Beauty and the Bridesmaid

Chapter Nine

It’s Sunday and I know that I should be out of bed, but I can hear Anna clattering about in the kitchen and I haven’t yet thought of anything to say to her about last night. To be honest, I’m surprised she hasn’t come strolling into my bedroom to ask me questions. I peel back the bed covers and grab my fluffy pink dressing gown from where it’s hanging over the door. I creep out of my room slowly, looking frantically around for any obvious threats. What if it isn’t really Anna I can hear in the kitchen? For all I know, she might not even have come home last night and we could be getting burgled!

I peer through the slightly-open kitchen door cautiously, cursing that all the best weapons like knifes and frying pans are contained inside with the possible burglar. There’s nobody moving around in there. I even swing the door open and jump into the room like a ninja (which obviously I wouldn’t do if I thought there was anything remotely scary in there). I can hear another noise though. It sounds like the telly’s on the living room. Bloody cheek of burglars these days, I think, as I push against the closed door and pray that it’s Anna sitting on our sofa.

She’s wearing a dressing gown like me, only it looks like she’s got nothing on underneath. Seriously nothing. Like no underwear nothing. She’s alone though. No dodgy bloke from last night and definitely no burglar.

“Made it home, did you?” she asks, sounding nothing like the stay-out-all-night Anna Lane I know.

“And you.” I fiddle with the belt of my dressing gown.

“Managed to find that silverware from Hong Kong?” The corners of her mouth are lifting, so I know that she’s not completely serious.

“It was the best I could do under the circumstances.” I laugh and join her on the sofa.

“You know, if he wasn’t into me, he really should have just said.”

I shrug loosely as though I have no idea why Damien chose to incorporate me into his plan to escape Anna’s advances. I don’t know exactly why he did. Maybe he just wanted to ask me about what Lela and co. had been saying. We hadn’t really spoken about much else.

“Unless,” Anna says, a wicked glint in her eyes, “he’s into you.”

I don’t want to sound conceited but the thought had crossed my mind. And I wouldn’t be considering him as my wedding date if I didn’t think it was possible, would I? The thought of what Anna might have planned scares me though so I insist that she’s wrong.

“Maybe you should go to all these stupid wedding events. I mean, most of time he’s going to be there, isn’t he?”

“Hang on a minute, yesterday you said I should back out of the wedding completely.”

“Yes, well I didn’t have all the facts then.” She sits up straight and shoves her feet into a pair of cartoon-characters slippers lying discarded on the floor.

I inspect the chips in my red nail polish without saying anything.

“So what’s the next wedding event?” Anna pushes.

I sigh. “Anna, I don’t even know if Lela will want me there after what I said to her.”

“After what you said? What about her rubbing her engagement in your face?”

“I don’t think that’s what she’s doing,” I whisper.

“Yes it is. But you’re not going to let her. You’re going to turn up to whatever she wants you to and you’re going to look hot.” Anna is already on her feet and dragging me towards the wardrobe in my bedroom.