Chapter One: Kat

Kat

Kat scanned the room. Surely she’d see him...

There he was! she thought with a bit of excitement as she saw his blonde hair. He was talking to the other groomsmen, but surely she could lure him away for a moment.

On a nearby pew, she set down the flowers that the bride had sent her to get, then took a deep breath. She walked with a purpose toward the group of men.

He saw her coming when she was a few feet away. For a moment, she thought she could see his smile fade, but a moment later it came right back.

“Brian, right?” Kat led with. Of course she had remembered. She had hung on his every word when they had spoke before the wedding, and he had seemed to like her too, but now she had to make it look like she wasn’t that interested.

“Uh, yeah,” he replied. “Carrie, right?”

She sighed. Maybe he was just bad with names. “Kat, actually.”

There was a long pause, as if he thought she had more to say. He spoke up, though. “Oh, of course, Kat. What’s up?”

What’s up? Kat thought to herself. She had thought that he’d be more eager to talk with her after the conversation that they had shared earlier.

“Oh, nothing’s up. Just thought I’d say hi.”

“Hi,” he replied, looking a little confused.

You’re losing him, Kat thought. This was what always happened with guys.

Not tonight, though...

“I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight. Maybe drink and dance, you know?” She hoped she didn’t sound too desperate.

He looked at his buddies, and Kat thought she saw a little nervousness. “Sure. It is a reception, I’ll probably see you there.”

“I’m a good dancer!” Kat blurted out.

The other guys in the group chuckled. “I’m sure you’re great,” Brian told her. “But, I’m just looking to have a good time tonight. Maybe I’ll see you there.”

“Yeah, okay. Maybe,” Kat said, knowing that she had already lost him.

Really, all she wanted was a dance. While this was a wedding, she wasn’t the one getting married. She was single and ready to have a good time at the reception. It wasn’t like she was asking him for more than a dance.

Brian shuffled his feet. “You look like a nice girl, but that’s not what I’m looking for.”

“But…”

“Sorry.” He shrugged. “You just aren’t my type.”

Kat stared at him as he turned back to his buddies. She was speechless.

Nice girl? she thought, turning and grabbing the flowers that she had set down a moment ago. Who wouldn’t want a nice girl?

Kat headed back toward the chapel area. Every bit of this wedding had reminded her that she was still single, and she hated that she had come to the wedding alone.

Granted, she wouldn’t have had much time for her date if she had brought one. Renee, the bride, was keeping her plenty busy, running errands and being a non-official bridesmaid. That didn’t mean Kat didn’t want to have a date.

Inside the chapel area, the bridal party was taking pictures. Along the way, she saw the photographer’s empty camera bag on the floor, so she stopped and put it up on a chair as she passed. The bag looked expensive and she didn’t want anyone accidentally stepping on it.

“Okay, I need the groomsmen for this one, can someone go fetch them?” the photographer called out. Renee carefully walked down the three steps of the dais and grinned at Kat.

“I’m so glad you’re still here,” Renee told her. “ I just realized that I forgot the garter back at the house. I thought for sure you had left with that cute guy you were sitting next to.”

Kat sighed. “I can grab it on my way to the reception.”

“What about Brian?” Renee grinned. “You meeting him at the reception?”

“Um, no.” Kat glanced away.

“What? Why not?” Renee asked.

“He said I wasn’t his type.” Kat shrugged. “He said I looked like a nice girl, but that I wasn’t what he was looking for.”

“Oh.” Renee looked thoughtful for a moment. “I could see that.”

Kat blinked twice. “What do you mean?” She managed to keep the offense out of her voice at least a little bit. Renee had the tendency to be a bit blunt.

“Okay, I’m telling you this as your friend,” Renee said, taking a deep breath before continuing. “You’re a good girl. You’re a great friend, but you dress and act like a total goody-two-shoes. If I were looking for a fling at a wedding...”

