Impromptu Attraction Ch. 04

Julia nodded, not knowing what to say. Eventually the question that had been gnawing at her brain came out. "Why did you ask me to be a bridesmaid? There must be lots of people who would have been a better choice."

Alison gave a slightly sad smile. "I always wanted my sister-in-law to be in my wedding. Then Ben had to go and spoil it by not getting married first, so I had to go with the next best thing."

Julia nodded again, and as they waited to order their drinks Alison whispered in her ear, "Has he proposed yet?"

Julia groaned. Why was everyone convinced she would be getting engaged soon? Her denial didn't seem to make anything better either: Alison just gave her a satisfied smile and said, "Don't worry, he will."

Julia just smiled and shook her head.

"He really loves you, you know," Alison continued. They had gotten their drinks and were headed back to wait for Claire to be finished. "I've never seen him this happy. You've managed to turn my brother into a downright pleasant human being."

The rest of the afternoon passed without incident, and before long Julia was digging out her key to get back into the hotel room. When she walked in she once again found Ben fully dressed and fast asleep on the bed, but at least this time he had taken his shoes off first.

She climbed onto the bed and settled in next to him, her mind processing the events of the day. She thought about what Alison had said, and how glad she was to be there. She also realized that Kim was absolutely right: she was being treated like part of the family.

She smiled as Ben rolled over in his sleep and wrapped his arm around her waist. Everyone seemed to agree that he was much happier now that they were together, and she couldn't help feeling proud of that. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through his hair as she watched him sleep.

In the light streaming in beneath the closed curtains she could just make out the permanent marks on the bridge of his nose from his glasses, and the stubble that had been growing on his face since the day before. She looked down and noticed one of his feet hanging over the edge of the bed, and still couldn't think of anyone she knew whose feet were bigger than his. She knew the rest of the evening, and probably the rest of the weekend, would be busy, so she enjoyed the peaceful moment while it lasted.

Julia glanced at the clock and realized they would need to get ready to leave soon. The wedding rehearsal would start in an hour, and she was not looking forward to strapping on the skinny stilettos Alison had picked out for her to wear for the ceremony. She gently ran her finger across Ben's cheek to wake him up.

His eyelids fluttered. "Five more minutes?" he asked without opening his eyes.

She laughed. "I've played this game before, five minutes from now you'll ask for another five minutes. Then before you know it Alison is breaking down the door demanding to know why we're late."

He sighed, then with a reluctant effort sat up on the bed. "How was your day?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Oh just wonderful. Had lunch, got our nails done, caused a scene," came her sarcastic reply.

He yawned. "That sounds about right."

While Ben found his glasses on the bedside table, Julia explained what had happened at the nail salon. She was careful to leave out the part about Alison's anticipation at having a new sister-in-law soon, and focused entirely on Kim.

"I feel bad for her. Alison said she's going through a rough patch, and apparently she's just broken up with her boyfriend," she said once she had finished recounting the story.

Ben rolled his eyes. "She's always just broken up with her boyfriend. But it doesn't sound like she'll be giving you any more trouble at least." He got up from the bed and went into the bathroom, and soon after Julia heard the sound of his electric razor.

"We could try hooking her up with one of your cousins," she suggested.

Ben paused before answering. "Maybe we should introduce her to Scott, he kinda looks like me."

She mentally ran through her list of all his cousins. "Isn't he the boring one?"

He came out of the bathroom, his face freshly shaven. "I never said it was a good idea."

They finished getting ready, then Julia attached her new shoes securely to her feet and they headed out the door. They made the short drive to the church where the ceremony was being held, and made their way inside for the rehearsal.

As soon as they stepped into the building there was no mistaking who was in charge. They heard Alison's voice giving instructions to different groups of people, and as they rounded the corner to the chapel she immediately spotted them.

"Good! All the guys are here so now we can really get started. Benji you come up here and we'll go over the groomsmen, and Julia just have a seat until we're ready for you."

Julia gave Ben's hand an encouraging squeeze before he went down the aisle to join the others. She noticed Adam was looking nervous and self-consciously touching his arm, and she wondered how long they were going to let him think he had really gotten a tattoo.

Julia gladly sat down and started thinking of ways to make her shoes more comfortable. She was so absorbed in making an emergency drugstore shopping list that she didn't notice someone coming up beside her.

"Can I talk to you?" She turned to see Kim standing in the aisle, her eyes down on the floor. Julia responded by shifting over on the bench to make room, and Kim sat stiffly beside her.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," Kim began, still keeping her eyes down. She hesitated, then blurted out the rest. "It's just that I had this whole plan of how this weekend would go. I was going to lay it all out and say how I felt about him, then if he didn't feel the same way I had no reason to ever see him again."

Julia nodded. "But then this girl came out of nowhere and ruined everything," she said, the story sounding achingly familiar.

Kim looked surprised at the response. "I kept hoping that maybe he would change his mind and pick me instead, but then I heard everyone talk about how great you are and saw how everyone treated you." She sighed. "I should have known, he's been talking about you since before you were even together."

