Read The Bridesmaid's Checklist: Laura's Wedding (BCL Book 1) for Free Online Page B

control. He was trouble I didn’t want.
    As the girls went around the store and looked at the different dresses, Edward stepped closer to me and said, “No, Kassandra. I won’t stay. I believe Laura has everything under control.”
    His approaching me had me all nervous and jumpy. I didn’t want him to get closer to me, especially with Natalie and Laura so close. I had to find a way to talk to Laura about her fiancé and my past. Our past.
    I’d stopped breathing. Seconds later, I felt someone’s arm going around my waist and a soft, wet kiss placed near my mouth. It wasn’t Edward, because I could still see him. I turned and found Josh’s sweet smile. I relaxed against his arms and was particularly thankful for his interfering. And suddenly, I didn’t feel as angry about Edward being here.
    “We’re going to some pub to have a beer,” Josh informed me. “If you need anything, let us know, Kass. We’ll be close enough to come by if you need us.”
    “Sure we will,” Edward reaffirmed with that bored expression on his face, rolling his baby blue eyes. “I need a favor from you, Kassandra.”
    He didn’t wait to hear my response to his demand.
    “I’ll buy Laura’s dress as a gift.” This wasn’t a surprise—some grooms did that as a custom. “However, I would like the price to be under…” and he whispered a supremely handsome amount of money.
    “I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” I said to him. “I believe it’s a really reasonable budget.”
    “I believe so myself, but you know Laura better than I do, and I’m sure she’ll manage to find something surpassing it.” Edward apparently knew Laura well enough to know that, if it was her decision, she’d pick the most expensive dress in the place.
    “Ed, man, shouldn’t you be sayin’ that to Laura instead of Kass?” Josh seemed to be voicing some of the thoughts in my own head. “This is between you and that woman of yours.”
    “I can’t deprive Laura of her happiness,” Edward simply answered. “Besides, I’m certain Kassandra can manage.”
    This is the Eddie I knew—always challenging me.
    I didn’t want to talk to either of them anymore. I needed to get away.
    “It’s all right, Josh. I’ll see what I can do.”
    I left, not before mentally adding the second entry of my Bridezilla Checklist:
    Bridezilla Checklist
    ☑ Enslaved bridesmaids
    ☑   Money woes
    With all of Denise’s complaints and now Edward’s restriction regarding money, I had to add it to the list.
    To be really honest, Edward was rather splendid with the amount of money he was considering for the wedding dress. Unfortunately, knowing Laura, she was going to make it more than challenging to stay under the budget. Josh had been completely right by pointing out that it wasn’t really of any concern of mine to moderate Laura’s expenses. However, he’d also presented a bait to me, and I’d bitten it forcefully. It pissed me off that he still could affect me like that.
    All this made me wonder—why was Edward paying for most of the wedding expenses?
    As much as I’d looked up weddings, it wasn’t really in the groom’s responsibilities to cover everything. That could only mean that Laura’s parents weren’t happy about the wedding. Yet another concern.
    After all the weddings I’d helped put together, all the reading on wedding advice and how to pull off the perfect wedding, I’d figured out a general breakdown of the payment responsibilities.

    After four weddings, I knew this list by heart. However, it shouldn't have mattered to me who paid for what. My only business was making this wedding perfect for my best friend.
    ~*~
    Two hours later, we narrowed down the dresses Laura liked to three. Of course, two of them were a little over the budget Edward had established.
    Laura tried on the first one; apparently, she was obsessed with strapless dresses. It was a silk wedding dress, white as white could get, elegant, and timeless. It also had an