For the Love of Friends(58)

In other news, the queen of the evil bridesmaids snapped at other bridesmaids in an email! I felt a small amount of sympathy, but was mostly shoveling popcorn in my mouth while I watched all the drama. She then, of course, came after me, but could there be a rebellion brewing amongst the wicked bridesmaids? I’m twisting my hair into Princess Leia buns just thinking about the idea.

May the bridesmaid force be with you!

Alex texted me just after I hit “Publish,” with a picture of him holding two ties up to his neck. Which one?

The blue. Better with your eyes.

Does it go with what you’re wearing? He had a benefit for work that night and I had agreed to go as his date.

I made a face. You were married too long. We’re not framing pictures from tonight to put on the mantle.

Good point.

I still need to do my hair, so I’m gonna go shower. I’ll see you at six.

He sent a thumbs-up emoji.



“You look beautiful,” Alex said when he picked me up. I twirled for full effect. It was the only event all year where I could wear a cocktail dress of my own choosing, even if it was a few years old. And, though I would never admit it to Caroline, with the Spanx that Caryn had guilt-tripped me into buying, I felt really good in it. Was the underwear remotely sexy? No. But it wasn’t like my dress was coming off until I was alone, so who cared?

I straightened his tie. “You clean up well too.” He wore a suit to work every day, but this was a nicer one. His hair was freshly trimmed, and he had shaved off the little bit of stubble he usually kept, the aftershave smell lingering alluringly.

“Shall we?” he asked, offering his arm. I took it and we went to the car.

The benefit was at the same hotel where Sharon was getting married. I had originally suggested Metroing so we could drink, but Alex said he wasn’t having more than a drink or two at a work event. Mildly shamed, I agreed to stick to that plan as well.

“Just don’t get engagement-party drunk and you’re fine,” he said. I elbowed him playfully. His face grew more serious. “Are you ready for everyone to assume we’re together?”

“Does it help you career-wise if I say we are?”

“It’s not the fifties. They know I’m divorced. They’re just going to make assumptions when they see us.”

“In that case, let’s tell everyone I’m your sister and then make out all night.”

“Oh okay, good, that’ll go over well.” I laughed. “Don’t be too much of a jerk please,” he said.

“I’ll be like Goldilocks. Just right.”

He brushed a hair off my forehead. “She was breaking and entering. It was the baby bear whose stuff was just right.”

“I said what I said.”



After the dinner part of the evening ended, I turned to Alex and said, “Thirty-six.”

“Thirty-six what?”

“Thirty-six people asked how long we’ve been dating.”

“And what did you say the latter thirty-five times to that?” He knew me well.

“That we’ve been together since high school, and I was really upset when you and my sister wife split up so we’re looking for someone new to add to our marriage.”

He covered his eyes with a hand. “Seriously?”

I rolled my eyes. “No. I said a few months to everyone.”

“Excellent. Want to keep up the lie and dance?” I looked to the dance floor, where about a dozen couples were dancing, and made a face. “Come on,” he said. “It’s good practice for Tim and Megan’s wedding.”

I agreed and followed him out to the floor. “It’s weird,” I said, as we swayed to the music. “I’ve never once referred to them as ‘Tim and Megan.’ It’s ‘Megan and Tim’ to me. Is it always like that with the person you knew first?”

He thought for a minute. “I think so.”

“What happens if you’ve known both people an equal length of time?”

“Maybe that’s when they get one of those celeb nicknames like Brangelina.”

“I guess. So we’d be Lily and Alex to my friends and Alex and Lily to yours?”

“And Ally to the people who knew us the same amount of time. Or Lilex.”

I laughed. “Lilex sounds like a knockoff watch brand. Ally it is.”

We danced without talking for a couple of minutes. I was glad he would be at Megan’s wedding with me. Going completely dateless to four of them was going to be rough. And I thought, for the millionth time, about lying to my family and saying Alex was my boyfriend.

The idea had some appeal to it. It would mean having a date to Jake’s and Amy’s weddings and being an awkward single only at Caryn’s and Sharon’s. Yeah, we would get asked when we were getting married, but we could play along with that. Help getting my grandma to Mexico would be useful as well. She was a handful.

I pulled back slightly to look at him. There was no denying that he was handsome. I mean, he wasn’t a Hemsworth, but who, other than the Hemsworths, was? He was already the first person I texted most mornings and the last person I texted at night. Did it have to be fake? What would it be like to kiss him?

He caught me looking at him. “What are you thinking?” he asked warily.