I STARED OUT the window as we zoomed past the nearby cars. We exited off the highway, subbing in the many cars for trees instead. After my mortifying fiasco, we went back to James' apartment where I showered and changed into a Penbrooke t-shirt and sweatpants Brenton bought from the university gift shop. James asked to drive me home to talk, so Brenton and Alex stayed behind with Niko, who actually ended up having a lot of fun with Alex. We were nearing the end of this agonizingly quiet drive but I still hadn't spoken to James.
"Well?" the aforementioned driver eventually said.
I didn't make eye contact as I continued looking outside the window, seeing the little shops we passed by. "You're the one who wanted to talk, not me."
From my peripheral vision, I could see James run his hand through his hair. "What's going on with you, Dani? Why are you mad at me?"
I didn't answer, which he saw as a sign to continue talking.
"You've been so hot and cold lately, and every time I talk to you I don't know which Dani to expect."
"How about Dani your girlfriend?" I refuted.
James pulled the car to a halt at a stop sign and looked at me momentarily before continuing to drive. "What do you mean?"
As much as I didn't want to talk about this, I figured I didn't really have much of a choice now. "You and Leila obviously have a lot of history, and I feel like she gets you better than I do. So yes, I'm mad, hell I'm furious because your ex-girlfriend understands you in a way I don't. Are you happy now?"
"Wow."
"That's it?" I snapped. "I tell you what's been eating at me and that's all you have to say?"
James shook his head. "You really waited until we reached your house to finally open up to me." Much to my surprise, we were turning into my street. James parked his car on the side of the road next to my house and he turned to face me and held my hands in his, rubbing his thumb over the silver promise ring on my finger. "Dani, I like Leila a lot, but just as a friend. You, on the other hand, no matter how impulsive and stupid you can be, I'm in love with. So don't think for a second that anyone could ever replace you because that's impossible."
Did I feel like an idiot? Yes. But did I also feel like a lovestruck girl who realized she had an incredible boyfriend who loved her deeply? Also yes. Although I still felt like an idiot.
"Are we okay?" James asked, bringing me out of my daze. "Because I really want to kiss you."
I rolled my eyes at him. "God, I've made such an idiot of myself, haven't I?"
"I mean, it could've been worse." When his voice went an octave higher at the end of his sentence I knew he was lying.
"At least no one was recording or took pictures," I thought aloud. "I'm just going to pretend like that never happened."
He chuckled awkwardly. "The fifteen pictures Brent sent me say otherwise"
I made a mental note to murder my twin in his sleep before focusing my attention back on James. "Are you going back to Penbrooke?" It royally sucked that our moments together were so limited, especially after we had just made up.
"I have work tomorrow morning," he answered glumly. He must have noticed my face drop because he suddenly came up with an idea. "I mean, I don't start until eleven-thirty."
I raised my eyebrows. "Okay, and?"
"When's the last time we watched a movie together?"
Excitedly, I dragged James inside the house and to the living room. He picked a movie while I prepared snacks. I dumped popcorn into a bowl, peanut M&Ms into another, and pretzels into a third. I wasn't a fan of pretzels but I knew they were my boyfriend's guilty pleasure. When I brought the bowls to the living room, James snatched the pretzels before I could put them down. I dimmed the lights and snuggled up next to him on the couch as the movie began.
If someone held a gun to my brothers' heads and told me they'd be spared if I could name the plot of the movie we were watching, well, I'd be an only child. We spent the entire duration of the movie whispering to each other, kissing, and trying to catch food in our mouths. In simpler terms, it was the perfect night.
"How are you so good at that?" James demanded as I caught another piece of popcorn in my mouth.
"How are you so shit?" I teased. I threw an M&M to him, which James missed terribly. It smacked his eye before falling onto the couch.
"This is a dangerous sport," he huffed, throwing an M&M to me which I caught with ease.
I laughed and grinned up at him. "I love you."
He smiled down at me, pressing his forehead against mine. "I love you more."
~*~
My eyes slowly fluttered open when I felt myself moving. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I made out a figure carrying me. "James?" I croaked, my voice raspy.
"Try Brent," the obnoxious voice belonging to my twin said. "God, when did you get so heavy?"
I gasped just as he threw me on my bed. "Where's James, you asshole?"
"He left for Penbrooke," Brenton answered. "He said he didn't want to wake you."
"Oh."
"Don't be sad," he said reassuringly, though I didn't miss the eye roll he gave me. "You know he loves you, you just have to trust him."
"I do trust him," I insisted. "I just don't trust her."
"Like it or not, she's a part of his life so you're going to have to learn to deal with it."
I couldn't think of anything to say so I threw my pillow at him.
He gawked at me. "That's the thanks I get? And to think I was going to delete those pictures I took of your big spill."
I chucked another pillow at him as he left my bedroom.
~*~
The next few days were fairly uneventful, but we were surprised to have gotten a call from Niko that he and Vanessa were visiting one evening. Niko told us hanging out with Alex at Penbrooke made him realize how much he had missed us. Today was supposed to be one of those days where we all supplied our own dinners because it was Mom and Adam's date night, Alex and Brenton went out to the movies, and I was swamped with work from the office. Since Niko only gave us an hour's notice, we all scrambled to meet at the Stone Creek Café and eat dinner there. We met the happy couple and were seated at one of the family-sized booths, waiting for our dinner. Adam, Mom, Niko, and Vanessa were sitting on one side of the booth, while Alex, Brenton, and I were on the other.
"Why's he here?" Brenton whispered to me.
