Glancing over at her, I reply, “That’s you, Lainey, my wild child little sister. Brent and I want something more traditional when it comes to our wedding.”
“Brent and you, huh?” She nods, smiling like the snot she is.
“Yes.” I sniff. “Brent and I.”
Suddenly making a show of glancing around the car, she snidely retorts, “If that’s true, where is he now?”
I point over at her and warn, “Don’t you start.”
“Ah, come on. Seriously, Aubs, I’m not trying to be a bitch. It’s just that shouldn’t Brent be doing this cake tasting with you? Not to mention, all the other stuff I’ve been helping you out with lately.”
She has a point, so I lamely reply, “He did come with me to the first cake tasting. You know that.”
“Yes, he did.” She sighs. “But he’s not here now, is he?”
“No, he’s not,” I whisper.
Lainey’s totally right. She and I are on our way to my favorite bakery for another round of cake tasting, when it really should be Brent with me. He loves this bakery as much as I do. That’s why we agreed to have the wedding cake baked here and shipped all the way out to Minnesota for the big day.
So yes, he should be with me today.
How can I possibly choose the perfect cake without his input? Not to mention, the first tasting was such a disaster. I got sick after I had a bad reaction to one of the damn cakes.
When we reach our destination, I turn into the lot, where I park in the first available spot. It’s a safe one, far away from all the other vehicles.
After I undo my seat belt, I twist to face Lainey.
“Look,” I begin, “Brent would be here today, but he’s…uh…busy.”
“Yeah?” Lainey raises a dark, perfectly shaped brow. “Doing what exactly?”
“Um…” I clear my throat. “He’s heading down to the training facility to hit the ice.”
“Why?” Lainey rolls her big blue eyes. “Hasn’t he gotten the memo? The season is over.”
Ugh.
Again, she’s right.
A total smartass, yes. But right.
My sister is like a dog with a bone, I swear. Always drilling down, trying to get to the root of the problem.
It’s only because she loves me and believes in my ability to fix things. Lainey truly thinks if I can figure out what the real issue is, I can make it right.
Sighing, I give up on arguing with her, and quietly admit, “I think Brent thinks he can skate his problems away.”
“He’s such a guy,” Lainey says, shaking her head. “Doesn’t he realize it’s not that easy? There are no simple answers. You need to face these things head-on.”
“Yeah, try telling Brent that.”
“Have you, Aubrey?”
“Have I what?”
“Told him that?”
I run my hands through my hair. “Maybe not in those exact words, Lainey. But he knows how I feel.”