Maid of Honour (The Wedding Series #1)

Ten

Here we go! We're actually not too far from the end of the story now because I only ever intended it to be short-ish as all the events take place over a couple of weeks! So there's around five chapters left after this one. Enjoy!

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The next few days were uneventful compared to how hectic my life had been over the recent few months. I guess I kind of liked the almost sudden change of pace. And, of course, I welcomed the break of routine.

It was so strange to move out of my small apartment and back into my enormous family home. I hadn't lived with my parents in such a long time, I almost forgot what it felt like. As soon as I moved out of my house for university, I felt like that was it. After I graduated, I moved in with James straight away and never looked back.

Mum and Dad welcomed me back with open arms as soon as I stepped over the threshold, and they seemed to enjoy every minute of having their baby back under their roof. They waited on me hand and foot, bringing me everything I desired. Which brought me right back to being a teenager. Although I appreciated everything that they did for me, I couldn't say that I didn't feel bad. I enjoyed my independence too much, and I felt like I was a burden on them.

My phone buzzed a few times with phone calls and texts from Jared, but I ignored them. The awkwardness from my hen party hadn't yet faded, and I assumed it would only increase if I spoke to him on the phone. He had no reason to call me; his maid of honour duties had all but finished now, anyway. And we were never the type of people to phone for a casual chat. What on Earth would we talk about? Which girl he found attractive that week?

No, thank you.

Layla had also phoned a couple of times, but again, I avoided them too. I'd already told her I enjoyed the hen party, so there wasn't much else I could say. It would only be 'how's life at home?' 'Oh, same old. I'm doing nothing, as usual. How's China?' 'Ah, not bad, just casually saving my company, no big deal.' Multiply that boring conversation by about four, and I've just saved everyone some time. I now also felt guilt from something that happened almost a decade ago. It worried me that Jared had reminded her I was an awful friend, and she was calling to cut contact with me. But maybe I was being irrational. Maybe Jared didn't even remember or care about what we talked about enough to tell his sister.

A positive of my time at home was that I got back into reading. I loved curling up on the cushions at the bay window and letting the streaks of sun illuminate the pages. I hadn't read a fiction book in what felt like forever, which was something of a sin, considering where I worked. Reading wedding books and magazines took up my spare time over the past year or so. So, it was nice to delve into a world that wasn't real, to take my mind off everything for a few hours.

Mum made us gorgeous dinners every evening, and I never hesitated to stuff my face and even ask for seconds. I got to eat whatever I wanted, which included countless bags of crisps. It was amazing how much I ate when I wasn't under the scrutinising eyes of my fiancé. Though it was rather dangerous considering, I had to squeeze into a wedding dress in the not too distant future.

Something that also excited me was my shifts at the bookshop. It had been something I had neglected because my wedding planning took top priority and I had missed the almost mundaneness of a 9 to 5 job. Believe it or not, I genuinely enjoyed my job. Luckily, my boss was lovely, and he let me have a substantial amount of time off to attend to all my wedding duties. I put this down to the fact that whenever his family came to visit, they would always stay in a Park & Poole hotel. His family all hailed from all over the country and some were even from overseas, but they still liked to meet up whenever possible. Knowing who they were, my father would always heavily discount the price. He made sure of it. My dad even made sure sometimes that one of their nights was free if it was for a particularly big occasion. My boss appreciated this fact and thus, he let me do almost anything I wanted. But I always made sure I cleared days off with him first, to make sure that someone could cover my shift. It was my job, after all, I had allegiances to it, and I couldn't let the fact that I had money make me cocky and affect my attitude.