Stealing the Groom

Ten

After a few minutes, Simone stepped out of the bedroom and came to sit next to me. “Really, Elf again?”

A smile graced my lips and I nodded. “You know I love this movie.” Turning to face her, I took in her perfect profile and frowned a little at the fact that even hungover she looked beautiful.

“I haven’t forgiven you for messing with Maxton,” she added not looking away from the screen. A chuckle escaped my lips then as I remembered my little joke.

“Oh my,” I said in a mocking tone. “How could I possibly make it up to you?” 

“Let’s go to breakfast before the fitting,” Simone said rising. “And you’re paying.” 

“What fitting?” I asked as I followed her to the bedroom where I watched her pick up a white cream blouse from my suitcase. 

“Mine.” Turning to look at herself holding up the blouse in the mirror, she added, “You did read the itinerary, didn’t you?”

Fighting back a smirk, but failing miserably, I nodded. “You really expected me to?”

She sighed and dropped the blouse back into my suitcase. “No, but I hoped.” I groaned and threw myself back onto the comfy bed. “You’re my M.O.H, Eleanor. You need to be on top of things here.”

“You’re what?” I asked with a laugh. Simone haughtily placed her hands on her hips. 

“The maid of honor! It‘s only the most prestigious role of the bridal party.” I gave a snort and stood to finish getting dressed. 

“I’m serious! Being the M.O.H is a big deal! At first Meredith was the maid of honor but when you agreed to I spoke to her and asked her to resign her position.”

“Oh, my God. That’s why she looks like she wants to throw a bucket of acid on my face! Now it all makes sense.”

“She does not look at you like that, Eleanor,” she defended the grumpy bitch. “Meredith was quite humble about the whole ordeal.”

“Sure,” I said not convinced. A random thought occurred to me then and I frowned as I watched her move around the bedroom. “So your future hubby doesn’t care that you didn’t come home last night?”

Simone froze and looked away, but not before I noticed her blush. “Oh, my God,” I said as realization hit. “You still live at home.”

I threw my head back laughing and didn’t even bat an eye when Simone threw a pillow at my face. “So wait, do you do the dirty in the house? With Lillian and Byron under the same roof, mere yards away?” If Simone noticed that I used our parents’ first names, she didn’t let it on. Instead she rolled her eyes at me and ignored the fact that her face flamed up at the mention of their sex life. 

“Maxton, if you must know, called me instead of coming to the Richmond Inn because he is out of the country.” I gave a little ‘ahh’ expression and got comfortable. When Simone has a new toy, she tends to brag about it until my ears threaten to fall off my head, so I knew this might take a while.

“On business,” she added with a smug smile while I pretended to care. Deciding that I’d taken as much ‘Maxton my fiance is amazing’ talk for one morning, I stood and walked past her into the bathroom. 

My hair was still wet from my shower so I opted out of using hot tools. Instead, I gathered all my hair into a messy bun at the top of my head and pulled a few strands free to frame my face. 

Simone stepped into the bathroom as I came out, shutting the door firmly behind me. I heard the shower run a moment later. Picking up a beige bra from my suitcase, I removed my robe and clasped it together before continuing to look for something to wear to this fitting I hadn’t even known about. Maybe I should have read her emails....