“You’re right.” She looked panicked. “you shouldn’t be holding anything either!”
Before I could stop her, she snatched back her purse and my phone as well, and threw them both carelessly on the floor. The women passing out little flutes of bubbly cast each other knowing looks and I got the feeling this sort of thing happened more often than the rest of the world knew.
“Okay,” she said again with an anticipatory smile, “…go!”
I held back my laughter and took both her hands in my own. “Amanda Maureen Gates, will you, be my—”
“No—this isn’t fair!” Barry swept suddenly into the room, stopping the impromptu ceremony in its tracks. “You can kick me out of my bed, build a house for just the two of you in the middle of the city, and constantly—both—swear your undying love. But you are not proposing to my girlfriend just because you’re swept away by a wedding dress. There need to be some boundaries
, people!”
Amanda and I shared a quick look and started giggling—uncontrollably giggling. Much to the disdain of the overly-dignified helpers toting the cocktails. When we finally quieted down, I finished my sentence.
“…maid of honor?”
Barry collapsed into a chair with his hand over his heart. “Oh, thank goodness.”
We laughed again as Amanda threw her arms around my neck. “Of course I’ll be your maid of honor! To be honest…I kind of thought I already was.”
“I did too!” I exclaimed. “We just never made it official.” My eyes flickered over to the wilted professor. “Barry? You doing okay over there?”
“Marcus warned me,” he murmured, “warned me that one of you didn’t come without the other—kind of a packaged deal. But when I heard what you were saying the other night about the three of us banding together to help raise the baby… I feared the worst.”
I laughed again, but Amanda shot him a chiding frown. “Eavesdropping, Barry?”
“You know what they say about eavesdroppers, don’t you?” I added.
She folded her arms. “They go to hell.”
“No one says that,” a thick Russian voice interrupted us, “not in any country. Now Rebecca, unless you want to wear a slip with a belt up the aisle, I suggest you get your skinny ass back in my fitting room at once!”
I looked down in surprise to see that I was still wearing a thin negligée along with an overly embossed Swarovski crystal belt. My eyes flickered up self-consciously to Barry, but he just shook his head with a good-natured smile.
“Yesterday, Amanda took me with her shopping for Spanx. Nothing shocks me anymore.”
I stifled a giggle and followed my handler back to the fitting room, Amanda trailing happily behind. A dozen more women had assembled, each carrying an armful of fabric. As I took my place on the stand, each one began presenting their selection to Tatiana who responded with either a curt nod or a sharp shake of the head. The women who received shakes were never seen again.
“So who am I walking up the aisle with?” Amanda asked curiously, sipping on what had to be her third glass of Champagne.
“Take it easy on those,” I instructed sternly. “You two are helping me paint the nursery later today—I need you sharp.”
“Please,” she scoffed, “you should be apologizing. You’ve forced me to drink for the both of us.”
I chuckled and lifted my arms as two more women I didn’t know attacked with measuring tape. “You’re walking up with Max; he’s the best man.”
“Aw, that’s sweet.” She threw a grin over her shoulder at Barry. “Sorry, honey, I guess if you want to walk down the aisle with me, you’re going to have to do it officially. No freebies.”
Barry smiled to himself. “I’ll keep that in mind. Besides,” he said a bit louder, “I’m already walking down the aisle…I’m escorting Becca’s terrifying mother.”
We started laughing again until we were suddenly interrupted by a shriek of Russian coming from the next room. Tatiana disappeared, and the next moment, her voice joined the fray.
“I’m scared to tell her if I don’t like something,” I muttered.
“You just tell her,” Barry said. “She works for you.”
“Are you kidding?” Amanda whispered back. “Like anyone would be brave enough to take her on?” There was a crash, and she jumped. “I’m thinking…hand-to-hand combat.”
But it turned out someone was brave enough. A moment later, Marcus stuck his head through the curtains, his eyes squeezed shut.