I pinched his thigh. "Be supportive. Besides, you should be grateful you didn't have to help cook."
My whispering must have been way too loud because Mom joined in our conversation. "That reminds me, you can help Adam prepare tomorrow's dinner."
Brenton slumped in his seat. "We're seeing him two days in a row?"
"Yes," Mom said in a stern voice.
"Kill me," he murmured.
Before our mom could scold him any further, Holden and two other servers came out with our food. They placed our meals in front of us before leaving, although one of the employees decided to linger behind. Holden slid in my booth, sandwiching me between him and Brenton.
"Hey, Parkers," he greeted before taking a fry from my poutine and eating it.
I pointed my fork at him threateningly. "Do that again and I'll poke your eye out."
"Does the help always sit with customers at this establishment?" Adam asked.
Ignoring my threat, Holden munched on another fry from my plate. "Is this the narc?"
"Holden!" Mom chastised.
"Sorry, Mrs. P." He turned to look at us and mouthed, No, I'm not.
I figured he wasn't leaving any time soon, so I ate my fried chicken burger, taking breaks in between to eat the poutine. As irritating as Holden was, the boy sure could cook. "This is so good," I said before sipping my coke.
"Can we get dessert too?" Alex asked Mom.
"Finish your dinner and then we'll talk," she instructed.
Niko wiped his mouth with his napkin as he faced Holden. "That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you something important."
Holden stole a piece of grilled tofu from Vanessa's salad, earning a gasp from her, though he didn't seem to care. In an instant, he grabbed a napkin and spat it out. "That's disgusting. Anyway, what's up?"
Niko was also oblivious to his fiancée as he focused his energy on Holden. "I've been thinking about this for my wedding, and I was wondering if you—"
"I'll do it," Holden said before he could finish.
Niko beamed at him. "Really?"
He nodded in reply. "Of course, dude, you're like a brother to me. I'm so honoured you even asked." He lowered his voice. "Won't Brent be upset though?"
Niko snorted. "Why would he be?"
Holden winced at his words. "Damn, you're cold."
Vanessa nudged my brother's shoulder. "I don't think you two are talking about the same thing."
"Nah," Niko waved her off. "We're on the same page, right?"
Holden nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, of course! So are you covering my tux as well?"
"Why the hell would I be doing that?" Niko scoffed. "I don't care what you wear."
"Open dress code. Right on." Holden took a notepad out of his apron pocket and using the pencil behind his ear, jotted it down.
We all watched them with a mix of amusement and confusion, but one Parker couldn't take it anymore. "Enough!" Mom cried. "Honey, he's asking if your restaurant will cater, not if you will be his best man."
"Wow, Mom, that was kind of harsh," I said to her.
She massaged her temples with her fingers. "This is what you get for taking me someplace that doesn't serve alcohol."
Holden gawked at us. "Is she joking?"
"Yeah, Mom, the drinks menu is at the back of the regular menu," Niko told her.
"Not that," Brenton snapped before facing his best friend. "Dude, you thought he'd ask you to be his best man over me?"
Niko laughed sheepishly. "Technically I asked Dani."
"What?" Brenton and Holden screeched, both of them staring at me. Of course, I had to be seated in between both bozos.
"I thought you only had three sons," Adam said to Mom. "Now I'm really confused."
I rolled my eyes at all of the men. "I already told you no, Niko."
"You can be one of my bridesmaids," Vanessa offered with a smile.
"See? Problem solved," I said.
"So who's your best man?" Alex asked Niko.
My idiot older brother ushered his wife out of the booth and he followed her in tow. "V and I just remembered we forgot to feed our goldfish. Goodnight, guys!" The two scurried out of the restaurant so fast, they were gone in the blink of an eye.
"Let's get back to dinner," I suggested. I picked up my burger to take a bite, but Brenton extended his fist to punch Holden in the arm, shoving my burger in my face in the process.
"Dude, I still can't believe you thought Niko would ask you!"
~*~
Since I was one of the very few people who gave a shit about the wedding, Niko appointed me of all people as the official wedding planner. I refused to go through this alone so I tried to drag Brenton with me, but he refused. Twin loyalty, my ass.
The next morning, Vanessa picked me up for brunch and we began the planning process. She didn't seem too bad yet, but I knew her inner bridezilla would emerge closer to the wedding day. I was sipping on a vanilla latte as Vanessa went on and on about the type of wedding she wanted.
"If the wedding is happening in your backyard, do you think a silver and royal blue theme would work?" she asked me.
"Why not an outdoorsy theme?" I offered. "We can do a white and green theme outside with twinkly lights, giant white tents, and maybe a flower arch at the altar."
"Dani," she said slowly, and I braced myself for an earful. "Uncap your pen and start writing that down. I love it!"
Phew.
I jotted down my idea and continued adding notes as Vanessa suggested more things. "What about music?" she brought up.
I tapped the pen against my chin as I thought. "One of my mom's old clients is a talent scout. I can reach out to her and ask if she can connect us with some potential artists."
Vanessa sighed in satisfaction. She reached over the table and squeezed my hand. "I'm so happy you're here to help. I don't know what I'd do without you, Dani."
I smiled at her. I wasn't the craziest about Vanessa, but she was really nice and I felt bad she had to do all of the planning by herself. I assumed her mom wasn't in the picture, mine had no interest in this wedding, and her fiancé was a moron, so I was really the only help she had for this wedding. Believe me when I said there were a million other ways I would have preferred to spend my day, but if doing this meant I could help them have a day to remember, then I didn't mind.