The Bridesmaid by Hailey Abbott Page A

moping and pouting and slamming doors,” she lied. How did he know that?
    “Hey, I know how you feel about Carol,” Noah said. “I’m surprised you’ve lasted through her entire college career. You can’t stand it when she’s away, so of course you’re gonna hate the guy who’s whisking her off to the Rockies.”
    “Oh, please.” Abby felt her face getting even hotter.
    “Come on, Abby, you know exactly what I’m talking about,” Noah said with an amused smile. “Remember when she went away to summer camp when you were twelve and left you behind? You spent the first two weeks of the summer whining and sulking. And making the lives of everyone around you miserable.”
    “That was, like, sixth grade, yo,” Christopher said.
    “Well, she did it again when Carol was a freshman and every September since then,” Noah said.
    Oh, God! Noah thinks I’m a baby? Abby was mortified. This day just keeps getting worse and worse.
    “So? So what if I love my sister?” Abby said. “What’s wrong with that?”
    “Nothing. It’s great!” Noah said. “But it’s also the point. This is your sister, Abby. It’s Carol. Can’t you just be happy for her?”
    Christopher stood up next to Abby, squaring his shoulders like he was her personal security detail. “Look, man, Abby thinks the guy is fake,” Christopher said. “And besides, Carol’s freakin’ twenty-two years old. Who gets married when they’re twenty-two?”
    “Come on, Ab, be honest,” Noah said, looking Abby in the eye. “Did you even take the time to get to know the guy?”
    Abby looked down at her feet. What was it with Noah today? It was like he’d developed psychic powers or something.
    “Ever hear of gut instinct, yo?” Christopher asked.
    “I’m trying to have a conversation with Abby,” Noah said firmly.
    “Well, from where I’m standing you’re not even listening to her,” Christopher replied.
    “I don’t really care how it sounds from where you’re standing.”
    “Dude, you want to step off or what?” Christopher made a move toward Noah.
    Noah didn’t flinch and Abby suddenly realized things were about to get bad. What was wrong with boys anyway?
    “You guys, chill out,” Abby said, stepping up next to them. “God, you want me to lose my job?”
    Christopher stared right past her at Noah. Abby gave Noah a pleading look, hoping to appeal to his more mature, less testosteroney nature.
    “Fine, I’m going,” Noah said. He looked at Abby and sighed. “Just think about what I said and try being happy for her. Hopefully this only happens once in a lifetime, right? You don’t want to wake up one day and realize you screwed up your sister’s wedding.”
    And without even looking at Christopher, Noah turned and walked out, leaving Abby with a fresh ball of guilt in her chest. She hadn’t thought about it that way—that this was a once-in-a-lifetime deal. Maybe Noah was right. Maybe it was time for her to jump on the bandwagon. The problem was, her heart was much too heavy for her to feel like jumping.
    “That guy’s a jerk,” Christopher said. “He’s always had it in for me for some reason, yo.” He blinked and looked at Abby, tipping his head to the side. “Hey. Maybe he likes you.”
    “What?” Abby blurted out, blushing. “Please. I don’t think so.”
    “No no no. I’m serious. Think about it. I bet money he’s jealous of me,” Christopher said. “I speak for all guys when I say the whole best guy friend thing throws us off when it comes to girls. Seriously. Why else would he always be such a jerk to me?”
    “Um, maybe because you’re polar opposites?” Noah dated girls like Courtney Elefnate and Diana Waters—the two most beautiful girls at Watertown High. Girls with mystique and presence and two-hundred-dollar highlights. He would never like Abby—the girl whom he had called Ab normal for most of her formative years. The girl who, he’d said himself many times, was like the sister he’d never