Free Second Thoughts by H.M. Bailey

 
    Aubrey paced back in forth in front of the fireplace in the wood-paneled study of Fairlawn Mansion. Fumbling nervously with her pearl bracelet, she stopped pacing for a moment to gaze out the window that overlooked the lawn of the rose garden. It was covered in white chairs tied with satin bows awaiting the family and friends who would soon be arriving for this happy occasion. That happy occasion was  Aubrey's wedding to Nick, although, at this moment in time, 'happy' would not be the word she'd use to describe it.
    She started pacing again and fixed her eyes on a clock on the mantel. If only she could freeze time. She needed time to sort through her thoughts and the fact that the clock kept ticking on despite her wishes was stressing her out.
    What was she getting herself into? She was not one to second guess herself, usually she was the girl to jump headlong into things with full gusto. Maybe that was her problem. Maybe she should have thought things out more before marrying a man she'd only known for six months.
    In a few hours she was about to become the wife of Nick Smalley.  And as of yesterday morning, there was not a doubt in her mind that this was her destiny. She was madly in love with Nick and couldn't wait to start a life with him. He was smart and successful, had wavy dark hair that she loved to run her fingers through and gorgeous pool blue eyes. She thought they were made for each other. But what had transpired the night before at the groom's dinner had her a bit unnerved. Well, that was probably an understatement. She was in full anxiety mode.
    The night had started in a flurry of excitement; the plan was for the wedding party to meet at Fairlawn for the wedding rehearsal and then they'd be off to their favorite Italian restaurant for the groom's dinner. She thought it would go off without a hitch and her biggest problem that night would be skipping the famous tiramisu at Angelo's to make sure she'd have no problem slinking into her unforgiving, body hugging wedding gown the next morning.
    But the rehearsal hadn't gone off quite as planned. In fact, she ended up so stressed that she ate two servings of tiramisu, didn't get any sleep and spent the morning like a zombie going through the motions of getting her hair and makeup done wearing a fake smile plastered on her face while her bridesmaids drank mimosas and cheerfully chattered away.
    The moment that had started all of this stress had come during the end of the rehearsal. They had practiced walking down the aisle, saying their vows and the minister told them that at the end of the ceremony they would turn to face their guests as he pronounced them Mr. and Mrs. Nick Smalley.
    “Aubrey Smalley? That sounds funny,” her sister giggled as Aubrey shot her a dirty look.
    “Nice, Jackie. Have you been drinking?”
    “What? No!” Then after a hiccup loud enough to raise the dead she added, “Maybe.”
    A few bridesmaids and groomsmen chuckled and Jackie smiled at the attention.
    Aubrey was going to have to rein in her party animal sister. If this was how she was at the rehearsal, Aubrey could only imagine the shenanigans she could expect to see at the reception.
    “Nice.” Aubrey said again. “And 'Aubrey Smalley' does not sound funny. But it doesn't matter anyway, they just say that at the ceremony. I'm keeping my maiden name, so I'll still be Aubrey Gray.”
    Then, at that very moment, Nick chuckled. Aubrey turn to face him, confused. “Are you laughing at Jacki? Because the last thing she needs is encouragement.”
    “No, not at her, but when you said you were keeping your name.”
    “What's funny about that?”
    “Umm, because I thought you were making a joke about keeping your name.”
    She raised an eyebrow at him.
    “You aren't, are you? Really?”
    “Of course I am. We talked about this!”
    “No, we didn't. I definitely would have remembered that !”
    Aubrey's jaw tightened up at the way he emphasized 'that'.
    She was about to give a