“You wouldn’t pick me,” Kat finished for her. She wasn’t sure why it stung so much to say the words. It wasn’t that Kat didn’t like fun, or that she didn’t know how to let her hair down and have a good time. It was that she was usually the one making sure everyone else was okay. It was hard to dance on tables when she was usually in the bathroom, holding a friend’s hair out of the toilet or making sure that everyone had a sober ride home.

“It’s not a bad thing, Kat,” Renee reminded her. “I love that I can always rely on you. You’re the responsible one.”

“How’d he even know that, though?” Kat asked.

Renee looked her over. “It’s kind of obvious. I mean, look at what you’re wearing.”

“What do you mean?” Kat had thought out her outfit very carefully. She was wearing a pale green dress that made her dark hair look even darker and her green eyes pop. She had on a soft white cardigan to cover her bare arms. It was conservative and cute, perfect for a wedding, but it certainly wasn’t a bridesmaid dress. She didn’t want it to compete with the bridal party.

“You have on a sweater that makes you look like a nun,” Renee informed her. “Your hair is up in a business-only ponytail, and you have the most sensible shoes I’ve ever seen.”

“I brought different shoes for the reception,” Kat said. “I just wanted to be able to run around the ceremony and not twist my ankle or anything.”

“See, responsible,” Renee said. “Take a look at Jennifer. I mean, right now she’s wearing what I told her to wear, but she didn’t bring a purse.”

Kat laughed. “That’s crazy. There are no pockets in that dress. Where’s her phone?”

“Left cup.”

Kat looked her over. With a dress that fit her that tightly, she was kind of surprised that she couldn’t see a square outline, but she had a lot going on in that area. “And what if we go to a bar after the reception? Where’s her ID? Her cash?”

“She’s not going to need money. If she goes to a bar, there will be plenty of guys ready to buy her a drink. And if she brought anything else with her, it’s in the right cup. But maybe she didn’t bring anything else.”

Kat was in awe. “Well that’s pretty irresponsible.”

“That’s kind of the point. I bet Jennifer’s going home with someone tonight, because she’s the kind of girl that Brian is looking for.”

Kat glared at her. “Well, I can be fun, too. Crazy even.”

“Sure. Right.” Renee didn’t look like she believed her.

“I can!” Kat insisted. “I’m tons of fun.”

“You are fun, but in a quiet, non-crazy way,” Renee replied. “You’re fun for board-game night.”

Kat tilted her head and glared at the bride a little harder. “Not true.”

Renee shrugged. “Bachelorette party.”

“What about it?” Kat asked. “I was fun.”

“You spent most of the party holding drinks for everyone else,” Renee replied.

“I didn’t want them to get spiked or anything,” Kat told her. “That’s being a good friend.”

“But you never let anyone else hold your drink so you could go party,” Renee countered. “You then spent the whole night shuttling people home so they’d have a safe ride or holding back hair while girls puked.”

“So you’d rather they drive home drunk?” Kat crossed her arms.

Renee shook her head. “No. I’d rather they call a cab. It was a party, Kat. You were a guest, not the designated driver or the one responsible for us. You were supposed to be drinking and dancing on table tops. You chose to spend the party being the mom instead of taking body shots.”

“There were body shots?” Kat didn’t remember that part of the night.

“My point exactly.” Renee gave her a half-smile. “It’s not really a bad thing, but I don’t think you know how to let your hair down and have a good time.”

Kat chewed on her lip. She hadn’t even realized that she had done that. It had just been her natural reaction to make sure everyone was having a safe, good time. Suddenly, all the words people used to describe her popped into her head: pushover, wallflower, boring, stick-in-the-mud, responsible, adult... shy. Kat didn’t think any of them really fit, but yet they were all used when people asked about her.

“I do know how to have fun,” Kat said, more determined than ever. “I’ll show you.”

Renee’s eyebrows raised. “You will?”

Kat nodded. “I’m going to be wild tonight. Fun Kat. You’ll have to drag me off the tables because I’m going to be dancing on them.”

