Forever Your Girl Read online

  Then I look at Charlie, a boy I loved before I even knew what love was.

  And despite the slight nausea and the chorus in my head telling me to slow down, I nod my red head. “Okay. Let’s get married.”

  Chapter Four

  My Sunday starts off with a bang, from the moment Maxine wakes me with a serenade beneath my bedroom window and goes a hundred miles per hour from that point on.

  “Eliza Biggles is the best travel agent in In Between.” Maxine holds open the door for Charlie, me, and our small entourage of family.

  I step inside and swear I smell mothballs. “She’s the only travel agent in In Between.”

  “We’re lucky we got her to come in on the Lord’s Day,” Maxine says. “Usually, she heads to the casino and closes the place down.”

  “Katie, dear, I’m so excited.” Charlie’s mother, Donna, has accompanied us this morning, and she vibrates with excitement. “I think a destination wedding is brilliant.”

  “Of course, it’s a brilliant idea,” Maxine says. “It came from me. Donna, have I talked to you about your mayoral preference for our September election?”

  I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I even woke up at four a.m. and took something to help me nod off, but my brain was like, “No, thank you! We have more thinking to do!”

  Instead of counting sheep, I counted all the ways I was completely overwhelmed. I’ve just gotten the part of a lifetime, something I don’t know that I’m prepared to successfully pull off. What if I’m a terrible Amelia? If I screw this up, I’ll be forever relegated to supporting roles or bit parts.

  Another insomniac item was the fact that I’ve gone from being an engaged woman with no looming wedding date to someone who is now a month away from getting married. It’s a lot to take in. What do I know about being a wife? Or successfully navigating a marriage that doesn’t implode? Nothing. I come from a long line of women who never had a successful marriage. My mom never married my dad. Her only marriage had lasted months. My mom said my grandma had married many times but died clutching the divorce papers that ended her marriage to step grandpa number five. We were a bloodline of cursed women. What if I’m bringing inevitable bad juju to my holy union with Charlie? Did a good man deserve that? What if when I said, “I do,” I magically transformed and got a hankering for Jim Beam and dirt road honkey-tonk?

  “Dear, Eliza.” Maxine rushes toward a peacock of a woman wearing an Auntie Mame kaftan and kisses her cheek. “How are you, you fashionable thing, you?”

  My grandmother is a style maven. If there was a runway for senior citizens, she’d be walking it. This fawning over Eliza Biggins’ rainbow-colored tent dress is Grade A Maxine Dayberry Suck-Up.

  “I’m just swamped, darling.” Eliza’s fur-trimmed high heels looked like she’s stepped out of a 1980 soap opera. “But when I got your call, I knew I had to fit your granddaughter in. Please, sit.” She points a long red nail to a seating area circling her desk. “Who do we have here?”

  “I’m Charlie Benson.” He sticks out his hand for Eliza to shake. “And this is my fiancée, Katie.”

  “Aren’t you adorable?” Eliza hugs me like we’re old friends, and I’m smothered in a cloud of old lady perfume.

  Charlie introduces our mothers as Eliza opens a drawer in her desk and pulls out a one-subject notebook. “Let me boot up my computer here.” She snorts as she laughs. “My son buys me a new computer every year, but I’m old school. These young whippersnappers think I’m the fuddy-duddy, but when the world implodes, and we’re all living without electricity and modern amenities, who will be laughing then, huh?” She licks a finger and flips through ink-stained pages. “They can keep their technology. Everything I need is right here in my spiral notebook.”

  “And what a cute Paw Patrol design it is.” I shoot my grandmother a look. What have you gotten us into?

  Maxine ignores me. “Eliza, I know you said it was impossible to book a destination wedding with our timeline, but I was hoping you could work your magic.”

  “And work my magic, I have.” She flips a few more pages, her eyes glowing with victory. “I searched high and low for something wonderful, and I’ve found just the thing.” From the top drawer, she extracts a brochure and pushes it toward Charlie and me. “Behold the wonder.”

  I pick it up. “A clown cruise to the Caribbean?”

  “Oops. Wrong pamphlet. Let’s try this one.” She whips out another. “Read it and weep with joy.”

