Page 39 of Amelia and Her Prince Charming
A blue jay flitted to land on the balcony railing. It seemed almost unaware of me, but I held my breath as it fluffed its feathers. Finally, it spotted me and cocked its head and then took off into the trees.
Love you, Shiloh.
I went back inside to join the party.
Chapter 23
Amelia
“Iheardtheguysare playing video games,” Charlie, Rosie’s maid of honor, whispered longingly as we quietly sneaked through town, wearing all black, as requested by the bride.
There were five of us total: Rosie, Charlie, Lia Halifax, Lily (Dylan’s younger sister), and me. I was limping behind everyone on my crutches, trying to keep up.
“Shhhh,” Rosie hissed to Charlie. “We don’t want to get caught.”
“Heaven forbid someone finds out we’re hiding your truck,” Lily said with an eye roll. Rosie shot a look at Charlie that clearly said,reign her in. Rosie and her future sister-in-law, Lily, famously did not get along. Hudson said it had something to do with Lily breaking Rosie’s brother’s heart.
I liked them both. Lily had been nothing but kind and sweet to me since we’d met. And Rosie was a lovingly loyal personality for sure. But they certainly brought out the worst in each other.
Rosie had overheard a plan to decorate her truck with all manner of embarrassing things before the wedding, so we’d hidden it in the woods where the boys wouldn’t find it. Andnow we were on our way to put embarrassing things all over her brothers’ rental car. Being an only child, I wasn’t totally familiar with sibling dynamics. My only real experience with it was Hudson, and I was currently thinking of him as anything but a brother.
But apparently siblings liked to gently vandalize each other’s cars before big events. Or something.
We made our way back to town, my underarms aching with the pressure of the crutches. Poor Tiny Tim. I guess if I’d gained anything from this, it was an ability to connect with a character in one of my favorite classics.
Lia Halifax sidled up beside me. For being such a big star, I was learning she was down to earth. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks for asking.”
“Well, we are supposed to be in a big bridesmaid feud, I heard.”
I groaned. “Do those tabloids always get things so wrong?”
“Almost always.”
“They got a black SUV,” Rosie said. “There.”
We were outside Dylan's townhouse, coming from the front, and a few doors down we spotted the SUV. She had hidden a black plastic bag beside Dylan’s trash can earlier that day. It was filled with streamers, cream-filled cookies, shaving cream, empty cans, and some suggestive, anatomically shaped items that would raise a few eyebrows in Winterhaven.
I’d never covered anyone's car with lewd decorations before, but I had to admit, with this group, it was fun. Not a new hobby or anything, but it felt good to be included with a community of women. Most of my close friendships right now were men from the hockey team. They’d rallied around me even when I’d pushed everyone else in my life away.
There were a few women in the community college English department I’d like to get to know better, but I was lacking in female friendships.
We heard someone shutting a door, and then loud male voices.
“Run,” Rosie whispered-shouted.
We ran—me going as fast as I could—through the streets of Winterhaven and into the forest. We were grown adults. Professionals. I was a mom, for heaven's sake. But as we darted into the forest, my heart pounding recklessly in my chest, I felt all the wild abandon of being a teenager again. Being here, in Winterhaven, I was happier than I’d been in quite a while.
“Hey!” someone shouted, and we giggled as we went deeper into the shadows. Rosie tripped over something, and we all collapsed on top of and around her, our laughter stealing all our breaths. Even Lily looked like she was having a fun time.
Rosie let out a long, contented sigh. “Who’s up for ice cream sundaes and playing Would You Rather?”
“This is the strangest bachelorette party in history,” Lia said with a wide grin. “And I’m loving every second of it.”
Onceitwasestablishedthat I’d rather eat a worm than raw beef, I’d rather walk through a waist-high pond of leeches than swim in a pool of jelly fish, and I’d rather be accidentally naked on television than have everyone be able to read my mind for one year, I begged off to use the restroom when Lily and Charlie went to the kitchen to get all the sundae makings prepared.
One of Charlie’s foster dogs, an adorable three-legged chihuahua named Hansel, followed me down the hall with a tiny wagging bum. I picked him up and let him lick my face.
