Page 22 of Bridesmaid Undercover
“You’re wasting your time,” she says. I lay out my skin care serums and start applying as she continues, “So tell me what you thought he was going to ask so I can make this all right in the world.”
“I don’t think there’s a way you can make this right, but, because I know you’re not going to drop this, I was thinking that he was going to possibly ask me out.”
There’s silence for a moment and then, “Are you serious?”
“Yes, and don’t make fun of me, I’m still sour about the whole interaction. But either way, I had it built up in my head that he was going to ask me out on a date, so when he asked me to help him get back together with his ex, I shouted a resounding yes before my mind could process what he was actually saying.”
“Oh…my…God, Everly. That is soooooo embarrassing.”
“I know! It’s why I didn’t want to say anything to you because I knew you would laugh.”
“I’m not laughing.”
My eyes roll even though she can’t see me. “I can hear it in your voice, Ember.”
“I might have quietly smiled to myself, but I don’t take pleasure in your pain.”
“Says the girl who laughed for ten minutes straight when I told you I accidentally farted in front of the best man at a wedding because he made me laugh.”
“That’s just comedy gold, but this is different. This was a special moment for you that was ruined.”
I finish up with lotion on my face and then move to the kitchen where I take out my beef and broccoli and place it on the counter.
“It was not my special moment. It was a moment I wish I could forget.”
“Did he know you were saying yes to something else?”
“I don’t think so,” I say, grabbing myself a cherry vanilla OLIPOP. “He asked me if something was wrong at one point while I was trying not to hyperventilate from my mistake, but I covered it up quickly. So no, I don’t think he caught on.”
“Thank God for that.”
I take a seat at my small bistro table, then I cross one leg over the other and dig into my food. “I guess so, but that doesn’t negate the fact that I still said yes to helping him out. Oh, and get this, Ember, his ex-girlfriend is a zookeeper for flamingos. Like…how adorable is that? Out of all the animals, she has to be the flamingo girl—they’re so cute and cheery and pink.”
“Ooo, yeah, that does trump event planner.”
“I know!” I shout with broccoli in my mouth. “Not that I’m competition. He barely knows me, and he had a three-year relationship with this woman.”
“Yes, but perhaps if she wasn’t in the picture, there could have been a moment for you.”
“Doubtful,” I say as I scoop up some rice. “I’m bound to die alone.”
“You’re twenty-two, Everly. I’m pretty sure you have no right in claiming you’re going to die alone, not until you’re at least middle-aged with no prospects. Even then, there’s still hope.”
I set my fork down for a moment and stare at my wall. “Is it me, Ember? Am I the problem? Am I the reason I’m single?”
“No,” she answers. “And why are you questioning this? I thought you were set on establishing your career before you started looking for love.”
“I am,” I say. “But there are nights like tonight, where I’m sitting in my studio apartment, eating a premade meal that I heated in the microwave and talking to my sister on the phone, and I think how lonely my life is. No offense to you.”
“Some taken, but I forgive you.”
“And you have Trevor, and that’s amazing—I’m really happy for you, but that also makes me wonder if I’m missing out by not dating someone. And when Hardy started talking about wanting to find someone in his life, it just got me excited. Got me thinking. I don’t want to be lonely, Ember.”
“Are you?” she asks.
“A little,” I answer. “And I know that to not feel that loneliness, I’ll fill it up with work, and I don’t want to be that person. I don’t want to be the woman who is solely identified by what she does. I want my job and the joy I put out in the world with planning these events to be a big part of me, but I don’t want it to be all of me.”
“So then start dating.”
