Under the Same Stars(32)

“We were just goofing around,” I mumbled, the bridal salon’s lights suddenly seeming ten times brighter.

Reese shook her head. “It looked pretty candid to me.”

I rolled my eyes. Ever since I’d debriefed the bridesmaids on the Davis disaster, they’d been on a quest for my next suitor. Reese, surprisingly, had taken me ditching her cousin in stride. It sounds like you handled it with major badassery, she said. You go, girl.

“I think Connor should be your next date,” Yasmin declared. “I know you say you don’t feel that way—”

“But friends-to-lovers…” Paige said. “It’s a fan-favorite book trope for a reason!”

I sighed as Courtney also sighed, but for entirely different reasons. “I’ve always preferred enemies-to-lovers,” she said. “The bicker, the banter, the bicker, the banter…the sexual tension almost sizzles on the page.”

“You know, I’m not a big reader,” I said casually, then rose from my seat. I was finished with this conversation.

Or maybe I wanted to continue it with someone else.

“Hey, what’s up?” Samira answered on the second ring, after I’d locked myself in the bathroom. “I’m walking Arthur and Francine on the canal.”

“The bridesmaids think I should go out with Connor!” I blurted. “How absurd is that?”

The line was silent, so silent that I felt my cheeks warm. “I don’t know…” Samira eventually said. “Absurd wouldn’t be the word I’d use.”

Me either, I thought. But it would’ve happened by now if we were fated, right?

I swallowed. “Samira, Connor is my best friend.”

“Exactly,” she said. “It could be nice to be with your best friend. The person you never stop laughing with, the person who always has your back, the person who knows you inside and out.” She paused, then said: “Isn’t he your favorite person?”

Goose bumps bloomed on my arms. Favorite person was the Austin Fisher-Michaels equivalent of soulmate. He liked to say he had his people, but only one of us was his favorite.

What happened? I suddenly wanted to ask Samira. Why is Katie his favorite and not you?

“Mads?” Her voice was now breathy. It sounded like the dogs were now taking her for a walk. “You still there?”

“Yeah, but I should go,” I whispered. “We still have more dresses to try.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll see you at home.”

“Uh-huh.” I nodded. “See you at home.”

***

Connor and Mads, I thought once Samira and I hung up. Mads and Connor.

I admit, there had always been a part of me that wondered what it’d be like if Connor and I were more than friends—and it was growing harder to ignore. Sometimes, when we watched movies in the McCallisters’ basement, sprawled out together and sharing a blanket, I would think, Kiss me.

And I don’t think it was because he was right there and I wanted to cross my first kiss off my list. If I wanted to get it over and done with, I suspected it was because he was right there and he was Connor.

Ugh.

I walked aimlessly along dress racks, stuck in my head until hushed voices stopped me in my tracks. A conversation was happening just around the corner, in a smaller room (how big was this bridal place?). “I know Mom wants them to be uniform,” I heard Katie say. “No mix and matching. Same color, same style, stuck in the same century as those invitations she suggested.”

“Don’t worry about Mom,” Amanda told her. “I’ll have her obsessed with Lily Hopper’s portfolio by dinnertime.”

“Oh, you work wonders, Ms. Gallant,” a third voice said, one that sounded a lot like Meredith. I peeked around the corner to see that the Gallant sisters were indeed huddled together and holding up Katie’s phone. “Because those mockups your mom sent you were an absolute snoozefest.”

Amanda snorted. “Go ahead, Meredith. Tell us how you really feel.”

“Reese asked if Austin and I’ve even chosen a color scheme,” Katie rambled, like she was nervous. “I feel like everyone secretly thinks I have no clue what I’m doing.”

“Well of course you have no clue what you’re doing,” Meredith said. “It’s a wedding, Katie, and as far as I know, you have no prior experience in planning one.”

The sisters laughed. “Neither do you,” Katie quipped. “You eloped.”

“Yes, but I still had to pick a time, place, and a white dress,” she protested. “That has to count for something!”

The three of them giggled for a few seconds before Katie brought things back to the bridesmaid dresses. “Would it be terrible if we left today without making a decision?”

“No,” Meredith said. “Because you already made your decision by sending Amanda and me all those links to various Anthropologie gowns.”

“I agree,” Amanda said when Katie was quiet. “I mean, you literally assigned one to each person.”

I did my best to translate Katie’s mumble. “I know, but they’re just so…”

“Unique,” Meredith said. “They’re fun, Katie. Just like you.”

Katie? I thought. Fun?