She shot me a knowing glance. I tried to muster up a haughty look, but instead the flush in my cheeks deepened even further.
“Well, I think the time has come,” Matthew announced. “If we don’t get out of here soon they’ll be kicking us out. Peter, you’re staying at the Furlongs’ house, aren’t you? Do you need a ride there?”
“That would be great,” said Peter. A lock of hair had fallen across his forehead, making him look even more adorably boyish than he had before. “I took a taxi straight here from the station so I don’t have a car. Let me just go get my bag—I left it in the cloakroom.”
“I’ll go with you,” Matthew volunteered, putting a hand on Peter’s unsuspecting shoulder and guiding him toward the exit. Sean gently removed Jane’s feet from his lap and rose from his seat to follow them.
“We’ll see you all back at the house,” he called over his shoulder with a barely disguised grin. This was more of a commandment than a suggestion. I watched their blue-blazered backs head toward the door, with Peter caught innocently in the middle, and inwardly groaned. The two of them could never resist the chance to play big brother, even though I had two of my own who were required by blood to play the role and did so exceedingly well. Peter would be thoroughly interrogated by the time they got back to the house, at which point Matthew and Sean would let me know in no uncertain terms if they found him a suitable candidate for me.
I sighed and turned my head to meet the unabashedly curious looks of my old roommates.
“Well?” asked Hilary.
“Well what?” I retorted with, I hoped, dignity. She stretched out one long bronzed leg and kicked me. Fortunately, she’d removed her high-heeled sandals. I tried to stare her down, but after a couple of seconds gazing at her jade green eyes I began to giggle.
“He’s cute,” said Jane. “I mean, I know old married women aren’t supposed to notice these things, but he really is very cute. And you certainly seem to think so. I haven’t seen you blush like this in years. He seems nice and normal, too.” In direct contrast to the sort of guy I usually went for, she was no doubt thinking but was too kind to say. She ran a hand through her bobbed brown hair, which gleamed in the dim light. Her arms were tanned against the simple blue sheath she wore.
“Quite handsome,” agreed Luisa, her faint South American accent elongating her words. She pulled a cigarette from a silver case and lit it with an engraved lighter before returning the case to an embroidered black evening bag. She inhaled luxuriously, exhaling a stream of smoke from her full lips. For what must have been the millionth time I wondered how she managed to keep her lipstick on for an entire evening.
“But why is he friends with Richard?” demanded Hilary. “I mean, do we know if he’s worthy? Can he possibly be worthy?” Ah. The question on all of our minds. Trust Hilary to be the first to pose it aloud.
“Oh, do be quiet, Hilary,” said Luisa. “Rachel’s a grown-up. She can take care of herself.” These were disingenuous words from the woman who’d taken it upon herself to cancel a date she deemed “inappropriate” for me our senior year.
“I’m sure the Inquisition will have that all figured out in no time,” I said, referring to Matthew and Sean. I paused then continued in a more serious tone. “I have to admit, I have the same concern. I mean, Peter seems smart and nice, and he’s a really good dancer and he smells incredible, and he’s got the most wonderful eyes and he has a great sense of humor—and did I mention how good he smells? But he’s a friend of Richard’s.” The way I said Richard’s name could leave no doubt as to how I felt about him. “Peter said that the two of them grew up together and that they haven’t really been in touch for years. And he seemed pretty surprised that Richard wanted him to be his best man. That’s a good sign, but is it enough to outweigh being friends with Richard in the first place?” I looked around for affirmation. I’d learned long ago that, when it came to men, my judgment left much to be desired and it was wise to seek a second opinion.
“Speak of the devil,” muttered Hilary. I followed her gaze and saw Richard nearing the table with Emma trailing alongside. She looked exhausted; even her long, golden hair seemed to droop with fatigue.
“Girls, how are you?” asked Richard in that fake hearty way I hated so much, acting as if we were all the best of friends. Girls, indeed. Normally I wouldn’t get too worked up about politically incorrect terminology, but coming from Richard this was particularly irksome. I bit my tongue to keep from pointing out that we’d just attended our ten-year college reunion.
“We’re just fine, Dick,” answered Hilary, giving him a big smile. He didn’t even flinch.
“Emma,” I called. “Come sit with us. We haven’t gotten to spend a minute with you all night.”
“I’d love to,” she said, her quiet voice hoarse from all of the talking she’d had to do that evening. “But I have to get back to the house. My mother’s completely stressed out about tomorrow and all of the logistics, and she wants to go through the master plan one more time. If she’s calm enough, maybe we can all have a nightcap by the pool?” Richard didn’t wait for us to respond before he started shunting her toward the door. “I’ll see you at the house,” she called, casting a wistful look over her shoulder.
“God, I hate that man,” said Hilary, not waiting for them to be out of earshot. She angrily brushed a strand of platinum hair back from her face.
“Of course you do,” said Luisa. “He’s appalling.”
“That’s one word for it,” I said.
“What is Emma thinking?” asked Jane.
“We could sit here all night without answering that,” said Hilary, sounding uncharacteristically dejected. She stood up abruptly, smoothing her short skirt over her thighs. “Let’s go.”
The club’s valet was nowhere to be seen and the parking lot was nearly deserted as we made our way out to the car I’d borrowed from a colleague for the weekend. It was a huge black Suburban that made me feel as if I were driving a tank on the way up from New York.
“Does anybody else feel like driving?” I asked. “I probably shouldn’t.”
“Why—too much to drink or too dazzled by love?”
“Shut up, Hil.”
Jane took the keys and we piled into the car, lapsing into silence as she swung onto the narrow country road that led from the club to the Furlongs’ house. An air of sadness settled over us; doubtless, each of us was thinking about Emma and Richard and the ceremony that would take place the next day. On top of that, I still had the exchange I’d overheard between Emma and her father spinning in my head.
If anyone had asked us to take bets years ago as to which one of us was most likely to make a disastrous matrimonial mistake, the odds would have been on me as the winner, hands down. Yet here we were, on the eve of Emma’s wedding, and I desperately wished that I could find even one thing I liked about the bridegroom, or at least a sign that maybe things would work out for the best.
Unfortunately, when it came to Richard, there just wasn’t much to like. Even I had to admit he was handsome, although that fluke of biology was completely offset by the disproportionate level of interest he took in his clothes. He was also clever and knowledgeable, able to hold his own on topics ranging from high finance to obscure Scandinavian
