He knew he wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.
TWENTY-ONE
june
After four months of waiting,the time had finally come to go full Maid of Honor.
I’d met my cousin and Aunt Darlene at Brides Galore, Magnolia Ridge’s fancy bridal boutique, where Eden had reached a state of near-panic, one worry after another streaming from her mouth. With only a few days until the wedding, the calm façade she’d clung to was unraveling faster than I could stitch it back together.
“If there’s anything wrong with the alterations, there won’t be time to fix it. Five days isn’t enough. What if it doesn’t fit right? What am I supposed to do?”
“Here, drink this.” I passed over a mug of chamomile tea I’d prepared in the boutique’s lobby. I’d swiped my Pop’s smallest bottle of bourbon before leaving the house and had administered a little to Eden’s tea to take the edge off her nerves. She sniffed it and gave me the stink eye. Still sipped it, though.
“Of course there’s time, that’s why there’s a final fitting. They wouldn’t schedule it now if they couldn’t handle it. Everything is going to be fine.”
She ran her hand down one of the veils on display as though she hadn’t heard me.
“She sounded strange when I gave my name.” She nodded toward the receptionist who stood behind a small counter. “Maybe she knows something’s wrong with the dress.”
“What could possibly be wrong with the dress?” Aunt Darlene whispered like we were gossiping in the middle of church.
“I don’t know,” Eden whispered right back. “Maybe the seamstress never got around to the alterations. Maybe someone accidentally spilled something on it. Maybe a raccoon got in the storage room, how should I know?”
A raccoon?I fought the impulse to laugh at my sweet, pragmatic cousin as she crashed full speed into crazy town. Taking her free hand, I gave it a squeeze.
“Hey,” I said, drawing her attention away from the organza and lace in front of her. “Everything’s going to be perfect. Try to relax. Breathe.”
She made a show of taking a deep breath, but the worry lines didn’t leave her forehead.
“Would you still marry Booker even if your dress was a little too long or a little too tight? Even if a few flowers were out of place or the books were all mildewy?”
She looked startled at that terrible image, but a weak smile crossed her face. “Of course I would.”
“There you go. Try to focus on that.”
She nodded and seemed to take courage from the idea. “You’re right, you’re right. I’d marry him no matter what. I’m freaking out, aren’t I?”
I exchanged a look with Aunt Darlene. “A bit.”
“I can’t help it.” She ran a shaky hand across her forehead. “It’s all happening so soon, you know?”
“We know,” Aunt Darlene said.
From all I’d heard, my aunt and uncle had balked at the quick timeline of events, but Eden and Booker had held firm. They wanted their forever to start as soon as possible, and I couldn’t blame them for that. But throwing a wedding together in just a few months wasn’t for the faint of heart.
“Distract me.” Eden sipped at her mug and winced. Maybe I’d poured a little more bourbon than I thought. “With more than just spiked tea, I mean. Are you still working over at Ty’s? How’s that going?”
I held up my palms. “No more blisters, so that’s an improvement. I’m getting so good at mucking stalls, I think I’ll add it to my resume.”
“You can addBeforeandAfterpictures to your gallery wall.”
I squeezed her hand again. “Genius.”
“Has he let you ride a horse yet?”
“No, but I think I’m wearing him down.”
She laughed, apparently amused at the idea of Ty Hardy being worn down by anybody. If only she knew. What was it about his stubborn refusal to ask for help that made me so determined to force-feed him that help?
