Page 3 of Clumsy in Love

“Thanks, Mom,” Juliet said. “Hollyisalways hungry.”

“Ha. Ha,” Holly said, pulling off the foil to reveal chicken Alfredo in one tray and lasagna in another. The tomato-y, cheesy smell hit hard, and her mouth watered. “Hand me a bloody fork. Now.”

Juliet laughed. “See.”

Mrs. Walker unloaded her arms too, setting down plates, napkins, a basket of rolls, and two bottles of wine. “Sorry, there’s no ice cream, dear,” she said to Holly with a sympathetic smile.

After the moms left, Holly and her friends quickly changed their clothes and dug in.

“Did you see how your mom looked at me?” Holly asked Tess around a mouthful of pasta. “I’m gonna get that from everyone in town. The poor Bennett girl abandoned at the altar. No one wants her. What a loser.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Alex said. “Rick’s the one losing.”

“Agreed,” Maddie said. “And the whole town knows it.”

“It’ll blow over in no time,” Faith consoled.

“Can I say something?” Juliet said.

“Since when does anyone ask permission to talk?” Alex said, splitting a roll and dipping half in her sauce.

Juliet still paused before continuing, then turned to Holly. “It’s just…you don’t seem that upset.”

Holly took a deep breath and sighed. In the five minutes she’d had to process the news, she found she wasn’t terribly devastated. Maybe she was still in shock, but maybe Rick had seen something she’d been in denial about.

“Honestly?” Holly said.

Five sets of eyebrows lifted, all saying, “Duh.”

“I was two minutes away from crawling out the window and bolting too. I thought it was just cold feet. Pre-wedding jitters, you know? But now, I have to admit, Rick might have saved me from making a huge mistake.”

“But you guys were so perfect together,” Juliet said.

“Maybe,” Holly said. “I’ll have to overthink it before I know for sure.” There were a lot of feelings to unpack, but that was something she’d do later. And alone.

“I think you were perfecton paper,” Alex said. “You have the same job, same hobbies, stuff like that. But when you get down to it. Was there a spark? Passion? I’d-gouge-my-eyes-out-rather-than-lose-you vibes?”

They’d been around Rick enough to know that Alex had a point. He was a good friend and coworker, but their relationship had been missingsomething.

“What am I going to say to him? I have to work with him every day,” Holly lamented.

“I tried to warn you…” Faith said. “You’re a Gemini. He’s a Pisces. It was doomed from the start.”

“Not now, Faith,” Juliet said.

“Right.” Faith saluted and made a zipping motion across her lips. “Another time.”

“It’s fine,” Holly said, waving a hand and dripping red sauce on her leg. “Oh, come on, Bennett.”

“I see you haven’t gotten any more graceful since I’ve been away.” Maddie laughed.

“It was only a matter of time,” Alex said, handing Holly a napkin.

“Good thing you took your dress off,” Juliet said.

“Thank goodness for that.” Holly’s wedding gown lay in a heap by the door. “That’s five hundred dollars that’ll never see the light of day.”

“We should’ve stuck to basketball,” Tess said. “Cuz we’re oh for three on marriages.”

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