“I’m just waiting for the perfect man like you found with Henry.” She couldn’t freak out on Lily’s aunt. Definitely the wrong person to do that to, but she could switch the conversation with ease. Butter her up with compliments about her own marriage, or anything that had to do with her in general, and she changed course as fast as a NASCAR pit crew changed tires.

“Oh, you are so right, dear. Why Henry, just the other day, he did the sweetest thing...”

Did she care what Henry did? No. Absolutely not. That simply reinforced all the good ones were taken. When are you going to find yourself a handsome man? Jeepers, if only she could’ve answered with, “As soon as all the men stop acting like bottom-feeding tadpoles and act like a true gentleman.”

Of course, that would’ve opened a series of questions she didn’t want to answer. What did she mean by that? “Oh, you poor thing, did some man break your heart?”

You poor thing. Goodness, she hated hearing that as much as the other dratted saying—always a bridesmaid. Maybe she wasn’t as lucky as she could be in the man department. Sure, she had her heart broken a time or two. But all the good ones were snatched away before she had a chance to throw a sweet smile their way.

“…and then he came home with flowers. Isn’t that the sweetest thing? The entire day was simply wonderful,” Aunt Zenda said with a laugh.

Sarafina nodded, the same permanent smile on her face, because she had no clue what story Aunt Zenda delivered. Her mind derailed like it always did when she talked to her. “Henry’s something else. You know—”

“I do know, dear. I was hoping you’d bring him up. Travis is perfect for you. You’re walking down the aisle with him, aren’t you?”

Her smile dipped. Just a fraction. She had a lifetime of how to perfect acting with Lily’s family. But this question threw her off a little. Travis? Lily’s brother? A big fat no. He was nothing more than a big brother to her.

“I’m not. I’m walking down with…ah…one of Ryan’s friends. I haven’t met him yet. I should really go check on Lily. It was so nice to catch up, Aunt Zenda. Let’s talk more later.”

“Yes, dear, always a pleasure. Chin up. Your day’s coming.” Aunt Zenda frowned and patted her shoulder in reassurance.

One nod and a smile. Horrible conversation over.

Sometimes, it didn’t pay to respond. Especially when she hadn’t been feeling down about this wedding. Heavens no. Lily was her best friend. Nothing but excitement raced through her veins. Until she ran into someone like Aunt Zenda. She probably wouldn’t be the only one to say that dreaded saying. There was nothing wrong with being a bridesmaid. All. The. Time. Nothing wrong whatsoever.

Aunt Zenda was right, of course. She was always the bridesmaid. Half of her friends were already married, with nearly the other half engaged. Because she was close with everyone, always the friendly one, the generous one, the go-to gal if you needed anything, she was always asked to be a bridesmaid.

Anytime a friend asked, she gladly accepted the humble responsibility, never taking a moment of it for granted. She considered it an honor to be asked. A true honor. She cherished each moment, each wedding as if it were the first time she was asked.

But a girl could only take so much, especially with the constant chatter and annoying statements thrown at her recently.

She paused mid-step as she walked down the church hallway. Oh, jeepers.

The dating game.

Was it time to get back into the dating game? Not that she stopped trying. Certainly not. She merely hadn’t gone out of her way to snag a new man. Perhaps now would be a good time.

She continued walking.

Not at the wedding, of course. After. She’d find a great man after the wedding. No matter how hard it would be, she’d stick to her checklist. The perfect kind of man she wanted. Her very own Prince Charming. In the correct order, too. No skipping this time.

Kind. Check one.

Funny. Check two.

Thoughtful. Check three.

Good in bed. Check four.

Okay. Maybe she should move that last one up a few slots. Check one?

Nope. That needed to stay on the bottom. Where had it gotten her already? Nowhere. That’s where.

Every time she tried the dating game, hunting for a man who would be perfect for her, she failed in every aspect. She always thought she snagged a prime catch, reeling that sucker in like she’d won a fishing contest.

