Worth the Effort Ch. 01

One of the men stood up. Morgan felt a little sizzle run through her as she recognized Shane. "Take this one," he said, indicating one next to him.

"Thanks." Morgan took the seat and decided to pretend she didn't have a crush on him. That way perhaps she could talk like a normal person. "Shane, right? We met at the engagement party? How have you been?"

"You are right, and I'm good. You?"

"Pretty good, despite the rain. Nice to meet you. Again." Nice save, she thought to herself.

"Likewise."

Morgan took him in, hoping she wasn't too obvious. Shane wore a sleek gray suit with a light blue shirt. As at the engagement party, his top button was undone, so he'd either removed his tie or gone without one. It was a good look on him. Somewhere inside, Morgan swooned a little, and enjoyed the feeling.

Knowing she wouldn't have time to go home and change, today she had brought a change of clothes to work. She'd exchanged her t-shirt for a long-sleeved blouse that covered her tattoos, her jeans for khakis, and her sneakers for a pair of pumps. She knew it wouldn't meet Brianna's standards, but no one could say she hadn't tried.

"I do feel underdressed," she said.

"Don't, you look fine," he assured her. "I had meetings today and had to dress the part. You look so comfortable. I'm jealous of your pants." He realized what he said and looked mortified. "Jesus. I did not mean that the way it sounded."

Morgan laughed. "Don't worry, we'll just chalk it up to a long day at work."

"Thank you, that would be perfect, and we'll just forget I ever said anything."

"Deal." Morgan raised her water glass and clinked it with Shane's in a quick toast.

Their attention was diverted as Brianna tapped a spoon against her glass.

"Attention! Attention please, everyone!" Brianna waited until everyone was looking at her. "Thank you all for coming." She flicked her eyes at Morgan. "At long last we're ready."

Morgan took a breath and bit into a bread stick to keep quiet. Brianna looked to be bursting with whatever the news was. Good lord, thought Morgan with a start, is she pregnant?

"Evan and I have made some decisions about the wedding and we wanted to share them with all of you."

"Please, tell me they're eloping," Morgan said under her breath.

"Seconded," Shane whispered back.

She glanced over and he gave her a small grin. She couldn't help grinning back.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Shane doubted eloping was an option, but wished it was if only for Evan's sake. His friend had been uneasy all week. When Shane had asked about it, Evan had said only that there was a surprise about the wedding and he was under orders not to say anything.

Shane had pressed a little, not wanting to make Evan break any confidences, but concerned that his friend seemed more upset than pleased about whatever the news was.

"Are you sure whatever this is, it's what you want?" Shane had asked. "I mean, it's your wedding too. You shouldn't have to do anything you don't like."

Evan had shrugged. "It's no big deal. Besides, you know how I am. I just get nervous in the planning stages. Besides, Brianna really wants it, and she's great. I don't want to tell her she can't have it."

"Sometimes we can't have everything," Shane had pointed out.

"Yeah, but this is our wedding," Evan had replied. "We'll only do it once, and she just wants to do it in style. It'll be fun when it gets to it, I'm sure."

"Look, man, I'm not trying to criticize, but you don't seem very happy about all of this."

"Don't worry." Evan had shrugged and smiled. "I'll be good. It's a little overwhelming, I admit, but Brianna's got it under control."

Shane had let it drop, not knowing what else to do. He worried that in addition to taking control of the wedding, Brianna was railroading Evan, and Evan was letting it happen.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Morgan realized she was gripping the edge of her seat and forced herself to let go.

Relax, she told herself. It can't be that bad. Maybe they're just moving up the date. That could be awkward, with trying to arrange time off, but it was probably something she could manage.

"Since this is going to be our big day, we want to do it in style. So we're going to get married in—" Brianna paused to build the anticipation "—Fiji! Isn't that amazing? Well, come on, someone say something!" she said after her news was met with silence.

"That's—that's some news," Jenna managed to say after a minute. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Of course not, Jenna." Brianna rolled her eyes. "That's why it's a surprise." She waited, but still no one said anything.

"Come on, people, what is wrong?" Brianna looked around the group. "This is terrific news! Fiji is so beautiful and exotic, right, babe?" She turned to Evan, who nodded.

"I'm sure it's great," said Jenna. "But I thought you'd already put a deposit down on the Masterson House?"

"We did, but we changed our minds," Brianna waved a hand. "I wanted something different. So did Evan."

"Have you picked a date?" Jenna asked.

"Three months. Twelve weeks from today in fact. That's plenty of time for people to book travel, and for bachelor and bachelorette parties, and a wedding shower."

"Are you serious?" The words were out before Morgan could stop them.

"Trust you to have a problem." Brianna glared at her. "What is it now?"

"I don't—" Morgan took a breath. "This just caught me off guard."

"But you don't like it," Brianna said. "Fine, I don't care."

"It's not about liking or not liking it," Jenna said. "Morgan's just taking a minute to process it, like we all are."

"Well, she doesn't have to be a bitch about it."

"Since when does being surprised mean I'm being a bitch?" Morgan asked.

"You are just looking for an excuse."

"To do what?"

"To take attention away from our plans, our day! You can't just say, 'Hey, Brianna, that sounds great' and leave it alone."

Evan cleared his throat and spoke. "Hey, hey. Let's calm down. Jenna's right, we all need to take a minute to process this."

"Take a minute?" Brianna turned and glared at him. "Whose side are you on?"

"It's not about sides, Bri. It's just that being angry won't help anybody," he said.

Morgan counted to ten, because Evan was right. "Brianna, I am looking at a short time frame and a lot of events you want to pack into it."

"What are you talking about?" Brianna snapped. "There's plenty of time. Katelyn, you agree with me, right?"

Katelyn nodded but looked uncertain. She smiled to cover for it. "I'm sure we can make it work, Brianna."

Morgan looked down at her hands to avoid rolling her eyes. Everyone always did this when faced with one of Brianna's tantrums. They soothed, they placated, they postponed. It was like a superpower; if Brianna could bottle it, she'd be rich.

Jenna cleared her throat. "I don't want to get too into the weeds, but isn't it going to be expensive? I thought the deposit was non-refundable."

"It doesn't matter. Mom and Dad will pay for it." Brianna shrugged. "They said whatever I wanted, and this is what I want."

"No way." Morgan all but jumped out of her seat. "You cannot make Mom and Dad pay for this. It's too much."

"Morgan, just because you're still working the equivalent of a high school summer job doesn't mean other people are." Brianna gave her a pointed look.

"My job isn't the point," Morgan said. "This wedding trip will cost thousands. They're still paying for Mom's surgery. They'll end up dipping into their savings."

"How Mom and Dad spend their money is not your business," Brianna retorted. "If you had some to spend yourself, maybe you wouldn't care how other people spend theirs."

"Brianna, come on—"

"Morgan, drop it," Brianna snapped. "It's decided and it's none of your business. So back off. I didn't think you'd be this jealous."

"Jealous?" Morgan repeated. "You think this is because I'm jealous?"

"You always have been," Brianna said. "I don't even know why you came tonight. I don't know why I invited you."

"Well, that makes two of us," Morgan muttered as she glared at the table.