Kim told her about seeing Ben over Thanksgiving and asking if he was seeing anyone. He had answered no, but that there was someone new in his office that he was trying to work up the courage to ask out. Julia pressed her lips together to keep from smiling at the story, and stole a glance up at Ben while she listened.

"If it makes you feel any better, I know exactly what you're going through," Julia said. She in turn relayed the story of her office Christmas party, and the feelings she had had for her boss less than a year before. Even as she told the story she marveled at how long ago it all seemed. "In the end, it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I guess it'll just take time," Kim said glumly.

"Or finding the person who puts everything into perspective," Julia replied.

Kim considered this, and managed a weak smile. "Can we start over?" she asked timidly.

"I'd be happy to," Julia said.

They sat in strained silence, trying to think of a start to a normal conversation as they watched the rehearsal progress. Alison was having to explain everything multiple times to all the groomsmen, but from the looks of it they were purposely causing trouble for her.

Finally Julia looked down and saw Kim's feet. "I see you're practicing walking in these too," she said with a tentative grin.

For the first time since they'd met, Kim gave Julia a genuine smile. "They're impossible, aren't they?"

From there they were able to maintain polite conversation, though it was mostly small talk. They started off devising ways to add padding to the straps on their shoes, then shifted to talk about work. Julia found out that Kim had just graduated from law school, and was about to start working for a law firm in Boston. Before long Claire came and joined them, and they all sat together talking while they waited for their instructions.

When it was their turn the three of them listened intently to Alison's directions, then lined up outside the door to practice walking down the aisle. They were all concentrating on keeping their balance as they went along, but after running through the entire ceremony twice everyone had gotten the hang of their roles.

After the rehearsal everyone piled into their cars to go to dinner, and Ben asked about the serious-looking conversation between Julia and Kim.

"I doubt we'll be good friends, but we've come to an understanding," she reassured him. "We actually have more in common than I thought."

The dinner was kept simple with just the people involved in the wedding and their partners, and everyone was able to squeeze around one big table. The evening was full of toasts and old family stories about Alison and Christian, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Even Kim began joining in with the festivities, and was already looking more relaxed and cheerful.

The highlight of the meal was Adam nervously breaking the news to his girlfriend that he had gotten a tattoo the night before. She put on a fantastic show of anger and threatened to storm out and never speak to him again, then in the midst of his groveling for forgiveness admitted that everyone had been in on the joke.

At the end of the night everyone double-checked what time they were expected and where, and once again Julia cringed at how early she would need to get up the next morning. She and Ben said goodnight to everyone, then made a quick stop at the drugstore before going back to the hotel. Julia spent the better part of an hour attaching cushioned strips to key spots on her shoes, then crawled into bed next to Ben and immediately fell asleep.

The alarm clock went off a few hours later, and Julia groaned when she looked at the time. She felt like a zombie from one of Ben's video games as she dragged herself to the shower, and was glad the night before she had laid out everything she would need that day. Ben was still fast asleep when she came out of the bathroom, and she had to resist the urge to climb back into bed with him.

She pulled on some sweats and grabbed her shoes, then spent five minutes staring into space trying to think if she had forgotten anything. She reset the alarm several hours later for Ben, then gave him a kiss on the forehead before quietly leaving their room. In the lobby she waited for Claire, who came down looking just as reluctant to be awake so early, and together they got the largest cups of coffee they could find before driving to meet Alison at her parents' house.

"Good morning!" Alison chimed as she met them at the door. She looked like she had already been up several hours after getting a full night's sleep. Julia and Claire grunted in response, then went into the house and slumped on the couch. A few minutes later Kim arrived and the exact same exchange took place.

"I haven't been up this early since high school," Kim said as she sipped her own giant cup of coffee. The three bridesmaids sat with their eyes half open as Alison gave them a rundown of the morning.

"The reason I got you here so early is because we didn't do a test run of the hair, and I want to make sure there's plenty of time to get everything just right. So first we're all going for hair, then coming back here and getting makeup, then getting dressed and heading over to the church. The photographer will be here after we're dressed for some candid shots, and my dad is around in case we need anything." She took a breath. "We don't need to leave for a few minutes, so help yourselves to some breakfast. Only nine hours until the wedding starts!" She floated out of the room, leaving a deafening silence behind her.

"The groomsmen just have to show up at the church half an hour before it starts and put their tuxes on," Claire said glumly.

"I wish I was a guy," Kim replied after a deep gulp of her coffee.

In the end it was just as well that they started getting ready so early: every little detail about their hair and makeup was absolutely perfect, and no time was spared in making it that way. The three of them dozed in their chairs as they got their hair done, and were feeling much more awake by the time they got back to the house and had their makeup put on.

As the morning and early afternoon wore on Alison's enthusiasm became infectious, and once they had eaten lunch and it was time to slip into their dresses the excitement was palpable. Before they knew it they were lined up at the church, bouquets in hand, ready to walk down the aisle.

The doors to the chapel opened as the music started playing, and it was time to make their grand entrance. Alison stood by the door just out of sight, grinning from ear to ear. She gave them all enthusiastic hugs as they passed, though the enormous skirt of her dress made that difficult. Claire went out first, and Julia followed a few steps behind her.

