Always the Last to Know (Always the Bridesmaid) Read Online Free Page A

for my feelings.”  He shakes his head, and helps me clean up the mess from our little picnic.
           “You poor baby, your mommy cares about your emotional well being.”  I begin to open the door to reenter the bank, “Just be glad she’s not concerned with your romantic life.”
           “Don’t worry, she’s lecturing me about that too.”  He snorts, before opening the door to his Jeep, his first and only vehicle.  He had mowed lawns and cleaned garages since he was twelve to be able to afford a Jeep when he was sixteen.  And he got his wish with a ten-year-old Jeep Wrangler that barely ran.  He and his dad spent a summer fixing it up, with Riley refusing to add doors to it the entire time, despite the request from his mom and sister.  Riley thought that the Jeep not having doors made it bad ass, a sentiment he and his father seemed to share.  It wasn’t until I said that over my dead body would I ride in a vehicle without doors that Riley put them on.  The Jeep is still bad ass, with a shiny red paint job and the top always down, not to mention all the audio equipment Riley installed in it last year.
          I pretty much love that damn car.
           “I’ll see you at the tux fitting later.”  I smile as he closes the car door.
           “Thanks for rubbing that in.”  He tells me through the open car window.
          I step back behind the teller’s window and attempt to count to ten.  Annie is at my side before I get to four.
           “That boy is gorgeous.”
          I snort, “Seriously, Annie, you have got to start wearing your glasses.”
          Annie smacks my arm and rolls her brown eyes at me.  I started working as a translator for Spanish speaking customers at Country Town Bank eighteen months ago and Annie had been the only person to really reach out and be a friend to me.  She is truly a Southern woman with her caring, but nosey, charisma and an unstoppable nature to play matchmaker.  She has been trying to get me to seduce Riley since she met him ten months ago.
          And Annie would know about seducing.  Sometimes I think that Annie keeps her husband tied up in the basement of their home while she’s at work.  She probably makes him call her Mistress Annie too.  I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised or anything.
          She gets all of her tips out of Cosmo .  I was at her house once and she had at least six bookshelves dedicated to the magazine.  She owns every issue of the magazine, in duplicate, since 1973.  She keeps one set bound while the other set has been torn apart and the articles separated into categorical binders, such as “Men”, “Sex”, and “Quizzes”.  She has offered me access to the library whenever I need any good sex positions.
          I told her that I would call when Hell froze over.
     
                    ***
        
          I have been waiting for the day of the tux fittings ever since Carla uttered the words “lavender” and “Riley” in the same sentence five months ago.  I just can’t believe that the day has finally arrived.
          Not only am I excited to make fun of Riley, but I will also be meeting the Best Man, Matt, which Carla called to remind me of four times before I had even left work.  I’m pretty sure that she was supposed to be working during the times that she called me but she insisted that there wasn’t much news going on in the world, let alone in our town.  Besides, her wedding is far more important than ten car pileups and hostage situations.
           “Shoot me.  Please.”
          I look up to see Riley standing in front of me, looking like a purple marshmallow Peep.  I try to stop myself but a snort escapes me.
           “Go to Hell, Reynolds.”
           “I hope you know that you’re not at all threatening in that frilly purple shirt.”  I manage to get out between giggles.
           “If