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Rose shot the thong back at Maggie. “You better hope he doesn’t see the pictures of you with our sexy fireman. And I’ll remind you, you said you didn’t want a stripper, but we both know you did.”
Maggie blushed. “Did you see his ass?” She bit her lower lip. “Damn.”
“He even asked me out,” Rose confessed.
Maggie shook her head with way too much enthusiasm, then turned a bit green from all the wine she’d drunk. “He never had a chance. You are so into Gray.”
“You are,” Poppy chimed in. “The second you heard his voice on the phone, you smiled so big. Your whole face lit up.”
Rose couldn’t deny something so obvious. “People talk about meetingthe oneand say that when you do, you’ll know. I’ve never felt that kind of spark and connection with anyone else but Gray. He’s so easy to be with and talk to, and I miss him when he’s not around. Is that crazy?”
Maggie shook her head. “It’s the way it should be.” Melancholy clouded her eyes and turned her soft smile into a frown. “Gray called you because he cared whether you were upset aboutthe pictures Marc sent and what he was doing. He wanted you to know nothing was going on, right?”
“I never thought anything was going on,” she assured Maggie and Poppy.
“He probably knew that but wanted to be sure because it matters to him.” Maggie sighed. “Marc loves to have a good time. I don’t mind. Mostly. Sometimes I catch him looking at other women, or even flirting with them. It’s his personality. I always know he’s going home with me. But sometimes I wish he was more sensitive to my feelings.” She glanced at her phone, then stared at Rose. “Why send those pics of Gray to me instead of sending a picture of himself having fun? Why try to stir up trouble between you two?”
Rose’s heart beat faster. “Gray told me that they’ve always been competitive with each other and that there’s some jealousy there.”
“Right. Marc is jealous of Gray. I hear it in the way he talks about his cousin. How angry he gets when his father compares him to Gray.” Maggie paused, her focus turned inward. “He’s jealous you and Gray hit it off. What does that say about how he feels about us? Does he think you’re a better catch than me?”
“No,” Rose rushed to reassure her friend. “Not at all. He loves you. You’re getting married. Whatever petty jealousies they feel toward one another has nothing to do with us. Marc is lucky to have you and he knows it.”
“That’s what I thought, too. But the closer we get to the wedding, the more I feel like there’s something he’s holdingback. I wanted this week to be special, but something just seems off.” She frowned and looked lost. “Are my expectations too high?”
Rose shook her head. “No. We’ve had a lot of fun,” Rose reminded her. “We laughed and sang along to bad karaoke at the bar. You were the most beautiful bride in your gown. And I think you might be pregnant after that lap dance tonight.”
Maggie burst out laughing. “Most of all I loved being with all of you.” She took in all the ladies at the table, most of whom were lost in their conversations, or eating the desserts that had just been brought in.
Rose had a feeling the alcohol and stress had a lot to do with Maggie’s sudden sadness and quick return to joy. She took a party-store veil one of the other ladies had brought and plopped it atop Maggie’s head. “You are getting married, my friend, to a man who will never deserve you, but you’ll be happy knowing he’s going to try every day to make you smile.”
“Damn right!” Maggie tossed back the rest of her wine.
Poppy slid a piece of cake in front of her. “And if not, there’s always chocolate.”
Maggie held up a forkful of chocolate cake in a show of solidarity, but paused before eating it. “At least he wants kids.” She stuffed the bite into her mouth.
Rose knew her friend would be such a great mom. She’d be a mom like Brenda had been to Rose when her own mom couldn’t be what she needed.
“Can you believe our moms coordinated my staying at your house when we were young?”
Maggie sighed again. “I overheard a few conversations back then when your mom would tell my mom it might be better if you stayed the night with us.” Maggie’s sad eyes met Rose’s. “I think it mostly happened after a particularly bad night you had at home and you were . . . a little worse for wear.”
“It makes me feel better to know in some way she tried to protect me. I mean, I wanted her to take us away, but... She did something.” Rose needed to accept that her mom, like many abused women, had been afraid to leave, but she’d done the best she could to survive. Her actions and decisions all stemmed from paralyzing fear.
Her mom’s rebellions had been small but aimed at keeping Rose safer than she was at home. It only staved off the inevitable, but Rose had always enjoyed those reprieves at Maggie’s house where she could just be, without the constant fear of the next attack on her, whether it was verbal or more.
Maggie had always been her safe harbor.
Rose held up her glass and clinked the side with a butter knife to get everyone’s attention. “Thank you all for coming tonight to celebrate our amazing friend Maggie, who is not only beautiful inside and out, but strong, talented, and smart. May you have a lifetime of happiness and love. To Maggie!”
“Maggie!” the women all shouted and drank.
Maggie reached over and squeezed Rose’s hand. “I have the best of all best friends.”
Rose stared at her with watery eyes. “No. I do.”
They shared smiles, and Rose felt better knowing she’d ended Maggie’s night on a high note.
Now all she had to do was make sure Maggie had the best wedding ever.
Maybe the best thing to do was tell her the truth about Marc. Maggie already suspected Marc was hiding something from her, but he had refused Rose’s offer that they tell Maggie together.
Rose simply couldn’t keep this secret from her best friend.
Tomorrow, no matter what came up, she’d tell her.