  Charlie frowns. “A singles getaway to a haunted castle in Transylvania?”

  “Oops again!” She swipes it from his grip. “But that one does come with a certified matchmaker and vampire hypnotist, if things go belly-up for you two.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Charlie’s lips quirk, and he gives my foot a light nudge with his shoe.

  “Okie dokie, my blissfully-in-love artichokies, here is the wedding destination of your dreams.”

  I expect to see yet another ridiculous getaway, maybe a bus tour of chicken farms or an all-inclusive trip to the wax museum in Branson, Missouri. But what I’m looking at is actually pretty impressive. Photos of crystal blue ocean water, regal palm trees, a luxury hotel suite with a gorgeous lanai.

  “Now I have your attention.” Sitting in her desk chair, Eliza wheels herself closer, the ropes of beads around her neck pooling on top of her prized notebook. “This is Santisto Resort. It’s a five-star resort in Santisto, Mexico, and a hop, skip, and a jump from Cancun. Food and drinks are covered, as are daily spa treatments. As you can see from the brochure, there’s a lazy river, three giant pools, and you get your own cabana to lounge in on the beach. Your rooms would have an ocean view and are within walking distance to all the other restaurants on the resort.”

  “It looks beautiful,” Millie says from her spot beside me. “What do you guys think?”

  “It’s okay,” I manage. “Not bad.”

  “Not bad?” Eliza slaps her knee and guffaws. “This kind of deal rarely comes along. Kiddies, this resort is where A-listers stay, and they just happen to have a cancellation that I grabbed. If I don’t sell it to you, I’ve got a waiting list of other interested parties.” She reaches for her avocado green corded phone. “Customers who are waiting for my call.”

  “No!” Maxine grabs the receiver from Eliza’s claw of a hand. “Don’t be so hasty. My granddaughter here is still a little overwhelmed and starstruck. She just landed a mega role on Broadway, tomorrow she’s the grand marshal in our Fourth of July parade, and now she has to endure the sudden shock of having to speed this wedding along…well, it’s been a lot to take in. Right, Katie?” Her eyes are a silent plea to cooperate.

  “Sure.” I manage a smile. “But I think we’d like to hear more.”

  Charlie’s hand reaches for mine, and he presses a kiss to my fingers before resting my hand in the safe crook of his arm.

  A total swoony move.

  Or maybe he’s just afraid I’m about to bolt out of here like a summer Olympian doing the fifty-yard dash.

  “So, we could get married on this Santisto Resort?” Charlie asks.

  “It’s their specialty, they tell me.” Eliza peers at us over her bifocals. “Their wedding package is separate from your inclusive stay, but it includes a professional photographer, a seaside ceremony, a two-tier cake, an ordained minister, and a small reception afterward.” She taps on a glossy photo. “This is a wedding they’ve done. And you didn’t hear this from me, but this place is so nice that Beyonce and Jay-Z renew their vows here yearly.” She makes a criss-cross over her heart. “Look at me, blabbing. I swore I wouldn’t tell anyone that, so now it’s your secret to keep as well, right?” She slaps her hands on her desk and proceeds to laugh at herself yet again. This woman seems to think she’s an endless supply of punchlines. “What do y’all say?”

  Donna scans the brochure. “I think it’s lovely. And what a blessing that a trip like this is available on such short notice.”

  “I agree,” Millie
says. “If you’re sure you don’t want to wait, then this sounds ideal.”

  “What do you think?” Charlie asks me.

  I stare at the smiling couple staring back at me from the brochure. “It’s something to consider. Maybe we can talk about it for a few days.”

  “Days? That’s not gonna work.” Eliza shakes her orange head. “This deal will be gone within the hour. I’m only offering it to you because I owe your grandma a favor.”

  Maxine inspects her flawless manicure. “We won’t rehash old wounds, but it did involve a cheating husband, a prenuptial agreement Eliza should never have signed, and forty-eight hours of surveillance embedded with a grunge band in Austin.”

  “Thank you for your time, Ms. Biggins.” Charlie rises and shakes her hand again. “We’ll definitely give this trip some thought.”

