Page 35 of The Great Dating Fake Off
“Oh Lord. Cousin Sergio is your best man?” Sebastian shakes his head and adjusts the brim of his cap. “Good luck.”
“Yeah. I wanted Alessia, but…” He shoots Ro a look.
“But,” she continues, “we knew Benji would never want the pressure of a title, and it felt wrong to include only one sibling. So we wound up with my best friend as maid of honor, and some cousin Enzo barely likes as best man.”
“More like Nonna Gloria thrust Sergio on me,” Enzo grumbles. “It was weirdly important to her that I include him.”
Sebastian’s laugh is dark. “Well, he hasn’t reached out to Alessia or me, so odds are he hasn’t invited anyone to whatever bachelor party he’s planned. I’ll check in with him. You deserve a good celebration.”
“I’m depending on you,” Enzo says sternly. “Don’t make me party with Sergio alone.”
“Don’t forget my brother,” Ro adds. “Nora will convince him to join you. She’ll use her girlfriendly wiles”—she gestures directly at my boobs—“to get him to agree.”
I swallow a laugh. The last thing my boobs can do is make Benji agree to anything. I make a mental note to punch him in the arm next time he complains about his sister, though. She may insert herself in his business more than he likes, but she clearly loves the crap out of him. “I will do my very best.”
Enzo throws the wiffle in the air and catches it again. “Sounds good. Alessia will go with the bachelorette crew so you can bond with her, too.”
Rosalina squeals and claps. “Yay. Nora, I hope you’re ready for a wild night with the girls. God knows Gia will be down to party, and she’s in charge.”
“Totally. I’m ready.”
Truth be told, I can’t remember the last time I had a “wild night” with any sort of group. Probably early college, when I briefly rushed a sorority until I figured out how much it all costs and dropped out. There seems to be a natural order when it comes to lifelong relationships. You make friends young, party down in high school, expand your horizons in college, burn bright like a dying star in your early-to-mid-twenties with friend trips and bachelorette parties, and then watch your friend group fall into easy but trusting neglect when you get married and life gets busy.
I should be well on my way to lovingly ignoring my robust friend group by this stage in life, but it wasn’t in the cards for me. Not with so many moves. And the odds of Ro remaining my friend after Benji and I “break up” are below sea level, so I shouldn’t get attached to this group, either.
But I’d never turn down her offer. She’s the bride, after all.It’s my job this week to support Benji so that he can support her, ergo, I’m here for her.
“We’re off,” Ro says with a wave. “See you at dinner. Can’t wait to see your costumes!”
Right. Those dress-up dinners I didn’t know about until we showed up here. Tonight’s is nineties themed.
Speaking of supporting Benji, I’ll be buying him the most absurd nineties outfit from the nearest store as punishment for not telling me about the itinerary much sooner so I could pack ahead of time.
And he will be wearing it, no matter what it is.
Chapter Eleven
Sebastian
As soon as Enzo and Rosalina are out of earshot, I turn to Nora. “What do you think— should we play or should we go?”
She shakes out her legs and arms. “Let’s walk back. My enthusiasm is fading fast, and I have to go hit up a store to buy nineties clothes. I have no idea how long that will take in this mountain town.”
“Really?” My stare is pointed. “The girl who wore a fuzzy party hat in her workplace didn’t bring stuff to dress up?”
“Oh I would’ve, believe me. But Benji neglected to tell me about the themed nights. And yes, he will be punished.”
We deposit our paddles and start walking until we reach a fork in the path.
Left leads us straight up the hill to the resort. Right takes us on a scenic route. The cracked sidewalk loops around a thicket of pine trees and slopes down to follow the lake’s edge.
Her smile is tentative. “Should we?”
Probably not.
But what comes out of my mouth is, “I want to see the lake.”
Pine needles crunch underfoot as we walk. She kicks a pinecone off the path as we stroll. “It’s too bad Benji and Ro aren’t as close as Enzo and Alessia.”
