One of the Guys (27 page)

           
And then, without even realizing
what had happened, Lucy and Jackson were kissing and, just like that, their
wedding ceremony was over. They were officially husband and wife. Kate clapped
and cheered with everyone as the music started up again and Jackson and Lucy
strolled through the crowd and back towards the house. Maggie took Jamie’s arm
and followed them. Then Kate and Kevin linked arms and trailed along behind
them. “You held it together like a champ up there,” he said.

           
Kate grinned at him. “I was trying
so hard not to cry.”

           
“Me too.
I
didn’t want my mascara to run,” he joked.

           
“That’s why you should wear
waterproof,” she said, squeezing his arm and giggling.

           
Chris gathered the bridal party
together and took a massive amount of photos. The group posed in every possible
combination on the beach near the water, in the sand, on the steps going up to
the back deck, and on the stairs inside the house. When Chris finally announced
that he’d gotten a sufficient amount of pictures, Lucy and Jackson threw their
hands up in celebration and started circulating through the house, hugging
people and thanking them for coming.

           
Kate helped herself to a glass of
champagne and stood back to admire the party. Aside from the massive wedding
cake on the dining room table and the bottles of champagne on the kitchen
island, it looked like it could be a regular party at Lucy and Jackson’s. Because
the ceremony was going to be so short, they insisted on keeping the party
casual and comfortable for their guests. Coolers were stocked with ice, beer,
and sodas. The kitchen counters were covered with platters of homemade fried
chicken, three different kinds of pasta, salads, sandwiches, and a variety of
cookies, brownies, and sweets. Rather than hire a DJ, Jackson had his iPod
hooked up to the stereo outside and people were already beginning to dance on
the deck.

           
“Excuse me. You’re Kate, right?”

           
Kate turned to see who was
addressing her. She was startled to see Max’s girlfriend, the tall, gorgeous
blonde from Lucy and Jackson’s engagement party. “Yes, I’m Kate.”

           
“I’m Max’s girlfriend, Candy.”
 
Kate batted her eyelashes, not believing what
she’d just heard.
Candy?
 
There are really people named Candy?
 
“I can’t believe we haven’t met
yet!”
 
She reached out her hand and Kate
shook it.

           
“It’s nice to meet you,” Kate said,
attempting to sound sincere.

           
“What a great wedding. This is
exactly how I’d do it someday,” Candy said.

           
Again, Kate couldn’t believe what
she’d just heard. This girl’s 21
^st
birthday gala looked like
something you’d see on MTV. “Lucy said that she wanted a very simple wedding.”

           
“But it was perfect!
 
So small, so intimate.
But still so much fun!”
 
Kate had to nod in agreement. That was what
she and Lucy had been going for. “Anyway,” Candy said. “The reason why I wanted
to talk to you was because I can’t believe that I still haven’t gotten to meet
one of Max’s best friends. He told me that you always used to hang out and play
poker with them. I haven’t been invited over there on poker night, but I also have
no idea how to play.”

           
Kate took a sip of her champagne,
wondering where Candy was headed with this conversation. “Those guys take their
poker game pretty seriously.”

           
“That’s what I figured,” she said. “That’s
why I was thinking that maybe you, Lucy, and I could get together some Saturday
night. You know, while the guys are playing poker.”

           
“That sounds like a good idea,” Kate
said. “Get my number off of Max and we’ll set it up,” she said. “If you’ll
excuse me, I want to talk to the photographer and make sure he gets some
pictures of Lucy and Jackson with their grandparents.”

           
“Oh, sure.
We’ll
chat later!”

           
Kate slipped away from Candy. Once
she was a safe distance away, she rolled her eyes.

           
“I saw that,” Kevin said, coming up
next to her.

           
“She’s very… friendly.”

           
“She’s not so bad, actually. It’s
Danielle who’s kind of a snob.”

           
“Danielle?”

           
“Chris’s
girlfriend.
She’s really short.
Long dark hair.”

           
Kate nodded, vaguely remembering her
from the New Year’s Eve party. “Thanks for the tip.”
 
She and Kevin split up and Kate moved through
the crowd, searching for Chris. She spotted him, taking pictures of Lucy and
Jackson’s parents sitting together in the living room. “Hey,” she said. “I just
wanted to remind you to get some pictures of the grandparents.”

           
“Already did.”

           
“Great. Thanks,” Kate replied.
Turning to leave, she bumped into Bridget, her fellow bridesmaid.

           
“You know, I was telling Lucy last
night that you two need to come visit me in Miami sometime. Either that, or I
need to make it up here more often,” Bridget said, linking her arm with Kate’s.

           
“I’d like that,” Kate said. She’d
only hung out with Bridget on a few occasions, but they always got along really
well and there was never any of that third-wheel awkwardness that sometimes
came along with having a mutual friend. “Lucy would like that, too!”

           
“I’d just have to ditch the kids,”
Bridget said. “Speaking of which… I left them at home this weekend. Want to do shots
with me?”

           
Kate threw her head back and laughed.
“Why not?”

           
“Go get the bride and meet me at the
booze,” she said.

           
Kate squeezed through the crowd to
where Lucy was standing talking to a group of teachers that she worked with. “Excuse
me,” she said politely. “The presence of the bride is requested at the
bar.”
 
