uh…right. Sure, no problem.”
I hung up and grabbed Eric’s arm. “Give me your suit.”
“What?”
“I need your suit!”
“Why would you need my suit?”
“Because I’m hijacking your wedding.”
I started dragging him down the hall, but then remembered that I had to tell Anna. Fuck, this was terrible.
“I have to find Anna. Rebecca is on her way here. She thinks we’re getting married today.”
“Why is she coming?”
“I don’t have time to explain. You get undressed and I’ll find Anna. Rebecca’s already in town.”
I took off toward the front door. “Wait! Robert, you can’t just marry Anna!”
I didn’t listen as I raced out the door and found Anna getting guests settled. I raced up to her and started pulling her away. “We have to get you changed.”
“Why?”
“Rebecca’s on her way. We’re getting married.”
“What?” she asked, pulling her arm from my grasp. “Robert, you’re being crazy. We’re not getting married. The minister is marrying Eric and Kat. The guests know about the wedding. This is insane.”
“You’re right.”
I ran up the aisle that ended under the large tree and shouted out to get everyone’s attention. They all turned quiet and looked at me. “Uh…slight change of plans. Kat and Eric aren’t getting married today. I’ve asked Anna to marry me and we don’t want to wait another minute. So, today you’ll be watching us get married instead. No questions please. Oh, and pretend like you already knew we were getting married.”
The minister gave me a funny look and I pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills. “I know we don’t have a license. Just go with this and there will be a hefty donation in your office tomorrow.”
He grinned and took the money, slipping it into his robe pockets. I snatched Anna’s hand and raced toward the house, just slipping inside as I saw Rebecca’s car pulling in the driveway.
“Robert, we can’t pull this off. She’s going to know this isn’t real.”
“We have to make her believe it.”
“I don’t even have a dress!”
“You’re about the same size as Kat.”
“You want me to wear her wedding dress?” she screeched. “The wedding dress that she chose for herself? Do you know how mean that