Page 78 of Heartstrings & Horizons
I can’t help but smile.
“They were texting and FaceTiming at all hours for months. More than once I walked in after a night out and she was fast asleep with her phone propped up, Cade snoring on the other end of the line. It was disgustingly adorable.” The room fills with a synchronized “aww” from Cara and Ivy.
“Ok ok, I think they get the idea. But I stand by what I said. It was too complicated to jump in headfirst.”
“Says the girl who proposed.”
That has Ivy spitting out her drink and Cara bursting into a fit of giggles. I’m fairly certain the latter already got a cliff notes version of the story from Dean.
“In my defense, I was having a rough week, and he was saying all the right things.”
“Like what?” Ivy props her chin on her hands, listening intently.
“Ok, so first you need to understand that I have a history of depression and I was really going through it.” I inhale a steadying breath. Listening intently, a wash of empathy takes over their faces. “I spent the entire week rotting in bed which gave me a lot of time to think, and I realized I was having very unfriendly feelings for Cade even though we had an unspoken friendship agreement. I tried to pull away from him before I could get in too deep but this one,” I say, pointing to Mags, “interfered not once but twice.” I hold up two fingers to emphasize my point.
“I’m not even sorry, bitch.” Mags raises her wineglass in a silent toast to herself. “You’re welcome”
“Anyway… Cade called, and I realized I wasn’t doing either of us any favors by pulling away from our friendship. We talked through some of my abandonment issues and then he said the magic fucking words.In another life, one where you weren’t a world away, you’d be mine.”
“So you said?” Cara is utterly enthralled.
“Marry me.” I say, matter of factly.
“And then what?”
“Aaaand then he said yes. We tried to get Mags and Dean to talk us out of it. Instead, they shoved us off the cliff, and then we did some mutual masturbation over FaceTime.” I speak that last part into my wineglass trying to stifle the words, but they caught it, and you could almost hear the record scratch.
“Why didn’t you lead with that? Details, Paige!” Not even Mags knew about our extracurricular activities – until now.
“Suffice it to say, he likes to take control and I like to give it up. We’re a perfect match.”
“Oh shit, bossy Cade. That’s hot,” Ivy says.
“I fucking knew he’d be a ‘talk you through it’ kind of guy. Get it, girl!” Mags extends her hand for a high five, and I reciprocate.
“It’s sweltering in here all of a sudden.” Cara says. Ivy fans herself, and Mags is smiling behind her wine glass.
It feels so good to have a group of girlfriends to gossip with. In high school, I had my little group, but it wasn’t anything like this.
Cade and I texted on and off throughout the night, and it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time — I almost don’t want it to end. Eventually, Ivy helps us prepare the sleeper sofa and we all settle in for the night.
Mags
“Rise and Shine, sleepyhead, " I poke at my bestie on the sleeper sofa. “Time to get the bride ready for her big day.” She’s still half asleep, and I don’t think she’s really taking in the words that are coming out of my mouth. A look of confusion washes over her face.
“Come again?”
“I said, ‘Time to get the bride ready for her big day’.”
“Yeah, no, I heard what you said. I’m just confused. What bride?”
“You, babe. We have a lot to do so quit stalling and get your fine ass out of bed.”
She’s still not sure what the fuck is happening but she does as instructed, and before she can even register what’s going on around her, we’ve all loaded into Ivy’s SUV and we’re pulling up to the cabin where a multitude of people are milling about. There’s a delivery van unloading what looks like a bunch of flowers, while 2 people are balancing a large cake as they ascend the porch steps.
She has a panicked expression on her face, and Ivy doesn’t miss a beat. She turns and takes Paige’s hands in hers.
“Paige, look at me.” Paige’s face snaps to Ivy’s as she continues to speak. “Cade planned this whole day to show you how much he loves you, so we’re going to take you to the guest room where the makeup artist and hair stylist are waiting for us.” She says it nonchalantly, as if it’s a foregone conclusion and Paige is utterly speechless.
