Page 63 of Resisting You
"Yeah," I said. "Somehowthey must have found out that we're having a wedding."
"We invited them!" Francesca said, beaming at me.
Confused, I looked back and forth from Francesca to Kristen, who was smugly crossing her arms. I'd been so sure it'd been my publicist. Why the hell did Rosa's mother invite my cast mates from New York? "Youinvited them?"
"Mama!" Rosa gasped. "Why would you do that without talking to us first?"
"I thought it would be a nice surprise."
Rosa's jaw twitched. "You're all about the surprises this week, aren't you?"
But Francesca was having none of her sass. She arched a thin, dark eyebrow at her daughter and said, "You really want to talk about surprises? Try having your only daughter elope without even telling you."
My mom cleared her throat. "Noah, why don't you invite them to join us? We're just about finished up and I need to run in a few minutes anyway."
I shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know if that's a good idea..."
But before I could protest further, Kristen had already stood up as well. "Francesca and I should really get back to the bridal boutique, too. We can pull a few more dresses for you to try on while you two finish up here."
Rosa cleared her throat. "Oh, Noah and I have a lot to do, too. We'll come too?—"
"Nonsense," Francesca said, standing and tossing her cloth napkin onto her barely nibbled salad plate. "I'll go invite them over on our way out," she said brightly. "You really should integrate yourself into your husband's friend group."
I wanted to sink into the floor as Kristen and Francesca breezed over to their table. I saw her gesture animatedly as she spoke to them, no doubt enthusing about how they simply must join us. A few moments later, the entire group rose from their seats, gathering their things. Francesca led them triumphantly back to our table.
My mom smiled graciously, gathering her purse and kissing me on the cheek. "You two have fun and we'll catch up soon."
Rosa stood, giving my mom a huge hug. It wasn't lost on me that my mom received a warmer goodbye than her own parents did as they all sauntered out the door, waving goodbye to all of us.
As my colleagues crammed into the spaces around our table, pulling up extra chairs, I cringed internally. And the only friend in this group I even wanted to be here was pushed to the other end of the table.
Even though Rosa and I were finished eating, this was going to be the longest damn lunch of my life.
Morgan slid into the seat my mom had left vacant and gave Rosa a snake-like grin. "Well, isn't this cozy?"
Rosa shifted a little in her seat, giving me a nervous smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Beneath the table, I took her hand and gave it a squeeze. I didn't exactly know what I could do to reassure her that everything was going to be okay when I wasn't exactly comfortable with the situation either.
I was never the best version of myself in front of my fellow actors. My closest friend on the show was Gavin, but after Morgan and I broke up, even he and I had drifted apart.
"Our boy is getting married!" my costar, Daniel said. He leaned over the table, giving me a dramatic kiss on the forehead.
"Yeah, yeah, alright. Come on, it's not that big of a deal." I muttered, wiping off his kiss.
"Really? Not that big of a deal?" Rosa repeated, quietly.
On the other side of me, Morgan snorted a laugh. "Well,Icould have told you that."
"That's not what I meant," I tried to clarify, rubbing my fingers against the burgeoning headache pulsing behind my eyes. But before I could explain further, Daniel raised his hand in the air, calling over our server. "Two bottles of Veuve Clicquot, please!"
The waitress shifted uneasily on her feet and glanced at me. "Um... we only have LaMarca."
Heat rushed to my face. I wasn't exactly ashamed of my roots. But my quaint small town wasn't ready for the likes of celebrities. I was trying to protect Maple Grove more than I was trying to posture in front of my fellow actors.
"LaMarca would be great," I said, offering her a small smile.
"LaMarca?" Gavin's face twisted. "Isn't that the shit they sell at Target?"
Morgan waved a pale pink manicured hand in the air. "How would I know?"
