RUINED AT MY FRIEND'S WEDDING.(PART ONE)

I hate weddings.

I really do.

I have no problem with people falling in love and being in a loving relationship. I love seeing my parents who have been married for over thirty years still show affection and love for each other. I love seeing my married friends who are happy in their wedded bliss.

I just don’t like the idea of having to stand in a church in front of crowds of people declaring my undying love and promising to love and obey till death us do part.

I don’t like the idea of spending a ton of money on one day, on a dress you’ll never wear again, feeding people you will never see again, getting presents you will never use. I don’t like people who are fake smiling to your face and as soon as you turn your back they’re bitching about you.

I can do without the drama.

Call me cynical. Maybe I am, but I can’t help how I feel.

I don’t judge anyone who decides to get married though, which is why I am at my friend Chantel’s wedding.

Not that I had a choice.

She would never forgive me if I refused to go to her wedding. We’ve known each other since we were twelve years old and we always promised each other that we would be at each other’s weddings when the other got married no matter what.

So here I am.

Fulfilling my promise.

Okay I didn’t hate the food and the drinks served at weddings because the catering was usually amazing. I wasn’t going to embarrass myself by necking back too much champagne because I was a lightweight when it came to alcohol but the prosecco was delicious.

I was on my second glass of prosecco and caught up in a debate about how marriage was an institution that you had to be sure you wanted to enter into before signing on the dotted line.

“It’s like being in a beautiful prison.” I sipped my prosecco “Sharing a bathroom, sharing a house, sharing a life with the same person for the rest of your life is something you have to make sure that you want before you make it legal. One minute it’s all roses and candlelight and the next you’re arguing about who left the toilet seat up.”

“You’ve been single too long Brooke” Chantel’s aunt suddenly appeared giving me a disapproving look “You need to find yourself a good man and settle down!”

Chantel’s aunt Janette believed in the sanctity of marriage. She was one of those people who thought that women were at their happiest when she had a husband and kids. I know she believed I was a bitter spinster but I wasn’t going to cause a scene here at Chantel’s wedding by arguing with her.

I sighed.

“Single but sane, Auntie Jan. I think being single is definitely good for my sanity .”

Aunt Janette rolled her eyes.

“Tell yourself that in another few years when your looks have faded and the men aren’t chasing you anymore.”

That was a bitchy dig and it stung but I was used to Aunt Janette’s bitchy digs. She had never liked me and always thought I was a bad influence on Chantel when we were teenagers.

Little did she know that it was the other way round. Chantel had taught me how to sneak out of the window and hide a pillow in the bed and make it look like I was fast asleep when I was really at a party my parents had refused to allow me to go to.

I had only done it once.

“Well if my looks fade, I would like to think they would chase me for my personality at least” I quipped and had the satisfaction of seeing Aunt Janette lost for words before giving me a dirty look then disappearing.

“That was one of the best comebacks I’ve seen in a long time.” A deep voice said behind me and when I turned, my jaw dropped.

He was tall with a nice build, dark cropped wavy hair and a slightly bent nose that looked like it had been broken in the past. The suit he was wearing fitted him perfectly emphasising his broad shoulders and taut thighs. There was a glint in his dark eyes as they slid over me slowly before coming up to meet my gaze.

“Who are you?” I asked ignoring the sudden increase in my pulse.

He smiled.

“Jasper,” he said, and held out his hand. “And I might be the answer to your dreams.”