Smiling excitedly, she sat on the bench beside me. “And?” she demanded excitedly. “How hot was it?”
I leaned in to murmur in her ear. “I get a boner every time I think about it.”
She launched off the bench with a squeal and I couldn’t help but crack up laughing. “You’re not funny,” she cried, smacking me on the arm. “You and youryou know whatcan stay right there. I’m going to try on the last dress. The cut on this one is all wrong.” The curtain closed once more, and I relaxed back on the seat, hoping the next dress did the trick. I was ready to go home.
A few minutes later, Gabi stepped out of the dressing room for the third time. “What do you think?” The coral dress, made of some satiny material, sheathed her body in a loving caress.
Smiling, I nodded. “Gorgeous.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?” She examined herself in the mirror, turning to peer over her shoulder as she checked out her own arse. “Is it hot enough to tempt a man who likes suits as much as dresses?”
I frowned. “Who do you mean?”
She glanced at me sideways. “Lawrence is going to be at the wedding, naturally. He’s the best man.”
My mouth fell into an O shape. Lawrence Miller had been Gabi’s first real boyfriend. He’d also been her brother’s best friend since primary school. Their wild and forbidden romance—forbidden because falling for your best friend’s little sister was against the Bro Code—came to an abrupt end when she caught him kissing her next-door neighbour in a back room at a party. The neighbour happened to be a boy. Lawrence had floated from men to women and back again ever since.
All that shit had gone down a long time ago, though. Gabi and Lawrence still saw each other now and then, due to their connection through her brother. “I thought you guys got along these days.”
“We do,” she said, before giving a patently innocent smile. “But I still enjoy making him suffer when I get the chance.”
“You little vixen,” I said with a low chuckle. “That dress will definitely accomplish your mission.”
Gabi took a deep breath and thrust her chest out as she looked in the mirror. “Excellent,” she said, her voice little more than a purr. With a final nod, she turned to me with hands on hips. “You have to tell Dante the truth now. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” When I’d first found out Dante would be staying at the retreat, I’d been convinced there was no way he would remember me, even if I did tell him who I was. Eight years had passed since the night we kissed, and ultimately that’s all it had been—a kiss. But then he’d arrived, and things got so much more complicated. The way he stared at me that first night, as if he’d seen a ghost. The fact he still wore the t-shirt I’d given him, still ate the sweets I’d bought for him. And he talked about me time and time again, always in reverent tones. It was like he clung to me in any way he could, and I had no idea why, especially given his callous disregard of me five years ago. But continuing to keep him in the dark like this, knowing Grey meant something special to him, would be cruel.
“The thing is,” I told Gabi, “even if he never stood me up, never humiliated the crap out of me, he’s only going to be here for a couple of months. Then he’ll go back home to Melbourne, never to be seen or heard from again. I don’t want to be some short-term fling. End of story.”
“My darling, Sean.” Gabi stepped forward, cupping my cheek in one hand. “The way you two keep finding your way back to each other, I’m not sure your story will ever end.”
