“I’ve got the rehearsal dinner, remember? So I need to be there promptly.” I emphasized the last word.
“Have you got a problem with Jodie’s driving?” accused Autumn.
“No.” That part was actually true. I wasn’t bothered about a woman driving; I simply wanted to be at the Holiday Springs resort before the festivities kicked off.
“Then what?”
Glad we weren’t video-calling so she couldn’t see me roll my eyes, I lied. “Spending that long in a car with you and your friends would be hell.”
“Well, that’s just lovely, isn’t it?” huffed Autumn. “Why don’t you like my friends?”
If anything, it was the opposite which was the problem. I liked Sophie a little too much. Even if she didn’t know and I couldn’t admit that to anyone. I could barely admit it to myself. “You know I like your friends. I tolerated them enough when we were younger.”
Autumn grumbled down the line. “And I yours. Joshua, for one.”
“Remember Friday night sleepovers?” I shoved some chips and dip into my mouth, crunching noisily.
“Me and Soph watching movies and eating pizza. You and Joshua playing some dumb video game. Fun times.”
“Online game, please.”
“Oh, don’t make it sound even more geeky than it actually was. Honestly, it’s a wonder either of you ever got girls to be interested in you.”
She had a point. Thankfully, we’d both grown up and grown out of the gaming phase once we’d joined the football team. Although I didn’t let on, I sometimes had a go on Grand Theft Auto, only for old times’ sake.
“So, you’re definitely not coming with us?” pressed Autumn.
Sometimes I wondered if my sister ever actually listened to a word I said.
“No. Odds are, I’ll be at the cabin before you. If I check in first, I’ll leave a message with reception to say I’m already there. And if, by some miracle, you’re there before me, tell them the same.”
“Do you want to get dinner and drinks when we get there?”
Again, I wondered about Autumn’s listening skills. “You girls do what you want. I’ll be at the rehearsal dinner.” I checked the refrigerator, looking to see if I had any beer left. Gratefully, I popped the cap off the top of the bottle and slugged a mouthful.
“Oh, yeah, right, you did mention that.” I heard a knock at Autumn’s door. “Gotta go, Sophie’s here so we can coordinate our outfits.”
Suddenly, I didn’t want to end the call. I wanted to listen in on Autumn and Sophie’s conversation about wedding outfits.
Autumn was still speaking as she opened the door to her friend. “Yeah, it’s only Max. We were talking about travel arrangements. Apparently, he doesn’t want to come with us because those hours in a car would be hell.”
I heard Sophie giggle in the background. “Hey, Max!” she called. “See you this weekend.”
Before I could say anything, Autumn had ended the call, and I was left like a goldfish mouthing words no one could hear. I hefted a sigh and tucked my phone in the back pocket of my jeans. Another inventory of the refrigerator unearthed a box of noodles from the previous evening, which I devoured without tasting. Once I’d finished “dinner,” I settled down on the sofa and switched on the television, staring at the ball game on the screen without really watching it. It had been a couple of months since I’d seen Sophie properly.
Occasionally, I bumped into her if she was out with Autumn. She’d recently started a fancy new job at a lawyer’s practice; I doubted she would ever look twice at someone who worked on a construction site. No, she’d be dating a hot-shot lawyer with heaps of money and a fancy car. Not someone who scraped together the rent for his New York apartment because he couldn’t bear to live anywhere else and owned a beat-up truck. Not that it mattered. I loved what I did. Never interested in all the theory behind things, I much preferred working with my hands. I could have studied architecture, but the five-year long course had been another turn off, not to mention the cost of places like Harvard, Yale, or Cornell. I’d rather be doing something than learning about it, more about learning on the job rather than the theory. As an aside, the work was great for building strength and muscle. I had no real need to go to the gym, although I did because I enjoyed it.
My mind wandered back to the upcoming weekend. I knew Sophie wasn’t bringing a date to the wedding either. If she had, she wouldn’t have been travelling with my sister and Jodie. I was also 100 percent sure Autumn would have made me aware of any developments in Sophie’s love life, like she always did. Secretly, I was always pleased when there weren’t any.
Chapter Three
Sophie
The directions Brianna had provided clearly stated that it took 90 minutes to get from New York to the Holiday Springs resort.
It was just a shame Jodie didn’t get the same message.
“I told you not to use the GPS address,” grumbled Autumn, desperately trying to find out where we were using the maps app on her phone.
“You said to turn left at Bart’s Bar and Grill!” protested Jodie.
We’d pulled over in a safe place to try to establish exactly where we were and how close the resort actually was.
“I said the restaurant would be on the left, and then we needed to turn right onto Mountain Springs Drive.” Autumn tried to keep her voice on an even keel, but I could sense she was struggling.
“Here, let me take a look.” I leaned over from the back seat