As she made her way down the aisle her most prominent thought was how much she did not want to trip and fall, but she managed to take in her surroundings at the same time. The church was littered with beautiful arrangements of flowers, and the afternoon light streaming in through the stained glass windows gave everything an ethereal glow. But what really caught her attention was the sight of Ben at the end of the aisle.

He was positioned with the rest of the groomsmen in their matching tuxedos, but something made him stand out from the others. She felt a flutter in her stomach as he looked up and his eyes locked on hers, and he gave her a grin almost as wide as Alison's. Julia blushed and kept walking, but could feel Ben's eyes on her as she took her place next to Claire.

Once all the bridesmaids were standing at the altar the music changed, and the guests rose to their feet as Alison walked down the aisle on her father's arm. From there the ceremony went off without a hitch: the music, readings and vows were executed flawlessly, and the church erupted into applause when Christian was told he could kiss his bride.

The bridal party processed out just as they had rehearsed the night before, and Julia found herself walking out the doors with Ben. "You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear once they had gotten out into the relative silence.

The rest of the afternoon passed as a pleasant blur. Alison and Christian lined up to receive their guests as the rest of the bridal party tried their best to stay out of the way and find a place to sit down. After the last guests had been by and the marriage license had been signed the photographer took over, and what seemed like thousands of different pictures were taken both inside and outside of the church. Once every possible angle and configuration had been covered, they all clamored into a limo to go to the reception.

The ballroom of the hotel was teeming with excitement as the bridal party entered, and once again everyone applauded for Alison and Christian. Everyone took their seats as dinner was served, and as soon as food was set in front of her Julia realized how hungry she was.

There was plenty of food and champagne throughout the meal, and the traditional speeches were made. Adam managed to embarrass his brother in record time without being nearly as vulgar as he could. "They say a best man's speech shouldn't be longer than the groom's stamina in the bedroom... Congratulations you two!"

Christian followed that up with a touching speech that had everyone dabbing their eyes, and by the time Alison's father was finished speaking the entire room was sniffling. After all the guests had slices of the best cake Julia had ever eaten, the room was transformed for the bride and groom to share their first dance.

The lights dimmed as the band struck up the opening chords of a classic love song, and cameras flashed while Alison and Christian glided around the empty dance floor. Julia laid her head on Ben's shoulder as she watched, and smiled as his arm automatically went around her waist.

After the last note the band immediately went into an upbeat song, and the dance floor was flooded. Julia had never seen so many people dancing all at once, and it looked like every one of the guests was out on the floor. As amazed as she was with the number of people dancing, it was nothing compared to the surprise of seeing Ben dance.

Under normal circumstances he was able to look competent in almost any situation, but he seemed to be in his element on the dance floor. Julia just held on as she was dipped and twirled along to the music, and she got the feeling he was making her look much more skilled than she actually was. All too soon the song ended, and at the beginning of the next one the guests started to trade dance partners.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Ben said with a grin as the two of them paired off with different people. Julia braced herself for her first encounter, and would spend the better part of the night feeling grateful for knowing about Ben's family in advance.

Her first dance partner had been easy enough to identify, and as the song progressed the conversation had never really taken off. "Really, it gets great mileage. Which you don't normally expect in a supercar, but that's why it's no ordinary supercar."

Julia just kept nodding, wondering how Eric would react if she told him she had never owned a car and seldom even drove one. She imagined he would either offer to drive her somewhere, or else his head would explode. She decided to keep her mouth shut in case either of those was true.

"But most of all, it has heart. Not like that little German thing Ben drives. If there's one thing the Italians know how to do, it's to give life to their cars. The Germans may know a thing or two about precision, but if you want a car with soul you have to go to Italy."

"Do girls usually go for it when you talk about cars?" Julia asked, truly curious.

The question seemed to catch him by surprise. "Don't all girls secretly like cars? You know, deep down?"

She gave him a skeptical look. "Not all of them."

"Oh," he said, looking disappointed. "I never know what to say to women, so I just always use it as an ice breaker."

They danced in silence, Eric visibly trying to come up with something else to talk about and beginning to look uncomfortable. Finally, Julia broke the silence. "What kind of engine does it have?" she asked, smiling at the relieved grin on his face.

Before she could escape the dance floor Julia was snared by another of Ben's cousins, and as they settled into the rhythm of the song she tried to remember which one he was.

"It's great that you and Ben are together, you make a good couple," he said. Julia smiled in response, still trying to think of his name. She was going down her list of people in her head, trying to match his personality to his name.

"I also think you're really brave dating him. You know, because of how he is," the man said, his face sympathetic.

"How he is?" Julia asked, completely at a loss.

He paused, looking shaken. "He must have told you," he said, lowering his voice.

Instantly she forgot about trying to identify her dance partner. "Tell me what?" she asked, starting to feel worried.

He lowered his voice even more before he answered. "You know Ben was born a woman, right?" he asked, his eyes wide and earnest.

Ah. This must be Richard. She remembered the warning that he would tell her a ridiculous lie about Ben, and she was prepared for her response. "Oh that, of course he told me," she answered.

"And you're fine with it?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

"Well it works out perfectly since I was born a man," she said matter-of-factly.