First, there was Bradley. Delicious in bed. He topped ‘good in bed’ without breaking a sweat. First-prize winner every time. That should’ve been her huge warning sign. He didn’t make it much farther down the list. He cheated on her with his secretary.

Then came Todd. He didn’t even make it past check one when she brought him to a family gathering and he made her six-year-old cousin, who had a speech impediment, feel like it was something to be ashamed of. He even had the audacity to mock her cousin in front of her after they left the party. She never had the temptation to hit someone before, but that time it almost consumed her. Instead, she hopped out of his car before he could back out of the driveway and told him he better leave before her brother came out with his baseball bat. He was gone in under two seconds.

Her favorite one. Dominic. He made it far on the checklist, plus some. He had been her true love. Her one and only. Her soul mate. Her cosmic power that centered her world daily. That was, until he cheated on her.

She would like to say it broke her heart, but in truth, it had set her free. He hadn’t really cheated on her, per se, like Bradley had. He had the decency to let her down gently that it wasn’t going to work between them before he took the plunge with another person.

But she had felt stripped of something magical, something special, something that all her other friends had. To this day, he was still her one and only…best friend.

His new relationship was doing great. She couldn’t be happier for him. Truly, unconditionally happy. Considering he was gay and couldn’t continue to ignore that, she was more than glad he found happiness. Just not at times when the reminder she was alone and still hearing those dratted words from people like Aunt Zenda.

A spa session and maybe even a makeover with Dominic seemed crucial. And his partner, Freddy, well, he was the master makeover king if she ever saw one. He could take the most bedraggled human being and turn them into the most gorgeous creature living on the planet. She wasn’t calling herself ugly, but sometimes a girl needed a little sprucing up to gain some happiness back. To know that she was a worthy catch.

The minute she saw Dominic, she’d tell him to schedule an appointment with Freddy for her. She could already hear him saying, “Darling, you don’t need to see Freddy with an appointment. He’ll get you in on the spot. He’ll drop anyone for you.” She knew he would, too, but his time was precious and deserved respect. She would, of course, argue with Dominic until she got her way. A pure master. He could never win an argument with her, no matter the issue. Well, besides the one where he wasn’t really gay. She had talked herself blue on that one. Perhaps she should call him now. If she didn’t tell him right away, she might lose her nerve to go through with it.

Patting the sides of her dress, she muttered under her breath. So much for letting Dominic know right away. No pockets. Duh. She left her phone in the room where Lily was beautifying herself. Her best friend, Lily, was finally getting married. It still seemed surreal at times.

While she thought of Dominic as her best friend—her guy best friend—Lily was her girl best friend. Some days, she didn’t know how she would’ve survived the aftermath of Dominic telling her he was gay if Lily hadn’t been there.

She had hoped to be her maid of honor. Sometimes, it felt like a nasty fate bestowed upon her always asked to be in her friends’ weddings as a bridesmaid, but she was never the maid of honor. Only a simple bridesmaid. Just once, she would like to be a maid of honor. Or the bride. That would be lovely, too. To have her own fairytale romance. Only in her dreams, apparently.

She had been totally let down and disappointed. Silly to feel that way. She knew Lily’s family well. So well, she was practically considered one of their daughters. But when it came to family, Lily never disobeyed. Her mother had immediately said her sister would be her maid of honor without asking or batting an eye toward Lily. It was said with simple authority. One thing a person never did was disobey or question the words of her mother, and especially her father.

Lily had smiled at her mother and nodded enthusiastically. Of course, when they left the house—because yes, she had been there when it happened—Lily apologized profusely.

“I’m sorry, Fina. I was going to ask you. I truly was. I didn’t expect my mother to say that at all. She knows Lora and I don’t get along.”

“She’s your sister. I understand. Don’t worry, Lily. I know when your mother says something, it’s like it’s written in gold.”

“But you’ll be one of my bridesmaids, right? Say you will.”

“It would be my honor.”

A real honor. This wedding, out of every wedding she had been a part of, was a true honor. She would do anything for Lily. Absolutely anything. She was her best friend.

