Page 2 of Should've Been Us
No more denial. No more lies. She was done. Just as soon as she made it through this wedding she was done with Derek Harper.Done.
But until that time, she was still his best friend so of course she had given in and joined the wedding party. She’d boarded the plane and ordered a drink. Somewhere over south Texas, she’d ordered another. By the time the plane landed in Mexico, her credit card had taken a hit and her pockets were filled with tiny bottles of mind-numbing medication. Unfortunately, drunk at thirty thousand feet didn’t translate to drunk at sea level, a tragedy that she had to overcome as soon as possible because the festivities were set to begin at anymoment.
“How generously?” Howie, her new best pal, was leaning over the bar with a teasingsmile.
“Very,” she pointed a perfectly manicured nail at him. “I’ll give you a crisp, cool hundred at the end of the night, in addition to my tab, if you keep this drink filled.Comprende?”
“Si, Senorita.” He noddedenthusiastically.
“If it ever runs dry, I’m deducting from thehundred.”
He nodded his understanding as he topped her off, “You want to talk aboutit?”
“Trust me, it’ll all explain itself when the shriekingbegins.”
Howie looked mildly amused by her comment but moved down the bar to assist another customer. He thought she was being sarcastic. She wasn’t. He’d understand exactly why she needed a drink when Aubrey and her giggling girl gang arrived with all of their high-pitched squealing and shriekinglaughter.
Lulu played nice with the girls, for Derek’s sake, but she wasn’t friends with any of them. Aubrey included. Derek’s fiancé had made it clear from the beginning that she didn’t approve of Lulu’s close relationship to her man. She’d tried pulling them apart. Tried pushing them apart. She’d wedged herself between them but Derek had always been strong enough not to give in. He’d refused to let the woman wipe away what he had with Lulu but she knew, she just knew, that once those rings were on their fingers and Derek was officially a husband, Aubrey’s husband, all of that wouldchange.
She couldn’t even blame Aubrey. Not really. Not when it must have been obvious that Lulu was in love with Derek. Well, obvious to everyone but him. Aubrey would force him to cut the cord either through manipulation or cold hard honesty and eventually she wouldn’t even have to try to keep them apart. Derek would have a life and a family with Aubrey and no more free time to spend withLulu.
Her role in the wedding was Derek’s last attempt to bring the two women in his life together but it wasn’t going to work. Aubrey didn’t want to be friends with her and that was fine. Lulu didn’t mind. She wasn’t aching to form a connection with the woman Derek was marryingeither.
It wasn’t that she hated Aubrey. She didn’t. Well, except on principle alone. She sometimes wished the woman had never come to Fate to visit her cousin. What should have been a week long vacation had turned into a month and then the summer and then a year after she’d been introduced to Derek. She’d stayed in Texas to be with him, which seemed sweet and romantic but in Lulu’s biased opinion, was purescheming.
Lulu knew that Aubrey wasn’t what Derek needed in a wife. She was high maintenance. Her family was well off and she made it a point to let everyone know it. Her father was a politician back in Montana where she came from. Her mother was the sweet, stay at home party planner and socialite. And Lulu would bet every spare penny in her bank account that within a few years Aubrey would suggest she and Derek move north, so she could be near her folks, and then, after that she would probably push him to become Congressman Derek Harper or something equallyridiculous.
Lulu had never told anyone her thoughts on the matter though. Derek only would have rolled his eyes at her and told her she was being ludicrous. And maybe she was but that wasn’t the point. Friends or not, it was Aubrey he loved and if she wanted to move back to Montana then Derek would make it happen for her. Lulu didn’t doubt that for asecond.
Just like she didn’t doubt getting out of Texas was Aubrey’s ultimate plan. The woman had done a damn good job of convincing everyone she loved their small hometown. So much so that people had been shocked when she chose to have the wedding at a resort in Mexico instead of in the small Baptist church in Fate. But Lulu hadn’t beensurprised.
Not by the wedding location. Not by the extravagant weeklong activities list. Not even by the fancyresort.
Aubrey had gone all out to wow her guests but all Lulu was impressed by was the extensive selection of high-end alcohol behind thebar.
She checked the clock on the wall. The bridal party was due to arrive at any moment. She’d arrived early. She’d dropped her bags in her cabana and then, after raiding the mini-bar and finding it seriously lacking, she’d headed straight to the bar. Actually, she’d been pleased to note the resort Aubrey had chosen featured several bars spread throughout the grounds. It had taken her some time to locate the one where the mandatory meet-and-greet was being held but she’d still beat the others which gave her time to make her deal with thebartender.
A mandatory meet-and-greet, otherwise known as the first excuse of many for the wedding party to get drunk and hit on eachother.
Lulu was so not in the mood as she took another long drink from her glass and fanned herself with the invitation she’d brought with her to find the bar on the huge resort grounds. In addition to the mandatory meet-and-greet, the invitation also included highlights such as couples yoga class, dance lessons and sandcastle building. She planned to bail on at least two of those three things and figured she’d leave it up to her hangover to decide on thethird.
She was here but not even Derek could force her to play the role of peppy Best Woman for five straight days. Not sober at least. She took a nice long sip of her new drink and enjoyed the tickle in her throat as it went down. A half dozen more and she might be able to make it through the next few hoursalone.
Alone. That was the word to define her life these days. Alone, alone, alone. Even when she was surrounded by people, she was all alone. Which she supposed she should get used to considering that’s what her life was going to be from here onout.
That dark thought had her nearly emptying the glass. Luckily, Howie her new best friend was there to help her out. He switched her empty glass for a full one with a wink and a smile. She appreciated the drink but the flirting, not so much. She should have made that part of thedeal.
She was in no mood for flirting. She didn’t even want to watch her friends flirt with each other and god help anyone who set their sights on her. She knew there would be hook-ups at this wedding. There were too many young, attractive, single people in this magical Mexican paradise setting for it not to happen. But she wanted no part ofit.
Her heart was still mourning Derek. Even if he didn’t know it. Even if he was marrying someone else. She feared that despite all of her common sense and pep talks, she would mourn the loss of him forever. She’d end up the old maid alone with a house full of cats talking to them about the good old days when the beautiful boy down the street had been hereverything.
Lulu took another drink and prayed the numbness set in soon. She needed it. She needed to stop thinking these ridiculous thoughts. She needed to get over her obsession with Derek because wanting what she could never have wasn’t love. It was idiocy. Lunacy. And she didn’t want to end up in a room with padded walls wearing a straight jacket as a fashionaccessory.
“You should probably slow down there, dollface.” A deep voice slid over her, down her spine and made her shudder. With revulsion, she told herself. It was definitely revulsion. “Wouldn’t want to get drunk and admit you’re in love with the groom, wouldya?”
The taunt sent a red-hot surge of anger boiling beneath her skin, turning her cheeks pink and the ice in her veins to lava as she spun to face the man intruding on her pity party. She felt a little light headed when she noticed how close he was standing but she attributed that to the alcohol in her bloodstream. It only pissed her off more that it proved he was right. She needed to slow down on the drinks or risk making a scene before the bridal party evenarrived.
God, she hated when he wasright.
