often?”
“You’d be surprised,” he says. Hmm. That’s worrying. Maybe my fetish theory is right. “How about you?” he asks.
“Unfortunately, yeah, pretty often,” I say.
“Ah,” he says knowingly. “So how many times have you been married?”
“Ha ha,” I say. “Only twice, sheesh.”
That throws him for a second. He tilts his head at me. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, really rich old guys, but they both died,” I say, widening my eyes, “under mysterious circumstances. Weird, huh?”
He grins again. “You almost had me for a minute.”
I wish I had you! This guy might even be worth breaking my vow for. Maybe I can do it if I keep him far, far away from all the wedding craziness. “Man, how old do you think I am?” I ask.
“Not that old,” he says. “Like, definitely no older than thirty.”
I put my hands on my hips. “You know, most guys at least tell me their names before insulting me.”
“Leo,” he says, holding out his hand. Oh my God, I’m going to touch his hand! I shake it, trying to stop myself from smiling so much. Oh my God, I’M TOUCHING HIS HAND!
“I’m Jack,” I say. “My sister’s getting married.” I gesture to the back, hoping that he’ll be like, “Oh, yeah, mine too.”
Instead he says, “Are you one of her bridesmaids?”
“Oh, yeah,” I say. “This is time number three.”
“For your sister?”
“For me,” I say, laughing. “I mean, third sister to get married, third wedding I have to be a bridesmaid in.”
“Have to be?” he echoes. “Don’t you like it?”
“Sure,” I say. “Especially the fantastic dresses. Or wait, maybe it’s running crazy errands formy sisters for months, like ‘Trim these calla lily stems to exactly nine inches long—EXACTLY,’ or ‘Go buy me a new inkjet printer cartridge and five yards of burgundy ribbon right this instant.’ Or having them freak out at me on the big day—that’s fun, too.”
“Wow,” he says. “That’s specific. I guess you’ve been doing this awhile.”
“And then there’s number four, our most crazy sister, at the end of the summer. We’re really looking forward to that.”
“Ohhh,” he says. “You must be one of the Finnegans.”
I stare at him. How on earth has the Hottest Guy in the Universe heard of my ridiculous family? Even if he reads travel books for fun or something, that doesn’t seem to be what tipped him off.
“Jack, darling,” Carolina trills, bustling up.
“Did you find any flower tiaras? Oh, I see you’ve met my son Leo.”
Leo winks at me, and my heart sinks. He’s the wedding planner’s son?
Then there’s no way I can keep him away from my family’s wedding insanity. Which means, no way I can date him. If I try, the Wedding Curse will strike, something terrible will happen, and he’ll get scared off anyway.
“Leo’s helping me this summer, which is going to be a busy one for your family.” Carolina wags her finger at me. “Paris called me last night, and luckily I’m available for the weekend she wants. She has a lot of ideas, that one!”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” I say wryly.
“But right now the focus is Victoria,” Carolina says, clapping her hands. I like that she says that. Victoria’s not my favorite sister these days, either, but I still think she deserves to be the star of her own wedding. “Which tiara do you think, Jack? I’m trying to stop her from choosing the most hideous veil.”
“Oh—I don’t know,” I say, looking at the shelf again. Just then we all hear Lucille screeching from behind one of the curtains.Something about looking like a whale in her dress.
“I’ll help Jack, Mom,” Leo says, standing up.
“Sounds like you’ve got a situation.”
“Dear dear dear,” Carolina says, bustling away again.
“Whew,” I say. “I don’t envy your mom. I’d hate to be a wedding planner.”
“I think it’s kind of fun,” Leo says. “But she’s paying me for this. I’d probably
Katlin Stack, Russell Barber