Finding her right now and making sure pre-jitter nerves weren’t swarming her body, she figured it was a good time to quit wallowing in self-pity. For the day, anyway. Tomorrow she would pick up where her mind had wandered and enter pity-land. Sometimes, a girl had to pull that gallon of ice cream out and eat her pity away. She would do that, then call Dominic for an appointment with Freddy. Purge herself of all that sadness and find a new man. It was time she became the bride for once.

Deep breath. She would survive the day.

Running her hands down the soft contours of her periwinkle dress, she released one more breath.

No need to be nervous. She had done this a million times already. Nothing new. She couldn’t remember exactly how many times she had been a bridesmaid.

Seven times. No. Probably more like ten. Maybe this one made it eleven. Or was it nine?

Did it truly matter? Nope.

She loved this dress. Loved it. Lily made sure she picked a dress that complemented her. Of course, no matter how many times she walked down the aisle as a bridesmaid, she always managed to look elegant and beautiful. Not as gorgeous as the bride, but she held her own. That alone made her nervous when her day finally came, making her think she wouldn’t look as elegant and beautiful. 

Utterly silly. Of course, she would look elegant and beautiful. Her wedding day would be the grandest day of her life. She would look like a princess, feel like one, and be the most cherished woman on earth by the true love of her life. Whoever that fellow might be. She would hopefully know soon after Freddy used his magic hands with her hair.

“Oh, jeepers, I’m so sorry,” she mumbled, trailing her eyes up a broad chest to a face she didn’t recognize. And she would’ve recognized him if she had seen him before. His bright-green eyes twinkled, a slight amusement lingering. This wasn’t the time to be running into handsome men. She needed all her wits about her. Running into handsome men was supposed to come after the wedding, not before.

“My fault. I wasn’t paying attention.” He offered a charming smile, lighting his eyes up even more as he let his hands drop from her shoulders. “I’m Dax. I’m sorry for almost knocking you down.”

He reached out his hand. She couldn’t possibly shake his hand. The brief moment when she smacked her face into his chest, his hands grabbing her to steady her, sent a small tingling flame of desire down the length of her body. So brief, her imagination had probably simply run away from her. A simple touch couldn’t possibly send a burst of pleasure that quickly. What would it feel like to hold his hand?

His brow rose at her lack of response. Oh geez, she was acting like an idiot. She shoved her hand into his. “I’m Fina…or Sarafina. Most people call me Fina. You can call me that. Or you can call me Sarafina. Heck, some people even call me Sara.” She cleared her throat. She did not just ramble like that. Since when did she ramble like a moron? How long would he continue to hold her hand? Those flames of desire were starting to burn her from the inside out. Her imagination was intact. The tingles were real. And very, very wonderful.

He caressed her hand with the tip of his thumb before letting her go. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sarafina. You have a beautiful name. Are you a bridesmaid?” He glanced at her dress, a small laugh escaping. “Of course, you are. What position are you walking down?”

A trembling hand slid down her dress. “Um…I’m third. Why?”

Her insides continued to melt when another laugh left his mouth. “Me, too. It’ll be my pleasure to escort you down the aisle.”

Pleasure. Yeah, she was feeling plenty of that. Keep the smile. Do not look terrified at that prospect. How would she manage down the aisle with his warm hand on her the entire time? “Great. You weren’t at the rehearsal dinner, were you?”

“No, I had some business I needed to wrap up. Are you a friend or family of the bride?”

“A friend. You?”

“I went to college with Ryan.”

They stared at each other. She wanted to say it unnerved her, but she was almost getting used to the way his eyes held hers. Mesmerized. Enchanted.

Pathetic, Sarafina. Oh darnation. This was too much. His gorgeous smile indicated he wanted to say more. But they had nothing else to say. Unless to brainstorm where the nearest closet could be found.

Nope. Bad idea. Not happening.

She needed some air. Especially if his hands would be touching her again so soon.

“I need a last-minute touch-up…and I should go see if Lily needs my help. I’ll see you soon,” she said a bit awkwardly.

“I can’t wait.”

Copyright © 2017 Amanda Siegrist.

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