When Girlfriends Chase Dreams Read Free

him to play the part for me?
    “Claire’s already met with two of the planners,” Mom answers Robin.
    “And?” Jackie asks.
    “Not up to snuff,” Mom replies with a simple shrug.
    “What was so wrong with them?” Robin takes a sip of her water. “Too expensive?”
    “It’s not the money,” I say. Luckily, my father has offered to foot the entire bill for the wedding, with some help from Mom, too. My parents had planned since my and my sister’s births to be prepared to cough up bridal bounty. Seeing how they did so with Maggie’s wedding last summer, it’s my turn now.
    Conner and I were elated when Dad gave the official confirmation that we were to send all the bills his way. What a relief! Conner and I both have decent enough jobs and live well enough, but we could never fathom paying for a beautiful wedding with more than one hundred guests. Going to Paris was a huge deal, and it did cost a pretty penny. But that’s not an every-day kind of thing. It’s not like, left to our own devices, we could plan a wedding menu that didn’t have the words “sandwich” or “cash bar” on it. I mean, just take a look at my age-old car. And I just know that Dad would not be happy if his youngest daughter was feeding her guests (some of whom are his high-end clients and colleagues) microwavable mac and cheese.
    “If it’s not the money, then what is it?” Jackie asks.
    I tell the girls that one of the two planners with whom I’d met was very pompous. He had an air about him like he was better than me and that—as he was practically buffing his nails—he had planned “far bigger, far more elaborate, and far more challenging weddings than mine!” (Yeah, that’s a way to sell yourself.)
    Not to mention the woodsy Elton John NEST candle that he burned in his office was really making me nauseous. (Up until that point, I never knew Sir Elton had branched out from the music world into an overpowering home fragrant line. What do you know? Learn something new every day.) Anyway, I had to leave. So that was planner number one down the drain.
    As for the other planner, she told me that I would need to be just as involved in the wedding coordination and design as she, and that we should look at our relationship as a partnership. A team. And after I asked what exactly I was paying her for, I told her thanks but no thanks, and left, feeling dismal about the entire prospect of handing off a ton of my wedding stress to someone who was, supposedly, more capable. Two planners down, one to go.
    “That’s really too bad,” Lara says. “Maybe this third one will work out?”
    “Yeah!” Sophie chimes in. “I bet she’ll be perfect.”
    “She better be.” I munch on some more fries. “She’s my last hope. I can’t keep spending time searching for planners. This wedding will be here before we know it.”
    “You can always change the date if you need to,” Emily offers. “Give yourself more time.”
    I hold up my hand and wag my index finger. “Conner and I’ve already changed the date like a zillion times,” I say. “There’s no way we’re changing it again. Besides, the Save-the-Dates have been sent, and I already pre-ordered invitations. August sixteenth is the day, for better or for worse.”
    “I think the next planner will be the perfect fit,” Mom says encouragingly. She pats my arm and smiles. “She just has to be!”
    “Yeah, she has to be.”

Chapter Two

    After taking Mom to the airport that Sunday afternoon, I come home, seeking refuge from what started as a light dusting of snow but quickly became a full-on storm. I’d stuck around the airport to make sure her flight could take off and safely make it back home to an equally snowy Oregon.
    I wish my mom and I lived closer, especially in the midst of wedding planning. Although I miss my small hometown of Sisters, Oregon on occasion, Seattle has been home since I moved here for college. And it is definitely home, because Conner and I have made