“Whatever makes you happy,” Hannah said, trying to stay focused despite the fact that her heart suddenly seemed to be racing. Her arms felt numb and her fingers tingled. Her armpits had gone from slightly moist to uncomfortably wet in a matter of seconds, and as she tried to focus on Vicki’s mouth and the words coming out of it, Hannah felt her stomach lurch. She only caught the end of Vicki’s thoughts on Uncle Joe.

“…just nice to be around him,” Vicki continued, as Hannah closed her eyes. “I don’t know, maybe it’s just good to be around someone who thinks my job is interesting even if I don’t…”

Vicki took a closer look at Hannah, now eyeing her with uncertainty.

“Hannah? Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Hannah said, pressing her hands into her cramping stomach to temporarily dull the strange pain. “I’m fine. I think…I think I might be having a reaction to a pill.”

“What pill?” Vicki said in a motherly tone.

“It’s fine,” Hannah said, breathing heavily, with her hands on her hips like she’d just finished a marathon “Go sit down. I’ll come over if I need anything.”

“Okay,” Vicki said tentatively. “Listen, just in case you lose me later, we’re in room 140. I forgot my key, so we’ll have to get one from the front desk. Where’s your bag of clothes for later, by the way?”

“It’s up in the tower with the rest of the bridesmaids’ stuff. Make sure I grab it before we leave.”

Hannah glanced over at the table where she was supposed to be sitting. She’d be the ninth guest at a table for eight, crammed between the other bridesmaids and their significant others. Dawn was already seated there with her husband, a stocky thirty-something man who seemed overly focused on buttering a roll.

“I don’t get it,” Hannah said, finally giving in to her jealousy with a whine. “How are you and Bee’s uncle even sitting together? Were you assigned to the same table?” Hannah pouted as Vicki held up her index finger to Joe to signal that she’d be joining him in just a minute.

“We’re breaking the rules,” Vicki whispered, smirking. “Joe’s actually supposed to be sitting with Bee’s dad’s law partners, but I’m saving him. Rob didn’t show up, so Joe’s going to take his seat. Thank you, Rob.”

Hannah frowned. If there was an empty seat next to Vicki, shouldn’t she be the one to make use of it? She watched Vicki make eye contact again with Joe, who held up one of the glasses of wine, beckoning her to join him. Hannah sighed, realizing that there was no good reason for her to steal Rob’s seat from a man Vicki obviously wanted close by.

“Okay, then,” Hannah said, defeated. “I’m going to go sit with the young lawyers and the beauty queen. Have fun with Scott Bakula. Who else is at your table, by the way? You’re not sitting with Tom, are you?” Hannah’s eyes narrowed, panicked.