The Mistake (Bad Bridesmaids #1) - Noelle Adams Page 0,4

blond hair and blue eyes as her daughters. She’d always taken great pride in her appearance. Her designer shoes and diamond jewelry were perfectly chosen, her wine-colored gown sleek and immaculate. “Can’t you do something?”

Blinking, Amanda mentally culled through possible sources of complaint. “Do something about what?”

“The servers are slacking. Our glasses have been empty for more than five minutes now.”

“They’re doing a good job overall. You can’t expect two servers to be omnipresent.” Amanda was used to this attitude. Her mother didn’t have a bad heart, and she did love her husband and daughters, but she was spoiled and entitled and generally expected the world to cater to her every need.

It was a frustrating characteristic in a parent, and it had been making Amanda’s life miserable for the past month as she’d organized a somewhat extravagant wedding for her sister in very little time.

“Well, they need to do a little better than this. Can you talk to them please?”

“Yes. Of course I will. Why don’t you try to relax and get off your feet? I’m sure you must be exhausted after working so hard to pull this wedding off.” Amanda’s words were strategic rather than genuine. The only work her mother had put into this event was constant nagging about ridiculous details. Amanda had done all the work on top of her full-time job as a marketing executive for a Richmond-based retail company.

“Yes. Thank you, dear. I think I will. I’ve been worn down to the bone this month. It’s been so hard.” Her mother’s eyelashes had gotten extra help from extensions today. She batted her thick, darkened lashes with exaggerated aggrievement.

“I know it has. Go on and sit down. I’ll talk to the servers and make sure you get some more champagne.”

Amanda had no intention of berating the servers, who were by any reasonable expectations doing an excellent job. She did walk over and speak to one, thanking the woman for their help and chatting for long enough to convince her mother of a substantive lecture. Then she took a bottle of champagne over to her mother’s table and filled their glasses herself.

She’d learned a long time ago that if she wanted to avoid a public scene, the best option was to cater to her mother’s pettiness. She only ever challenged it in private.

And she definitely wasn’t going to let their mom ruin her sister’s wedding. Stacey was happy right now, and she would stay that way if Amanda had anything to do with it.

Since she had about a quarter of the champagne left in the bottle, she wandered over to the next table to see if anyone else needed a top off. She grinned at Taylor, who was scowling down at her phone with a malevolent expression that was typical of her.

“It’s a wedding,” Amanda said, filling her friend’s half-empty glass. “Can’t you smile or chat or dance or something?”

Taylor’s gorgeous dark eyes widened in horror. “Dance? You think there’s any world in existence where I’d be likely to dance?”

Amanda laughed and glanced over at the man next to Taylor. Robert Castleman. He’d moved from the wall to the table and was watching her with a silently amused tilt to his lips. He’d been drinking scotch, but there was a half-empty champagne flute in front of him, so she topped it off as she replied to Taylor. “Not really. But a smile wouldn’t kill you, would it?”

“I hate weddings.”

“Yes. You hate weddings. And dressing up. And being friendly. And social events of any kind. I suppose we should be grateful you even managed to drag yourself here today.”

“You should definitely be grateful. I could be home with a book and a cup of tea and my dog right now, so I hope you appreciate the sacrifice.” Taylor was tall, slim, and gorgeous with sleek dark hair and perfect skin, but she never spent any time on her appearance. If she weren’t so oblivious to her beauty, it would be hard not to be jealous.

But Taylor sincerely cared nothing for how she looked. She was unrepentantly antisocial. She liked being by herself, and she hated getting stuck in a crowd. But her pose of resentment was mostly put on. Amanda could see a glint of humor in her eyes behind the scowl.

So she laughed again. “Your sacrifice is noted and appreciated.” She intended to move on after that, but instead her gaze landed once again on Robert. She wasn’t sure why she lingered, but she did. “I’m glad