Renee’s nonplussed expression didn’t change. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

A spark of anger flared up in the pit of Kat’s stomach. She was going to show her friend that she was wrong.

“I need the bride and her bridesmaids,” the photographer called out. Renee patted Kat on the arm and went to the front of the church where three ladies in pink chiffon dresses stood giggling.

Renee flipped her hair and made sure that her veil was perfect. She reminded Kat of a preening peacock, making sure that everyone was looking at her all the time. It was typical Renee. She always loved being the center of attention, but today, it was especially obvious. And why not? It was her wedding. Besides, the woman was stunningly gorgeous. On a normal day, Renee was one of the most beautiful women Kat had ever met. On her wedding day, Renee was out-of-this-world dazzling.

Kat’s eyes drifted down to her own dress. It was a beautiful dress, but Renee was right. She was conservative and didn’t look like she was there to party. She looked like the wedding planner, not a guest.

“Kat, will you make sure that the limo is still outside? I want to make sure I have my entrance,” Renee called out from the front of the church. “And will you grab the guest book and bring it to the reception for me?”

Kat nodded and walked out to the main hallway. Her bag was sitting on an empty chair in the last pew. It was a large satchel and now that Kat saw it, she realized that it wasn’t a fancy wedding purse. It was practical. Boring. Responsible.

She decided that she was going to leave the hotel bag in the hotel room for the reception. If someone needed aspirin, a band-aid, or a stick of gum, they could go get it themselves.

She sat down and quickly opened up the bag to reveal her shoes for the party. She hesitated for only a second before putting them on and stuffing the practical flats into her purse.

Kat loved these shoes, even if they weren’t something she could wear all the time. She had searched high and low for a pair of shoes for Renee’s wedding. Even though they both worked for the world’s largest online retailer of designer shoes, handbags, and clothing, Kat had struggled to find something she loved.

She had almost given up when she found a pair of beautiful silver Louboutins at a small consignment shop a week before the wedding. They were peep-toe and looked like someone had managed to take the elegance and shimmer of the 1920’s and put it in perfect shoe form.

Not only had they been her size, which was hard to find since she had size eleven and a half feet, but they had been seventy-five percent off. It was as if a fairy godmother had left them for her at that store. She felt a little guilty about not purchasing from her workplace, but the shoes had been too perfect to pass up.

She slid them on, feeling a little bit like Cinderella putting on a glass slipper. She needed to complete the transformation, though. Kat took her hair out of the ponytail, shaking the long dark tresses free before taking off the cardigan and stuffing it in her bag. If she got cold, she’d just have to dance to warm up. She felt like a new, better version of herself. This was how she saw herself and she was going to show everyone else this fun and carefree side of her.

Feeling proud of herself and excited for whatever the night was going to bring her, Kat stepped out of the church sanctuary and into the hallway. The guest book was sitting on a small stand next to the door. Kat picked up the pen next to it, realizing that she hadn’t signed it yet.

To my friend,

Thank you for being my friend and co-worker. Bob is a lucky man to have you. May you both be blessed.

Yours Truly,

Kat Ryder

Kat smiled as she finished. Renee was always giving her grief about how she signed all her notes with “yours truly,” but it was just something that Kat had always done. She made sure the ink was dry before closing the book.

Outside, the limo was exactly where it was supposed to be. Kat shook her head as she looked at it. It was more than just a limo. It was the fanciest-looking limo Kat had ever seen. Which made sense, considering who Renee was marrying.

Bob was an orthodontist who owned several clinics in the area. He was probably the wealthiest person Kat had ever met. She liked Bob. He was older, with thin brown hair and watery green eyes. There was nothing remarkable about him, other than that he was a good guy. He thought he had won the jackpot when Renee showed interest in him. Kat had to imagine that the older man didn’t get many beautiful blonde bombshells knocking on his door.

