You May Kiss the Bridesmaid - Camilla Isley Page 0,36
semicircle at the end of the patio, and each has its dedicated cook. Baskets of French fries are being brought outside from the indoor kitchen. A server with a round, heavy-looking tray offers me a basket, and I gladly take it.
Biting down on a fry, I search the crowd for Archie. Same as I used to do back in high school when I had a secret crush on David Montgomery and spent every minute searching the halls, cafeteria, and any other common space for him. Just seeing David would mark whether my day had been a great one or a complete waste of time. If we crossed ways in the halls, I’d get butterflies. If I sat at a table next to him in the cafeteria and was able to overhear some of his conversations with his friends, I’d become so ecstatic I wouldn’t touch any food.
Sadly, David and I never kissed. Heck, he never even talked to me. David was a senior, and I was a freshman; he graduated the next year and disappeared from my life forever. But tonight, not only will I get to talk to my crush, and to kiss him as many times as I want, we’ll touch all the bases. I only have to be patient. My toes curl in anticipation. Archie and I haven’t been naked together since yesterday afternoon; more than a day, and definitely too long.
I keep scanning the crowd, but no sign of the best man. Instead, I spot my sister and Logan seated at one of the round tables, plates loaded with food already in front of them. Shortly afterward, Lana and Tucker also join them. My best bet is to sit with them and hope Archie will do the same, just like at breakfast, recreating the unofficial wedding party table. A perfect way for Archie and me to have dinner together without being conspicuous.
As I navigate the mass of guests cramming the patio, I’m a lot calmer than I would have been a few days ago. I’ve apologized to Daria, and even if my words fell on deaf ears, I unloaded a huge weight from my chest. I also don’t care as much as I used to about what people think of me. The Mistake, if nothing else, has forced me to take a hard look at my life. I thought I had a solid circle of friends, but when it all came tumbling down, only two people were left by my side: Winter and, ironically enough, Lana—the person who should’ve thrown me to the wolves and was the first to forgive me instead.
I grab a cold beer from an ice bucket and join my sister’s table.
“Hey,” I say. “The grill smells amazing. What are you guys having?”
Chewing down a bite of hamburger, my sister says, “I’m having everything. The ribs are divine, and this hamburger is unbelievable.” Winter licks a bit of BBQ sauce off her fingers and promptly takes another enormous chomp.
I smile to myself. I love that my sister is not one of those brides obsessed about being a size zero, and that she hasn’t lost her appetite because of the upcoming nuptials. Plus, the cheeses and cold cuts we had for lunch at the ranch, while tasteful and curated, lacked in quantity.
Famished, I move to the back of the line for the grills and grab an empty plate from the stash near the first station, my stomach grumbling in anticipation. I load my plate with a bit of everything and turn, ready to go back to the table.
That’s when I see him.
Archie is standing on the threshold, between the big French doors leading outside from within the hotel. The patio is three steps down from those doors, granting me an unobstructed view of Archie in his raised position. He’s looking chill in a short-sleeved button-down shirt in a plaid print and beige cargo shorts.
Honestly, he’s just missing a shark-teeth necklace to be the perfect Surfer Boy, another great fantasy of mine. I add the image to my mental catalog of his outfits, undecided on what guise is my favorite. Probably still the one that doesn’t require any clothes.
His eyes search the crowd, moving over the heads of the people assembled below until they finally come to rest on me. When he spots me, his entire face brightens up in an open smile, and my empty stomach has its usual reaction and promptly explodes with butterflies, making those I used to experience for David Montgomery