How To Ruin A Wedding

Chapter 31 - Chocolate Fudge at the Beach

I moved shavings of chocolate around on the ceramic plate. Voices were talking, but I wasn't really listening. I was cold and frustrated. I thought getting out of the hotel would make me feel better, but I didn't feel particularly happy despite the most delicious chocolate that I've ever eaten was on a plate before me.

Maybe my mood had something to do with the fact that no one has seen Aiden in the last 48 hours. Maybe my mood had something to do with Lauren being AWOL as of yesterday afternoon, and Christian wouldn't tell me what happened to her. Maybe my mood had something to do with Kendra and my very loud argument this morning.

All I knew was that I was pissed and tired.

"Alani came around looking for Aiden the other day." Jessica, Aiden's little sister sat beside me. Beside her was her boyfriend, and on the other side of me was Casey. I was surrounded by Marquises. "Said there was some kind of wedding emergency. Did you get all that resolved? What was it anyway?" She wondered out loud. She pressed a forkful of strawberry slices dipped in chocolate into her mouth as she waited for an answer.

"Not totally resolved." I confessed to her. "Just something that needed the groom present." I told them vaguely. We sat in Kaitlyn's chocolate shop where she offered me several samples of chocolate until I surrendered and sat down. Jessica had texted me earlier, inviting me to go here. Why I thought hanging out with a bunch of Marquises was a good idea, considering the circumstances that they probably didn't know about, I had no idea.

"Is there something that we can help with?" Kaitlyn took a seat next to her husband. Her shop wasn't really busy at this time. Even then, we were close enough to the counter. "Kendra is boxing out all Marquises from helping out with the details. What was it you said that one time, Casey?" She looked over at him, and a small smirk was evident on Casey's lips. "They only call for funding." Kaitlyn joked, but I thought it was probably true.

Jessica snickered as well, but I didn't. I just cracked a small smile, but Jessica could tell that I wasn't whole-heartedly present. "You all right, Jordyn?" She asked and gave me a nudge.

"Come on, Little J." Casey smiled down at me, too. "Kaitlyn didn't mean any offense to your friend." Casey reassured me with a snicker.

Kaitlyn backtracked. "If I did, I'm totally sorry, Jordyn." Kaitlyn apologized and offered a smile as truce. Kaitlyn was as sweet as her chocolate.

I shook my head. "What you said is fine. Even I kind of believe that because every Price is in the same hotel, but you're all not." I told them.

Casey nodded and chuckled. "Seth told me he is going crazy being stuck there. He'd do anything to get out of that place. He keeps asking me if I wanna go for drinks just to get out of all the planning. His sisters are drowning him in fabric apparently." Casey said and laughed some more. "I don't think our wedding was this bad."

"Our wedding was small." Kaitlyn confessed. "From what I've heard from Aiden and your mother, it's supposed to be this big she-bang. It's costing everyone a fortune." She explained to us while cutting off a piece of Casey's chocolate block. I was surprised that she wasn't tired of chocolate.

"They better go through with it, then." Casey stated, picking up his glass of water.

Jessica shook her head. "My fingers crossed that they don't. The last thing I want is to have to call Kendra Price my sister. I don't care if it's in-law or not. I'd rather never even see that venomous snake." Jessica said her opinion as well. I understood her point of view. Kendra didn't take personal time to make Jessica miserable, but it was just a collective opinion during high school. A lot of underlings hated Kendra. It was as simple as that.