Page 22 of Never Not Friends

I wish.

I give her my nicest smile while gently breaking the news to her. “I’m actually the maid of honor.”

Her eyes widen for half a second before she recovers like a true professional and reaches her hand out to me. “Of course! I’m so sorry. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Emma Lawson.” I use a firm grip when I shake her hand, putting my best foot forward for Juliet.

“I’m Lila, the shop owner.” She gestures for me to sit at the wooden desk. “You can sit here while we wait for Vinny and Juliet to arrive.”

“It’s actually just going to be me. Juliet can’t make it.” I shake my head and see Lila’s immediate frown. “She had to take her mom to a doctor’s appointment,” I quickly add, making Juliet’s excuses. “I offered to take her mom, but it’s a sensitive matter, and Juliet didn’t want to cancel the appointment with you. You guys are so booked out, and she worried she wouldn’t be able to schedule another appointment soon enough to get the invitations mailed.”

“I’m sorry to hear about her mom.” Lila’s expression softens.

“She’s strong. She’ll be back to normal again soon.” I say it the way Juliet does—brief and factual, like if we don’t linger, her mom’s multiple sclerosis condition won’t feel heavy.

“That’s very kind of you to come in her place.”

Lila makes it sound like coming to pick out Juliet’s wedding invitations is some huge sacrifice. I mean, it shouldn’t be for any normal person. But it’s not like Juliet’s brushing off her appointment to go get her nails done. She’s literally taking care of her sick mother.

“It’s no big deal. I’m very available. One of my most marketable traits.”

She chuckles, taking the seat opposite me and opening one of the leather-bound portfolios on the desk. “All right, then. Let’s talk wedding invitations for Juliet and Vinny.”

Despite my sinking heart, I smile brightly, faking excitement.

We start with the basics. I open my notes app and cross-reference everything Juliet told me she wanted with the samples in front of me. I choose what Juliet would choose. Bold. Extravagant. Things that look expensive. But that doesn’t stop me from longingly running my finger over the ones I personally like.

“All great choices.” Lila finishes taking notes on everything we’ve talked about so far. “Now we just need to nail down the wording.”

“Wording?” My brows shoot up. “Juliet didn’t tell me what she wanted the invitations to say.”

“Well, I can’t put the order in until the entire invitation is finalized, including wording. Maybe you should just choose what you think she’d want, and if she has any changes, she can call me tomorrow. That way, she won’t lose her spot in the printing line-up.”

“There’s a printing line-up?”

“Oh, yes! And we don’t want her losing her spot or else her order won’t be done in time.”

I cannot have that on my shoulders.

“I guess we should come up with something, then.” I smile, showing confidence. How hard could it be? I’ve read over a hundred wedding invitations in my lifetime. Don’t they all say the same thing?

“Let’s start with the first line. The introduction.” Lila points to a paper with tons of options. She reads a few off. “Together with their families… Joyfully invite you… Request the honor of your presence… It is with great pleasure…” She places a piece of paper with their names on it next to each phrase. “So you can imagine each sentence with Vinny and Juliet’s names.”

I stare down at the paper.

Vincent Brooks and Juliet Montgomery.

Something about seeing it in swooping wedding calligraphy stings. Like the ink and pretty font made this feel more real than the ring ever has.

And now my brain is rearranging letters, creating an unhelpful image in my mind of what it would look like if it had my name instead of Juliet’s.

Vincent Brooks and Emma Lawson. There’s a rightness to that I try to ignore.

Lila shoves the portfolio closer to me. “Feel free to flip through the pages and find one that fits what Juliet would want.”

Right. Juliet.

I lean in, looking over all the options. My thoughts drift to Vinny. Somehow, it’s easier to know what he’d choose. His dad left when he was fourteen, so ‘Together with their families’ is out of the question. He would think ‘the honor of your presence’ sounded too stuffy. He hates the word ‘pleasure’ or anything that sounds like a fairy tale. He likes simple language. No frills.