Page 4 of Merciless Monster

“Hi, Mia. How are you, my love?”

“A little tired from the trip, but excited,” I say, kissing Gina’s mom on the cheek.

“When did you get here?”

“Two days ago. It’s good to be back home.”

“Do you miss it?”

“I do. But I get itchy feet. I’m already looking forward to my next trip abroad.”

Gina’s mom is a doctor. She travels all over the place, working with doctors without borders. She gave up her practice after Gina’s father passed. She’s a lovely person. I could talk to her for hours.

“You must be so excited to see Gina walking down the aisle.”

“I am. I just wish her father could be here to see his baby getting married.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright. Thank you for being such a good friend to my Gina.”

“Are you kidding? She is like the sister I never had.”

“We love you, sweet girl. Come on. I could eat a horse on toast. Let’s go rummage through the pots.”

* * *

“Good morning, you beautiful human. Are you ready to get hitched?”

“Oh, absolutely. How did you sleep, M?”

“Like a baby. You?”

“Good, considering it was my last night as a free woman.”

“Oh, stop it. You can’t wait to be Mrs. Barlow.”

“Mrs. Gina Barlow. Can you bloody believe it?”

“Come on. Let’s get your warpaint on so we can hand you over to your groom.”

“You owe me, you know.”

“Yes, and I will be eternally grateful that you’re not making me wear an awful bridesmaid dress. I’ll try and return the favor one day when I get married.”

“You’d better. I was really into those poofy purple dresses with the serious shoulder pads until you squealed.”

“Sure you were. How’s Jeff?”

“He’d still be drunk off his ass if my brothers had their way. I dragged him off to bed at midnight. He clearly doesn’t have the legs for our locally brewed tipple. I must say, though, that his Italian gets better the more he drinks.”

I laugh hysterically at the mental image of Bridezilla Gina dragging Jeff off to bed. I’m sorry I missed it.

“What time are we leaving?” I ask as we head down to breakfast.

“Noon.”

“Are you nervous?”

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