Bridesmaid Lotto (USA Today bestselling author)

Chapter 17

I quickly, though extremely carefully, changed into the gorgeous Bridesmaid gown. A glance in the mirror confirmed that I was looking like a princess.

Hmm. And I'm about to go reign in my prince.

I came back up the hall and found Mattie exactly as I had left him, peeking down at the street.

"Oh lover boy," I said. "How do I look?"

Mattie was in the midst of rolling his eyes at me, but stopped. "You look marvelous."

"Thanks," I said. "Now walk me down to my car, would you?"

"Like you had to ask," he said putting his arm out for me.

"I can't believe it's the wedding already. It went by so fast," Mattie said. "Now what am I going to do for a project?"

"You know, it's not the most flattering thing in the world being referred to as a project," I said.

"Well of course not now," he said. "But when we first started..."

"Finish that sentence, and I won't let you say hello to Gary," I said.

His eyes opened wide and he made a zipping motion past his lips.

"You look lovely Miss McMaster," Gary said as we stepped outside.

Which was totally weird since it didn't really seem like outside all of a sudden. Black curtained partitions had somehow miraculously sprouted from my building door, all the way to the car, creating a little hallway for me.

"Thank you, Gary," I said. "What's with the walls?"

"Don't want the paparazzi to see the dresses," he said, opening the car door for me.

I knew I probably had a few minutes to kill while Gary and Mattie flirted a little, so for the first time since I'd been enjoying rides in the luxurious car, I opened the bottle of champagne.

Today is a celebration right? I thought. My only regret was that I had no one to share it with. Champagne is so much sweeter when shared with someone special. Like a hot movie star perhaps. Several minutes and one calm-my-nerves glass of champagne later, Mattie was sticking his head in the window to wish me luck.

"You're going to be the belle of the ball," he said.

"I hope not," I said. "Or else Emma VanHorn will have my head."

He leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Good luck sweetie," he said.

"Thanks for being here Mattie, which is a lot more than I can say for some of my friends."

"Yeah, I know. Where is Calla anyway?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Who knows? She said she would be here to see me off... come to think of it, I haven't seen her for a while. Like two days, I think."

"I'm sure she's just busy," Mattie said. "This is not the time to worry about it. This is the time to worry about how you're going to dance all night with Jake Hall."

I smiled as Mattie backed away from the car and waved us off. I could see Gary watching him in the rearview mirror.

"So, are you going to ask him out?" I asked.

His gaze moved slightly from Mattie to me. He smiled. "I think I just might," he said, finally turning his attention to the road.

He is quite handsome, I thought. I can see what Mattie sees in him. Hmm. Maybe Jake and I can double with them sometime.

I almost laughed at the thought, imagining the field day the tabloids would have with that one. I poured myself another glass of champagne and leaned back to enjoy these last few minutes of peace and quiet before the circus began.