  “Best of luck to you, kids.” Eliza Biggins closes her notebook with a snap. “It’s going to be near impossible to find a destination that can handle your wedding with such a quick turnaround.” She doesn’t break eye contact as her phone rings. She presses the antique receiver to her ear. “Eliza’s Exciting Expeditions, Eliza speaking. Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay.” The notebook is opened once again. “Funny you called. The Santisto Resort has a last-minute cancellation of rooms that will absolutely meet your needs. With this package, you’ll get an all-inclusive stay at the resort, plus a five-star destination wedding that includes a two-tier cake, an ordained—”

  “We’ll take it.”

  I stare in something akin to horror at Charlie’s words. “What? Charlie, I don’t think—”

  “We’ll take it.” Resolutely, he pivots in his seat to face me. “I know it’s rushing things, but we can keep things simple.” Eyes gray as a summer storm hold mine captive. “At the end of the day, I just want to marry you. I don’t care where or how. I don’t want to wait more than a year, especially not for some vague, indefinite date we won’t know until the distant future. Let’s do this, Katie. You, me, our family, and a few friends. It’ll be an adventure—together.” He holds out his open palm. “Are you with me?”

  I stare at that hand and know there’s only one right answer here.

  But why is it sticking to the roof of my mouth, afraid to trickle off my tongue?

  “Katie?” Charlie’s brows rise, and everyone around us leans in.

  Finally, I place my hand in his. “I’m with you.”

  The room expands with the collective sigh of relief, and Eliza hangs up on her customer.

  The travel agent then turns to her dusty computer and fires it up. “Let me see if I remember how to work this thing so we can make some reservations.” She gives it a love pat, and it whirs to life. “Congratulations, kids. You leave in twelve days.”

  Stars dance before my eyes, and a dustbowl settles in my lungs. “Excuse me?” I manage to croak out. “Twelve days?”

  After shoving her bifocals onto her nose, a squinty-eyed Eliza click-clacks on her keyboard. “Yep, you head out on a Friday, then marry that next Monday. Better get to shopping.”

  For the next half hour, decisions are made, credit cards are swiped, and I sit in my uncomfortable chair and nod my head while I sweat right through my shirt.

  My wedding is in fifteen days.

  “So nice doing business with you.” Eliza later escorts us to the front doors. “I’ll be in touch. Bye-bye now.”

  I step onto the sidewalk, and the blast of sunshine brings an immediate headache.

  Or maybe it’s the impulsive trip we just booked.

  Millie falls into step beside me. “How are you feeling?”

  I sniff the aroma wafting from the coffee shop two doors down and know I’ll be detouring for a triple shot espresso. “I feel like I got run over by a semi-truck bound for Mexico.”

  Her motherly face softens. “Eliza’s right—we don’t have much time. We have a lot to buy and better get started.”

  “I don’t even know where to start.”

  “That’s an easy one.” Maxine hoofs it down the sidewalk and inserts herself between us. “Let’s go find you a wedding dress.”

  Chapter Five

  “Well, here we are.” On Monday afternoon, I give Charlie a kiss, grab my phone, and exit the rental car. Though the parade won’t start for another half hour, the town square is already buzzing with activity. “See you at the end of the route. I’ll try not to bean you with a lollipop.”

  “Katie, wait.”

  With sweat already dotting my brow, I turn to my fiancé. “Yes?”

  His frown could scare the small children already lining up along the sidewalks. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Sure. Perfectly Fine. Gotta go now.”

  His hand reaches for mine, halting my escape. “You didn’t tell me how dress shopping went this morning.”

  “No luck in Houston. We’re going to try the new shop in town tomorrow.” Though we found a flower girl dress for Charlie’s sister, Sadie, who’s ten going on sixteen. It’s the perfect mix of not too mature, but not too young. And cheap.

  “You’ve barely said two words to me since we decided to move up the wedding date.”

  Oh. That. “Just feeling overwhelmed…with love.”

  Charlie ignores a passerby who waves in our direction. “I think I just witnessed your worst acting performance ever. Don’t you want to get married?”

  Is this really the time for this conversation? We have a country to celebrate and heat strokes to endure. “Of course I do.”

  “Then what’s going on?”

