Page 144 of Forever

“Ruin it?” Rob shook his head. “I’m making it a night to remember. Rehearsal dinners are always overshadowed and forgotten. But no one’s going to forget this shit.” He giggled. “So. Much. Pudding.”

“I still have nightmares from the last time,” I said. “I don’t want nightmares about my rehearsal dinner.”

“But Matt’s not going to be mad about this one. So it’s cool.”

“It’s like you don’t know Matt at all.” I stared at him.

James laughed. “She’s right. You know he has a terrible temper. And Tanner is one of his best friends.”

“But not his best. That’s me. This ends tonight.”

“Rob…”

“Sanders.” He put his hands on my shoulders. “We’re all haunted by what happened 16 years ago. This will erase all that with a good memory. I’m doing this for you. For all of us.”

It was sweet. In a weird way. “Wouldn’t my rehearsal dinner just being a rehearsal dinner erase all that hurt?”

Rob shook his head. “Didn’t you hear what I said about rehearsal dinners always being forgotten? This will make it unforgettable. Shit, Matt’s coming back over. Everyone be cool!” He tapped James’ chest with the back of his hand even though James was just standing there. “Not a word about this, Sanders. It has to be a surprise. And if you say anything, you’ll just owe me another favor. And I’ll cash in tomorrow instead.”

Good God.The only thing worse than today was tomorrow. “I hate you.”

“Love you too,” Rob said.

James shook his head. “This is a really bad idea, Rob. Just call it off.”

“It is a great idea, you’re right.”

Was Rob hard of hearing or something? Or did he just refuse to listen to reason?

“Here you go,” Matt said and handed me my glass of ginger ale. “What were you guys talking about? It looked like a very heated discussion.” He smiled, not at all aware that Rob was turning our rehearsal dinner into a shit show. Almost literally.

“Just reminiscing over the good old days,” Rob said.

Definitely not.We were reminiscing over one of the worst days of my life. We were supposed to be erasing all that today and tomorrow. That was the reason we’d chosen the day after Thanksgiving for our wedding. And Rob was just bringing it all back up.

“You look a little pale, baby.” Matt whispered. “Are you feeling alright?”

I felt like I was going to be sick to my stomach. But not because of morning sickness. I looked over at Rob.

He pretended to zip his mouth shut and then threw away the key. Which made no sense.

But I did believe his threat. If I didn’t let him do this tonight, he’d just do it tomorrow. And Rob was not going to ruin my wedding day. And I honestly kind of understood where he was coming from. Emphasis onkind of. I wanted to erase all the hurt, just like he’d said. But did he really have to make me promise not to tell Matt? I didn’t want to keep secrets from him. I’d learned my lesson the last time.

I cleared my throat. “Everything is great,” I said.

Rob smiled. “Yeah it is. And about to be better.”

“You know what I love?” I said. “Telling people stuff. Being open and honest. Best friends shouldn’t have secrets.”

“I agree,” Rob said. But didn’t offer any more information.

Robert Hunter was going to be the death of me.

A waiter walked up holding a tray of hors d’oeuvres.

I went to grab one.

“No thanks,” Rob said and grabbed my hand and lowered it. “We’re saving our appetite for the main course.” He leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Remember last time when people started throwing up? It’s better if our stomachs are empty so we don’t embarrass ourselves.”

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