Page 16 of The Sounds of Her
“Perfect sense,” Jenna nods.
Everyone else is nodding. I don’t want to say I don’t get it. I do, I mean, I can imagine what it must be like. I’ve seen enough movies and listened to enough of Jenna’s stories to know it happens, and it’s beautiful. It’s just never been a part of my life.
I’m not even sure my parents like each other. My dad crying at the sight of my mother? Not in a million years. If anything, it’s a relief to him when mom is going away.
How they’ve stayed together all these years is beyond me. They barely communicate unless they’re in company. And to hear mom speak of him when she is with her friends, you’d think they were newlyweds. All lies.
Once Jenna is back in her ripped jeans and Poison t-shirt, the rest of us try on our bridesmaid gowns. Mine is different from the others. As the maid of honour, and her longest friend, Jenna wants me to stand out, even though the dresses are the same shade of willow green.
The others have form-fitting satin column dresses, with a narrow strap over one-shoulder. They have full-length skirts with a side split that makes them sexy but sophisticated.
When I put my dress on, my heart stops. It’s absolutely gorgeous. There is no other way to describe it. It’s an off-the-shoulder dress with blush multi-coloured floral embroidery over the whole thing. The subtle cowl neckline gives a glimpse of cleavage, but it’s not obscene and the swag sleeves are narrow and delicate. It has a soft A-line skirt that reaches the floor. A skinny sash around the cinched waist finishes it off. It’s so flattering to my figure and fits like a glove. Keira is a fucking genius.
As I walk out, Jenna gets to her feet, dragging Sandy and Beth up too, because she is clutching their hands. She cries again, but I’ll give her this one. I get a little teary-eyed myself seeing how damn happy she is.
“Oh my God, you are all so beautiful. I love them,” Jenna hugs all of us.
She takes hundreds of photographs, making sure Sandy takes one of the two of us. When she moves on to snap pictures of Keira and her mom, Jenna squeezes me tighter.
“You okay?”
“Of course, why do you ask?”
Jenna tilts her head, her eyes narrow.
“What?” I pull back and smooth the fabric over my stomach without meeting her eye.
“There is something going on inside that big old brain of yours.”
“I’m fine.”
She doesn’t believe me, so I smile bigger and brighter.
“Brooke.”
“This is your day, your time. Anything to do with me isn’t important right now.”
“So you admit there is something?”
“No, there is nothing wrong,” I groan. “But I am about to start sweating if you keep up this line of questioning and I do not want to ruin this dress.”
Jenna shakes her head and lets me go get changed, but I’m not off the hook.
What could she see on my face? That I’m jealous of all of this? Or my mind has been replaying my last meeting with Ciro, second guessing whether I should call it off, or arguing about him opening up to me? It could be my latest case is playing on my mind.
There are many things. None I want to talk about. Now, or ever. I’m not getting into any kind of pity party.
So I make a concerted effort to cheer up when we head back to New York. Adam is taking us to an exclusive nightclub, Flux. Jenna loves to dance, and he’s picked a place where she will be safe.
The club is jumping and as per usual, and an added perk of my best friend’s relationship, we are whisked straight into the VIP area. Although this seems much fancier than other VIP areas.
“Is this like a VIP’s VIP area?” I laugh.
Jenna shrugs. “Kinda.”
Over the last year, Jenna mellowed about Adam’s fame. She struggled a lot at first. Particularly before they officially became an item. I still sense some of that insecurity in her, but she trusts Adam. One of my jobs as her best friend is to keep a close eye on him. Admittedly, he is devoted.
We’re in a large room with smoked black glass windows overlooking the club. There are open balconies so we can hear the music and noise of the club goers. The same music is pumping in this room, but not as loud.