  “Charlie, I—”

  “Hey, sweet peas.” Maxine blares an airhorn twice, causing a nearby flock of geese to squawk and scurry away. She inserts herself between the two of us. “Charlie, you have the rest of your life to monopolize my girl. Right now, I need her for parade duties.” She gets a look at my outfit as I exit the vehicle. “I thought I told you to show cleavage.”

  “I don’t have any.”

  “You’re an actress—you could’ve improvised. I have a lot riding on today. You could be my ticket to earning the millennial vote.”

  My eyes drop to my chest. “Guess you’ll have to lure them in with something else.”

  “But with what? Free televisions and coupons for queso at Nellie’s House of Nachos?”

  “I was thinking with sound ideas and forward-thinking policies.”

  She rolls her eyes. “You don’t know politics at all.”

  I squeeze Charlie’s hand and give him a quick kiss. “See you later.”

  “This conversation isn’t over,” he says quietly.

  And that’s exactly what I’m afraid of. How do I communicate my hesitance to marry the boy when I can’t even understand it myself? I love Charlie with every cell and molecule in my body, but yet…the delays on our way to the chapel have not disappointed me the way they have him.

  “Kissy time later.” Maxine pulls me along and escorts me down the sidewalk where cars and floats line up like they’re posing for a new Norman Rockwell painting. “Sam’s waiting for us with the Cadillac.”

  The good people of In Between mill about, and the clouds above us breathe out humidity and filter happy sunshine. The air buzzes with an energy that seeps into my skin and momentarily pushes away all my dark, tangled thoughts. I wave at Frances, who stands on her NASA float like an avenging ship captain. I spot two former high school teachers and call out a hello.

  “Miss Katie?” I glance down at a short, curly-headed blonde girl who holds a notebook and a smile. “Can I get your autograph?”

  I grin at the child who can’t be more than ten. “Sure.” I give her an enthusiastic version of my name, the loops and swoops taking up the entire page. It’s only been this year that the autograph request phenomenon has hit, and while it’s no longer the out-of-body shock it initially was, I’m still not used to it. “Here you go. Have fun at the parade.”

  “Wow.” She clutches the notebook and looks at it like I’ve given her a thousand dollar check instead. “Thi
s is the coolest.”

  “You bet it is.” Maxine hands the girl a ‘Maxine for Mayor’ koozie. “My granddaughter here is about to be the reigning princess of Broadway. That signature will be worth big bucks this time next Fourth of July. Now move along, little darlin.’ We’ve got a parade to start.”

  “Thank you!” the girl squeals, then breaks through the crowd. “Mom, look. I got Idina Menzel’s autograph!”

  “Adorable little brat.” Maxine cracks her knuckles. “Do you want me to go straighten her out?”

  “You can do it later.”

  “Right. Way to stay focused. Onward to the Caddie.”

  We walk another block, intercepting well-wishers and calling out hellos. Sweat gathers on my upper back as we swim upstream in search of Sam. While I owe much to the town of In Between, participating in a parade in July in Texas means my debt is now more than paid.

  “Here we go. Sam! Yoo-hoo!” Maxine throws her hand up in the air and waves at her adorable husband. “Isn’t he a hunk? Girl, check out the backside of that dreamboat.”

  “Not really the visual I want of my grandfather,” I say as we reach the car.

  “I meant the Cadillac.” Maxine pats the dusty pink car that nearly takes up more than its share of parking spaces. “Get a load of these curves, would ya? And check out that leather interior. Cars today are tiny Hot Wheels compared to this beaut.”

  Sam sits in the back and pats a fin. “This here’s a Cadillac Eldorado. Rumored to have been used in a movie starring Marilyn Monroe.”

  “Got it from one of Sam’s friends,” Maxine says. “See Katie, this car’s got good juju.”

  “It also has ‘Vote for Maxine’ signs plastered all over it.” I walk around Maxine’s dreamboat. “Is my name on here anywhere?”

  “No, but it can be.” She digs into her purse and extracts a pen. “Do you spell Indina with two N’s or one?”

  “Dagnabbit, Maxine.” Sam hops out of the vehicle and inspects her banners. “Where did these banners come from?”

  “Straight from my heart.”