Home > The Mission (Bad Bridesmaids #2)(9)

The Mission (Bad Bridesmaids #2)(9)
Author: Noelle Adams

“Great! You’re going to love her. I just know you will! I bet it will take just one try from me to find you the right girl.”

“I’d take that bet in an instant,” he muttered, doing his best not to sound resentful. It wasn’t Serena’s fault she was tearing out his heart and stomping on it under her pretty little bare feet.

“If you’re going to be grumpy about this, it will never work.”

“I’m not going to be grumpy. Well, maybe a little with you, but I’ll give it a fair shake. I promise.”

That evidently convinced her. She nodded and reached out to give him a quick squeeze—not nearly long enough for his liking—and then ran back to her own front door.

She gave him a quick wave before she went inside and said, “Good night, Keith. Dream about Kelly!”

He wasn’t going to dream about Kelly. He’d probably dream about Serena, which was becoming an unfortunate habit.

But there was nothing he could do about that. He’d give it a try—like he always did. After all, he didn’t want to be saddled with this unfortunate devotion to his best friend who didn’t want him the way he wanted her.

But none of his past tries had led to much success, and he didn’t have much hope for this one either.

 

 

three

 


SERENA WAS AS EXCITED about Keith’s upcoming date as she would have been for a date of her own.

More excited, truth be told.

She wasn’t looking for romance, but the idea of finding someone for Keith was new and thrilling. It felt like a relief. Like an invisible burden she’d barely been aware of had been miraculously lifted off her shoulders.

So all week she was bright and cheerful, feeling good about her life and about the world. And she was still in a good mood on Thursday afternoon as she met Taylor for coffee after school.

Taylor worked from home on her own hours, so she wasn’t bound by a normal office schedule. Since Serena had to kill an hour on Thursday afternoons for Eva’s piano lesson, they sometimes met up. Up for discussion today: who Serena should fix Keith up with next if his date with Kelly didn’t work out.

“What about Trisha?” Taylor asked. “She’s way too cheerful all the time. Kind of gets on my nerves. But Keith might like that in a woman.”

They’d both gone to school with Trisha Callahan, but Serena had never been close to her. She shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. I’m not being mean, but I don’t think she’s smart enough for him. He needs someone who’s a thinker. She doesn’t have to be brainy, but she does need to be able to think deeply about ideas and stuff.”

Taylor was a tall, slim brunette—the kind of gorgeous that strangers turned to stare at in the street. Right now in the coffee shop, at least three guys were making obvious attempts to get her to notice them. But she’d never cared about her looks and brushed off compliments and attention. Other than her few close friends, she usually preferred to be alone. It was one of the reasons Serena couldn’t be jealous of her. Taylor treated her appearance more as an annoyance than anything else. “I guess that makes sense. He’s a smart guy, for all he tries to fade into the background.”

“He doesn’t try to fade into the background.”

“Don’t get huffy. I’m not insulting him. He just doesn’t like to be the center of attention. I happen to like that trait in people, so no need to jump to his defense.”

Serena ignored Taylor’s grumpy tone since it was typical of her friend. “I’m not huffy. I’m just saying he’s not as much like that as he used to be. I know in high school he always tried to stay under the radar, but he’s got a lot of friends now. Women are always after him.” For no good reason, she didn’t like the sound of those words. They bothered her. A lot.

“Don’t sound so excited about it. I thought you wanted to fix him up.”

“I do. I was just—” She was saved from trying to explain herself by her phone ringing. Since Keith’s name popped up on the screen, she answered it immediately. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“I had to take my car to the garage at lunchtime. The Check Engine light came on. They didn’t have time to get to it this afternoon, so is there any way you can pick me up from work and take me home?”

“Of course I can. I pick Eva up from piano lessons in a half an hour, but I’m free after that. What time should I be there?”

“Five thirty okay?”

“Yep. See you then!”

She was smiling as she hung up, only to be confronted by Taylor’s knowingly observant expression. “What?” she demanded with a frown.

“What, what?” Taylor’s dark eyes widened in fake innocence.

“Why are you looking at me that way?”

“Still just friends?”

“Yes, we’re just friends. What is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know, but your face sure lit up when you talked to him. I’ve never seen it light up like that with anyone else but Eva.”

Serena’s cheeks warmed. “We’ve already had this conversation. More than once.”

“I know. But maybe I think you’re not telling yourself the truth.”

“I am. You don’t have to believe me, but I am.”

“Okay. Sure.” Taylor didn’t look convinced.

Serena let the conversation drop. She didn’t have to win a debate with Taylor. And she was right anyway.

“So his car needs work?” Taylor asked, clearly willing to change the subject too.

“Yeah. Check Engine light. He just needs a ride home. I like to help him out when I can since he’s helped me out so much for so long.”

“I’m sure he didn’t do all that because he expects you to give him rides.”

“I know that. But still. He’s been so good to me. Even little things I do let me feel like I might deserve it.”

She didn’t actually intend to say so much. She bit her lip and hoped Taylor wouldn’t follow up.

Naturally Taylor did. “Deserve it?”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I know I don’t have to earn his friendship. I just...” She sighed and rubbed her head distractedly. “I just mean I want to be good to him too. I can’t help it. I’m one of those overresponsible people who like to work hard and do a good job and earn my place in the world. I don’t like to feel obliged.”

“I get that. I just don’t think Keith would think you’re obliged to him for anything. He’s your friend. He helps you because he wants to, just like you want to help him.”

“Yeah.” Serena sighed, her stomach tightening strangely. Since she didn’t understand it, she tried to push the feeling away. “Yeah. I agree. I think it’s just that my life was a mess for so long that now that it’s in order, I want to keep it in order. And it kind of feels like any misstep will send it tumbling into chaos. And I couldn’t deal with chaos involving Keith. So I want to make sure everything is always good between us.”

Taylor was clearly listening, but it took her a while to reply. When she finally did, she said, “Sometimes chaos comes anyway no matter how much we try to keep our lives in order. That’s why we need friends to begin with.”

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