Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“So I have some news,” she declares, and I look over as she grabs her grilled salmon and pops some into her mouth. “I called Sofia.”
The minute she says her name, everything inside me tingles away. “What?” I say, looking up at her, trying to calm my body down. But it’s as if my body is getting ready to go to war with a hurricane.
Helena doesn’t even catch the change in the room as she continues to eat her salmon, like she didn’t just drop a bomb on me. “I checked your schedule,” she continues slowly, and I want to yell at her to hurry up, but all my words are stuck in the back of my throat. The food I ate starts to come back up. “And I know you have Tuesday off, so we are meeting her at her office.” She smiles at me.
I can’t do anything but blink at her. “Why?” I ask the stupid question. Obviously, I know why.
“Because she is the only one I connected with,” she clarifies. “I met with four other planners since her, and she is the only one who knew what she was doing.”
I look back at my food and wonder if I should tell her who Sofia is. But then, something stops me. “We should go over a couple of things.” I push the food around the containers, thinking about the things we should go over.
“That is why we are meeting with Sofia,” she says, “she is going to help us every step of the way.”
“Have you thought about not having a wedding planner?” I ask. “My aunts and mother are pretty much all party planners at this point.”
“Absolutely not,” she declares, shaking her head. “I’ve met them maybe three times. They don’t know my style, nor do I want to spend that much time with them.”
“What?” I ask, shocked. “My family is a big part of my life.”
“And you can have that part of your life and I’ll be there when I have to be, but they are just—what is the word I’m thinking of?”
“Amazing,” I say, annoyed with her even more than I ever was.
“Pushy,” she replies. “Wait, that isn’t a good word. Overbearing.” She points her fork at me. “That’s an accurate account of them.”
“You don’t even know them,” I say, getting defensive. “You spent what… an hour with them?”
“I spent the whole Sunday with them at the Sunday lunch.” She shakes her head. “Everyone is in everyone’s business. They ask questions that they shouldn’t.”
“Like what?” I’m shocked and pissed. Can my family be overbearing? One thousand and one million percent, but I wouldn’t want anyone else on my side. They are all ride or die. It’s just like, known. You have a problem, you make one phone call, and you have the support of everyone. It’s what I thought every family was until I met Helena’s family, and they didn’t ask me one question about myself. They were prim and proper and the opposite of what my family was like. I knew it then, but I had no idea she felt like this.
“I don’t know, it was just intrusive. Maybe if I knew them better, but it was the second time we met.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I’ll still play nice.” She pushes away from the counter and places the covers on her takeout containers. “I have to go. The girls are having a mini get-together at Sierra’s house.” She puts her stuff in a takeout bag before grabbing it and her computer. She comes by the side of my stool. “I’ll call you later.” She kisses my cheek before she walks to the mudroom.
I look down at my plate, my stomach suddenly sick, and I have to wonder why it’s sick. Is it because we are going to meet Sofia, or is it because she hates my family? “Don’t forget Tuesday,” she calls out right before I hear the door to the garage slam shut behind her.
“Yeah,” I say to the empty room. I don’t bother eating another bite. Instead, I get up and pack everything back up, putting it in the fridge. I look over and see that it’s just after six, but instead of getting comfy on the couch, I walk back to my bedroom.
Sliding onto the bed, I grab the remote and turn on the television. My head is spinning around and around like a hamster on a wheel. I flip the channels, but my head goes back to my first date with Sofia.
After we met at the bar, I walked her home. She let me kiss her, and I swear to God, it felt like I was floating on air. She walked into her apartment, and I walked away, only to go back and ring the bell again. She came out, her face still flustered from when I kissed her. “Are you okay?” she asked me, and all I did was smile at her.