Page 20 of Wedding Wrecker

“Of course, love is about being able to forgive your spouse’s flaws, isn’t it? Well, he deserves my forgiveness after all of the blunders Kyle had to correct when I first started horse riding.”

She surely wouldn’t be so gracious if she found out that I’ve put my dick in his ass.

Kyle is quick to pick up on that thread and smiles at her, relieved that the unfamiliar topic of cake decoration is over. “You have improved so much since then. I’m so proud of you.”

I could throw up from these disgustingly sweet lies but just exchange a glance with Kayla. She can be so bitchy when she wants to. I love it.

She comes up with the right thing to say again. “You must have known she was the one from the moment you saw her.”

I nudge Holden, who for once stood closer to me, most likely to get a good angle. “Make sure to film this,” I whisper and then speak up. “You should tell us all what you love most about Madison.”

The older lady smiles and puts a hand on her chest. “Aww, yes, Kyle. I love moments like this at weddings.”

But as everyone’s gazes drift to Kyle, he freezes, going so pale I almost worry he might drop to the floor. No one but him can fill the expectant silence, and the camera is rolling, so he eventually glances into Madison’s perfect, round face and speaks. “You are... the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” This does get a couple of awws, but when Madison’s brows rise, he needs to continue. “I love how… clean she keeps her parents’ house.”

The few frowns that gets makes me feel like I’m growing horns, and I can’t get enough of the dumpster fire in front of me. If I play the cards right this weekend, Madison might be leaving him, and thinking she came up with that on her own.

Kyle must know he fucked up, because he quickly picks up his narrative. “And I don’t just mean that she does chores well, but that she’s very observant. Notices the little things.”

I hope she notices you’re gay.

I’ve known my cousin longer and would have struggled coming up with positives about her controlling, egocentric ass myself. But I’m not the one who proposed to her.

Kyle digs his hole deeper. “Around her, I can relax, because she’s so organized. She took charge of this whole event. Hell, she even picked my outfit.” He smiles and spreads one arm to show off the T-shirt with stick figures depicting a bride and groom and Under New Management written underneath. A few of the women nod at Madison with neutral expressions, but Kyle seems oblivious that he’s made yet another blunder. He just told everyone he’s lazy, unorganized, and didn’t lift a finger to help with his own wedding. It doesn’t matter that—being the control freak Madison is—she probably made him stay away from the planning herself. The damage is done.

Kayla has no qualms about propriety. “My condolences, Madison, looks like you already have a baby.” She grins as if it’s good-natured teasing, but the bite is there.

This time, the women around the table laugh with complete honesty.

Madison chuckles too, and Kyle looks her way, realizing that he hasn’t made a good impression after all.

“This is what a woman has to put up with,” Madison says with her eyes ice-cold, and grabs Kyle by the arm. “Come on, baby! Goo-goo, ga-ga, open for mommy!”

Kyle tries to protest, but it’s too late. She pushes the wonky cupcake he made straight at his mouth and smears the icing over his face for good measure.

The women explode with joyous laughter, and the older lady even wipes a tear from her eye. “He sure is sweet now.”

I watch Kyle squirm as I bite into my plain cupcake and give Kayla a low-five under the table. Can this day get any better?

Chapter 8

Kyle

The promise of death flashing in Madison’s eyes keeps going through my head as I sip warm sake from a tiny ceramic cup. The whole event is already stressful, and when Logan publicly asked me what I love about Madison, my brain became a loofah. Whatever thoughts I could voice at the time just drained out of me as if they were water, and all I was left with were hard facts I was observing at the moment—Madison’s beauty and her desire to control everything about the wedding, all the way to my outfits.

I’m a laid-back guy, who thinks relationships are more important than the ceremony, but my bride explicitly told me she has been planning her dream wedding since childhood and wanted everything to be a particular way. So maybe I’m not happy with much of it, especially with the fact that she refuses to allow Jekyll at the ceremony, but I went with whatever she wanted, because the whole thing seems so very important to her.

As a result, I figured she was proud of being the sole organizer, and the one who came up with all the activities and all the beautiful decorations. So when asked what I love about her, in a moment of sheer panic, I said what I thought she wanted to hear.

Big mistake, and it wasn’t one I could fix right away.

My bride was livid, and even told me I made her look stupid in front of the other women. There seems to be nothing I can say to turn her scowls into smiles, and she left to participate in a spa session with her bridal party while I’m stuck with my thoughts, at an event she planned for the “young men”.

I have no idea why she chose Japan as a theme for this activity, because if she let me have any input, I’d suggest westerns and whiskey, but I can assume she decided this was classier, whether it expressed anything about me or not. I would have been annoyed if I wasn’t feeling so guilty not only about the answers I gave at the decorating class but also about… everything.

The event is set in a private part of the hotel bar, and we have a guy filling our sake cups at all times. A black and white samurai movie is projected onto a white screen unfolded on one of the walls, as if anyone can read subtitles when drunk. There’s about thirty of us around a massive table filled with sushi, tempura, and Asian-inspired salads, and all I want is to leave.

I might be sitting next to my brother, but Logan has made sure to sit right across from me and has been sending me smug glares. He seems bored out of his mind, but at least him being here means he’s not hooking up with someone.