Chapters (92)
- First
- Love Connection
- Zero
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- One Month Later
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Six Months Later
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Six Months Later
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- I Have Never
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- A Christmas Date
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Note from the Author
- Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Also by Camilla Isley
- About the Author
We shout our goodbyes to my parents and stream onto the front porch where I halt, shocked. Parked in front of my house is a white limo, and lined up in front of it are all my closest friends from high school, college, and even a couple who made the trip from London. They’re all dressed in heinous bridesmaid gowns and sneakers—they make the final lineup from 27 Dresses look like a classy display in comparison. It’s a vengeance of ruffles, of flowered curtain-style prints, of pajama dresses, foil fabrics, and frilly frocks. It looks so horrible I’m starting to believe it’s brilliant.
I jump the few steps down the porch and run across the garden to greet everyone. It takes a few minutes before Kassandra herds us into the car where I keep going with the catching up—with the added perk of champagne and the soundtrack from Sixteen Candles playing in the background. The eighties songs actually go really well with our dresses.
The journey to our destination takes about half an hour, and when the car stops my friends and I swoop out in a rush of colored tulle. We’re standing on dry grass in front of a massive barn. The building’s standing on the side of what looks like a larger roving amusement park. When we exit the limo, the driver leaves to go park somewhere, and I spot a guy dressed in military gear and boots heading our way.
“Ladies, welcome,” he greets us with a slight Southern lilt. “Please follow me.”
He beckons us into the barn. Inside, we form an orderly line. We’re surrounded by racks of military green rifles—plastic I assume, or hope at least—white working jumpsuits, and plastic goggles.
“Good morning, ladies, and welcome to Paintball Wars Game Center. Rules are simple,” military guy tells us without preambles. “On the field, you must wear your goggles at all times, no exception.”
He hands us each a plastic mask.
“Paintball Wars?” I mouth to Amelia.
This is brilliant, and finally, the dresses make sense. We’re going to take revenge on the bridesmaid dresses from hell and splatter them in paint.
“These are your weapons,” military guy continues. “You unlock them like this.” He shows us how to remove the barrel plug. “You aim and pull the trigger to shoot. No blind shooting’s allowed at any time. You have a bag of ammo each. You load them here.” He shows us where to insert the paint balls. “If you’re hit, you’re dead. Plug your barrel and move off the field. All right, that’s all, ladies. Go have fun.”