At first glance, it looked like Renee was choosing to be a trophy wife. Kat had listened to Renee plan this wedding for the past six months. She constantly heard how expensive the flowers were, that Renee’s gown was handmade designer, the prestige of the church, how hard it was to get this hotel’s reception hall- but never how much Renee loved Bob.

They seemed happy, though. Their relationship just wasn’t the kind that she wanted. When she married, it was going to be because she couldn’t stand being apart from him, not because of what he could provide for her.

Kat paused for a moment before going back inside. The early June afternoon was absolutely perfect. The smell of blooming flowers filled the air, and the slight breeze kept the sun’s warmth at a comfortable level. Late afternoon in June really was the best time to have a wedding. Kat was actually a little disappointed that the reception was going to be held indoors.

Several other people were waiting by the curb for the valet to bring their cars around. Kat had never heard of a valet at a church before, but given the celebrity and wealth of some of the guests, she wasn’t too surprised.

She looked around, taking in the colors of the flowers and the gentle hum of the bees before she noticed him.

His shoulders were broad and tapered into a trim waist that screamed “athlete.” He was standing in the shade of the church awning, also enjoying the beauty of the day. Maybe he was waiting for his ride, or maybe he was simply enjoying the flowers and sunshine here rather than sit at a reception table, making awkward small talk.

Either way, he was staring at her.

Striking blue eyes peered at her, so light they were almost gray. She flushed slightly as their gazes connected and a cocky smile spread across his face. Her knees seemed to go weak at that confident smirk beneath those beautiful eyes.

Her eyes fluttered to her feet for a moment as her cheeks heated. For all her internal talk of wanting a wedding fling, she wasn’t prepared to have a man that handsome give her the time of day. Not to mention, he had to be rich. Given the fit of his suit and the quality leather of his shoes, he was probably in business with Bob or had some sort of connection with money.

You can do this, Kat told herself.

So she smiled at him and looked him straight in those beautiful eyes. To her surprise, he winked at her, making her cheeks flush again. He certainly was confident. She liked it. He strolled over, moving with a suave grace.

“You here with the wedding?” he asked. Up close, he was even more attractive, and Kat was having a hard time coming up with complete sentences.

“Uh huh,” she managed to murmur. “What about you?”

“I am.” He grinned at her. “Need a ride to the reception?”

“I can’t,” Kat answered. She needed to pick up the garter belt and anything else Renee forgot. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she cursed herself. She was supposed to be Fun Kat, and here she was being responsible again. “Do you?”

She smiled at him, hoping he didn’t think she was a complete idiot.

“I’m good,” he replied as a red sports car rolled up behind the limo. The valet jumped out and handed the handsome man his keys.

Bob opened the door to the church and poked his head out. “Kat? Renee wants you to come be in a picture.”

“Of course,” Kat replied. “I’ll be right there.”

Bob closed the door behind him, leaving Kat and the handsome man alone again.

“Save me a dance.” His voice was low and powerful. It wasn’t a question or a request. It was an expectation. Confidence must be his middle name, she thought to herself.

“We’ll see,” she replied coyly. At least, she hoped it was flirtatious and charming. She wanted that dance.

He gave her one last once-over, clearly enjoying the sight before giving her the sexiest wink she had ever received. A shiver ran through her. She almost gasped at how sexy it made her feel.

She followed Bob back inside, looking back at the last moment to see him grin at her one last time. It’d been a while since someone had flirted so obviously with her and Kat found herself enjoying it. It was nice to be desired, even if only for a moment.

It was nice not to be “shy.”

As she walked back to the bride, Kat made a decision. She was going to have fun tonight. She wasn’t going to be the responsible one or the one making sure that everything went smoothly. For once, she was going to let someone else make sure no one was puking in the bathroom or jumping off chandeliers. Who knew, maybe she’d even be the one doing the jumping. One thing was for sure, she was going to find that guy at the reception and flirt her heart out. Nothing was stopping Kat tonight. Nothing.

Boring Kat was dead. Long live Fun Kat.