With everyone finally here, the house feels full and loud and alive and the real fun is just about to begin.
Dad sets down the last tray of mini burgers on the kitchen table while Mel, Kiara and I grab our bags and each steal a mini burger before heading for the stairs.
“Okay, new rule,” I say, turning around halfway up. “Boys stay downstairs. The upstairs floor is officially a no-man’s-land.”
The boys give us a quick thumbs up, already buried in the mini burger tray.
The moment we enter my room, it’s chaos in the best way. Dresses are pulled from garment bags, makeup spills across my desk, and hair tools tangle together. It has officially become a war zone.
“Mel, hand me the glitter liner—no, theotherglitter liner!”
“I have a bobby pin in my bra and I’m still missing one earring,” Mel announces.
We manage to get our hair and makeup done in less than an hour—which is very impressive. Between passing around mascara, trading lip glosses, Kiara attacking my hair with a curling iron, and me helping Mel with her makeup, we somehow pull it together.
Just as I’m about to reach for my dress—a simple brown one I bought a couple years ago—Kiara snatches it from my hand. “No.”
I raise my eyebrows. “What do you meanno?”
She throws my dress on my bed and suddenly pulls something out of her bag.
“This,” she announces, holding it up dramatically, “is what you’re wearing.”
My eyes widen immediately. “Kiara—this is gorgeous.”
The dress is way too pretty to belong anywhere near my clumsy hands.
“I can’t wear that,” I protest. “What if I ruin it?”
She rolls her eyes like I’ve just said the dumbest thing imaginable. “You’re wearing it.”
Before I can argue again, she presses the dress into my hands and practically shoves me toward the bathroom.
A few minutes later, after some help with the back, I step out again. Both of them freeze and gasp at the same time. Mel, who’ssitting cross-legged on the bed, slowly nods in approval. “You look unreal.”
Kiara claps her hands together, grinning like we’re inSay Yes To The Dressand we just picked out my wedding gown. “Oh yeah,” she says. “That’s the one.”
26
RYAN
And suddenly, this whole dance thing doesn’t seem too bad.
It feels like we’re back at high school graduation; three guys standing in a living room, dressed up more nicely than any of us are used to, waiting around while someone makes last-minute adjustments. Dances aren’t really my thing, never have been, but I will never win against the girls. So I surrendered.
Noah stands in front of me, tugging at my collar with way too much concentration.
“Hold still,” he mutters.
“Iamholding still,” I say.
“I’m making sure you don’t embarrass yourself in front of my little sister.”
I glance down at myself while he smooths the fabric again. Mom and Bailey picked out the suit for me. I insisted on just wearing some old trousers, and a button-up I bought a couple years ago. But let's just say they did not accept that. And to be fair, when I tried it on to prove it's still fine—I barely fit into it. I think it’s all the training from the past year. Mom and Bailey also bought me a tie with little bananas printed onto it. I think they did it as a joke, but they tried to seriously force me to wear it. I shoved it into my bag to stop them, but I am not going to tell the guys, because then they willactuallyforce me to wear it. And I’m already wearing a suit, so I’m suffering enough.
I look to my right, where Liam is still fighting with his tie. Like that thing is making it impossible for him to even breathe. Noah and I exchange a look and grin. Mel had made it very clear that Liam wasnotallowed to show up in whatever outfit he originally planned, so she made Noah and me promise we’d handle it.
Noah slings an arm over my shoulder, laughing. “You look… comfortable.”
