Planning Bliss (Bliss Series Book 1)

The Maid of Honor

The Maid of Honor (or horror?)

Another few days passed since that meeting with Jake and that very awkward moment with Levi. I was making some finishing touches for a bar mitzvah for the weekend when Isobel, Jake's sister barged into my office, and stopped in front of my desk, hands on hips, Louboutin heel tapping on my office floor.

"Isobel! What are you doing here?" All the while thinking, 'Great another Benjamin off to boss me around'. I had Jake constantly calling, Sandrine's emails to go through every single hour, now the bratty little sister was in front of me, huffing and puffing.

"I need to talk to you." She turned around and slumped on the loveseat in my office.

I rolled my eyes. Isobel could be such a spoiled brat when people let her, and people often did. It was always easier to give her what she wanted, rather than deal with her mood.

I said to her sarcastically, "Sure, it's not like I'm busy." Sweeping my hands over the paperwork I had in front of me.

"Oh good." She said, exasperated, oblivious to my sarcasm and to the piles of paper on my desk. I just had a feeling that she didn't come for a social call, so I stood up and closed my office door.

"I'm the maid of honor, " she spat out, tilted her head on the back of the loveseat, and covered her face with her thin hands, probably feeling the world on her shoulders.

This was news to me, and being the wedding planner, I needed to know important details like this, but I kept quiet. There was no need for Isobel to run back to Jake and Sandrine telling them that I'd been slacking off, even if it was their omission.

"I'm glad it's you and not some hoity toity French maid." I said, with a saccharine smile on my face.

She smiled back at me as I sat beside her, and leaned her head on my shoulder. Isobel was an affectionate person, whether people thought it was fake or not; I still liked that about her. Although oftentimes, her affection was followed with a request that you just couldn't turn down even when you should.

"I don't like her." She pouted. Uh oh. "I don't like her and I don't want to be her stupid maid of honor. She's so pathetic! She doesn't even have friends to ask as her maid of honor?" She was on a roll. "And you should see the designs for the dresses! They're atrocious. Made my skin jump. I just hate her. She has no friends. She has no style. She's... she's... she's so French!" She finished, throwing her hands up as a sign of exasperation then crossing them over her chest.

I honestly couldn't agree to her thoughts of Sandrine. She definitely had style. She definitely was very French, and she worked it. I didn't know about her lack of friends, and since it had come from Isobel, it could be tainted idealism.

Rubbing her hot head, I tried to muster the energy to oppose Isobel. "You might not like her but she's still marrying your brother. We don't have a choice on Jake's preference to a wife."

Isobel straightened. "How can you say that?" She glared at me. "He should be marrying you." Uh oh again. "That French twit stole Jake from you."

I tutted at her choice of word for Sandrine, and worried that it hadn't been too long since I'd heard the same conversation from Chase. Neither one had said anything to me when Jake and I broke up. Chase had tried to set me up immediately, and Isobel... She had been out of the country. I was out of her sight and out of her mind.

"Again," I touched her arm smoothly to soothe her. "There isn't aything we can do about that. Sandrine is his choice."

"But there is something we can do. Something you can do!" This was not going anywhere good. "You can sabotage their wedding! It's perfect and they won't even find out until it's too late! Come on, Vero." She kept bouncing on the couch, her little butt making squishy sounds against the fabric. "We can do it together. I'll help you. They have so much trust in you. Really, they expect you to hand everything to them. She's not even in the country for most of the planning!"