She took Lucy by the hand and
pulled her out onto the deck where Bridget was standing in front of a table
littered with various bottles of alcohol, shaking a cocktail shaker.

           
Bridget expertly poured the mixture
into the line of shot glasses that she had arranged on the table. The three
girls raised their shot glasses in a toast, tipped their heads back, and drank.
Kate had no idea what was in it, but the shot was fruity and delicious. Bridget
refilled their shot glasses and they did it again. Kate wiped her mouth and
giggled. Just inside the door, she caught sight of her parents. Her mom waved
at her, but her dad was busy talking… to Kevin.

           
She put her shot glass down and
slipped over to where her parents and Kevin were standing. “Hi,” she said.

           
“Hi, baby. We were just talking to
your friend Kevin here. He was telling us what a good poker player you are,”
her dad said.

           
“Really?”
 
Kate raised her eyebrows.

           
“Yeah, I was actually just telling
your dad that we’re all kind of relieved that you don’t come by anymore. It
kind of gives the rest of us a chance to win every now and then,” he winked at
her and she knew that he was teasing her.

           
“Kevin invited your dad to play with
the boys some Saturday night,” her mom smiled. “Isn’t that nice?”

           
Kate’s eyes widened. Kevin grinned
at her and then turned back to her dad. “The invitation’s open any time,” he
said.

           
“I appreciate that,” Kate’s dad
replied. “But I haven’t played poker in ages.”

           
“Then maybe you can join us for
karaoke some evening,” Kevin said, giving Kate’s mom an exaggerated wink. Kate
rolled her eyes and lightly swatted Kevin’s arm before drifting back into the
kitchen in search of something to snack on.

           
She walked up to a massive tray of
cookies and debated on what to take. “The chocolate cookies with the caramel
drizzle are really good,” a girl said, clutching a handful of said cookies in a
napkin.

           
“Don’t mind if I do,” Kate said,
reaching for one. She smiled at the girl and realized that she was Chris’s
girlfriend. She popped the cookie in her mouth and smiled. “Are you Danielle?”
she asked.

           
She nodded in surprise. “Yes. You’re…?”

           
Kate finished chewing her cookie and
swallowed. “I’m Kate. I’m a friend of Chris’s.”

           
“Oh!” Danielle exclaimed. “It’s nice
to meet you!”

           
“Nice to meet you, too,” Kate said.

           
“Chris says you play poker with the
guys.”

           
“I used to,” Kate corrected. “That
got kind of old after awhile.”

           
“I’ve asked Chris if I could go with
him a couple times, but he says I won’t take the game seriously enough,”
Danielle said, almost pouting.

           
“Well, those guys definitely take it
seriously,” Kate agreed. Danielle didn’t look like the type of girl who would
enjoy sitting around drinking beer, playing poker, and listening to the guys’
conversation all night long.

           
“Yeah…” Danielle said quietly,
nibbling at a cookie.

           
“Yeah,” Kate repeated, looking her
over. Jackson and Kevin had both said that Danielle was a pain in the ass, but
she didn’t seem all that bad. She was just a little quiet, that was all.

           
“Hi, Danielle!”
Lucy said, coming up and flinging her arm around Kate’s shoulders.

           
“Congratulations!” Danielle said. “You
look beautiful.”

           
“Thanks,” Lucy said. “You guys have
been introduced, right?”
 
Kate and
Danielle nodded. “Good. Because I was thinking, we really should get together
more often. Us girls, I mean.”

           
“I’d love that,” Danielle said.

           
“Sure,” Kate said.

           
“Awesome!” Lucy cried.

           
“Smile, ladies!”
Chris said, strolling up to them and raising the camera to his face. Lucy
pulled Danielle in close and the three girls posed for a few pictures. Chris
bent and planted a kiss on the top of Danielle’s head before going off to take
more pictures.

           
“So, yeah.
We
should definitely do something,” Lucy said, trying to resume the conversation.

           
“We should do some more shots!”
Bridget said, approaching them with a plate laden with shot glasses.

           
“Did I hear someone say ‘shots’?”
Candy asked, squeezing into the small group that was forming.

           
“Help yourself, ladies!” Bridget
said, holding out the shots.

           
“To Lucy!”
Kate cried.

           
“To Lucy!” everyone echoed, raising
their glasses and touching them together. They took their shots and replaced
the empty glasses on Bridget’s plate. Bridget disappeared back into the crowd.

           
“I hope she doesn’t make more,” Lucy
giggled. “I’d like to actually remember my wedding.”

           
“It was a great wedding,” Candy
gushed. “And this is a great party!”

           
“Thanks,” Lucy beamed. “Candy, have
you met Danielle?”
 
The two girls smiled
at each other and shook hands. “I was just saying that we should all get
together sometime. You’re welcome to join us.”

           
“That would be fabulous!” Candy said,
flashing them all a smile. “I would love to do ladies’ night sometime.”

           
“We’ll definitely have to plan
something soon!” Lucy said. Suddenly, she spotted a guest in the crowd that she
hadn’t spoken to yet and excused herself, leaving Kate with Candy and Danielle.

           
“So, what do you guys do?” she
asked, reaching for another cookie.