Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot Read Free Book Online Page A

ever done was sit around and planned what my wedding was going to be like.
    And now that I’m actually having one, whenever I try to imagine it, my mind just goes blank.
    “So, where’s it going to be?” Shari wants to know. “Château Mirac?”
    “Um,” I say. “Maybe. My mom wants me to do it in our backyard.”
    Shari brightens. “That’d be nice.”
    I roll my eyes. “Shari.”
    “Well, why not?”
    “It would make so much more sense to do it at the château. That place was practically built for weddings. And it’s where we fell in love and all. And there’s the added cost-benefit of its being free, since Luke’s family owns it.”
    “Ye-e-ah,” Shari says slowly. “Except it’s far for your family to travel. And there’s your grandmother to consider.”
    “What about Gran?” I ask defensively.
    “Well,” Shari says as she sits back down in her chair. “She’s getting up there in years. You really think she’s going to make it to the south of France and back for a wedding?”
    “Sure,” I say a little hotly. “Why not?”
    “I don’t know,” Shari says. “I’m just saying. She’s old. And… ”
    “And what?”
    “And she suffers from chronic alcoholism, Lizzie. Geez, what’s the matter with you? You’d think being engaged would make you happy. But you’re acting anything but.”
    I hang my head. “I’m sorry. It’s just… it’s been a bad day. Monsieur Henri had a heart attack and is having a quadruple bypass and is going to be out for a while and I was on Page Six this morning because of the Jill Higgins wedding and the phones are ringing off the hook and—”
    “Oh, so that’s what Tiffany’s doing down there,” Shari says. “I wondered.”
    I take a sip of my tea. It’s grown cold in front of me. “I should probably be getting back to work. There are a lot of brides who need wedding gowns restored, apparently.”
    “And there are probably a lot of victims of domestic abuse who need help obtaining public support and orders of protection,” Shari says with a sigh.
    I look at her from across the table. “How did we end up here?” I ask.
    “I don’t know,” Shari says with a shake of her head. “But I like where I am. Do you like where you are?”
    “I think so,” I say, looking down at my ring. “It might take some getting used to. I think I might be better at helping other people with their weddings than I am at planning my own. Whenever I think about it, I sort of want to throw up.”
    “Okay.” Shari points at me. “That is not a good sign. Remember what I said. It’s okay for you to change your mind.”
    I give her a queasy smile. “I know. But… I really do love him.”
    “Do you?” Shari asks as she stands to go. “Or do you love the idea of him?”
    “God,” I say with a laugh. “What kind of question is that?”
    “For you? I think it’s a pertinent question. You have a history of falling in love with guys it turns out you basically didn’t know at all.”
    “Yeah, but, Shari, come on. Luke’s not going to turn out to be gay or a gambling addict.” I have made some unfortunate mistakes in the guy department. “I mean, I lived with Luke, for crying out loud. For six months. I think I know him pretty well by now.”
    “Yes,” she says. “You’d think that, wouldn’t you? Still, people can surprise you, can’t they? After all, I lived with Chaz for nearly as long as you lived with Luke, and I turned out to be a—”
    “Don’t say it.” I fling up a hand to stop her before she can say the word “lesbian.” Not that I mind. It’s just that I try so hard not to remember that night at Kathy Pennebaker’s when we were both sixteen. I’d been lusting after Tim Daly from the television show Wings. Shari and Kathy, it turned out, had been lusting after… well, each other. God, I’d been so blind. Although I suppose it’s just as well they never told me. It would have been all over school in half a second. I’d have tried