Page 71 of So Much More
That puts a smile on his face. “She will, won’t she?”
“For sure. So what are we thinking for Leslie? A crazy hat? A huge, gaudy, bejeweled pin for her shirt? A holiday-themed tie?”
Ash thinks for a few seconds. “Let’s start with the hats and go from there.”
thirty-one
“Who knew you could look sexy in a men’s sweater vest?” I ask Wendy as I finger the bottom of the obnoxiously bright, multi-colored vest she pulled over her blue sundress on our way to dinner.
We’re waiting to be seated at the casual restaurant I chose for the evening. I knew the rest of us could handle wearing something crazy to a formal restaurant, but since I didn’t want my brother to have a stroke, I chose a place that was more low-key.
She says, “Not as sexy as you look in that tiara.”
Wendy giggles as I take her hand and pull her closer to me. I’m thankful she doesn’t tense up or pull away from me.
She glances toward Ash and Leslie and then up at me. “Did you have fun picking out Ash’s scarf with Leslie?” she asks, referring to the silky, pastel-striped scarf tied jauntily around my brother’s neck.
“I did. She really wanted to get him some ladies’ shoes, but they didn’t have any big enough for his enormous feet.”
“Even if there’d been some big enough, I doubt we could’ve convinced him to wear them. I’m surprised he’s wearing the scarf.”
“He’s only doing it for Leslie. He wouldn’t do something like that for anyone else. Well, he’d probably do it for our sisters, but that’s it. How was shopping with him?”
“It took him a few minutes to get into it,” she says, “but I got him there. My strategy was to find the most over-the-top options I knew he’d never go for, so then he wouldn’t feel as bad about picking out something not quite as ridiculous. I think he chose well.”
Leslie is sporting a pair of gigantic Christmas-tree earrings Ash and Wendy found in the clearance section. The trees even light up.
“You’re pretty smart, you know that?” I say to her.
Wendy shrugs. “I have two little brothers. I know how to get men to do things they don’t think they want to do.”
“Oh, yeah? Have you used your tricks on me?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She grins at me.
I tighten my hold on her hand. “I’d like to know all your tricks.”
“Well,” she taps a finger to her lips, “there was this one time—”
The hostess calls my name, so I don’t get to hear whatever story Wendy was about to tell. As we walk through the restaurant, I glance back at my brother to see how he’s dealing with the stares and whispers as we pass the other diners. His face is red, but he’s hanging in there.
“Ash is hating this, isn’t he?” Wendy asks.
“Yep,” I say gleefully. “I’m so happy our table is on the opposite side of the room from the door.”
Her nose wrinkles. “Your brother’s discomfort makes you happy?”
I laugh. “Of course it does, but only if I’m the one purposefully causing the discomfort. Otherwise, the person who makes him uncomfortable better watch out.”
She smiles up at me as we reach the table. “Even if it’s Leslie? Or your sisters?”
“Okay, it’s fine if it’s someone who loves and cares about him. But nobody else gets to mess with him.”
“You’re a good brother,” she says to me as we take our seats.
“He has his moments,” Ash says to Wendy, “but this isn’t one of them.”
The women both laugh.
