Page 101 of Last First Kiss

Jamie taps his chin, thinking. “Do a slow turn.”

A little wobbly, Amy does.

“One hop this time.”

Amy’s forehead crinkles.

“Right foot, let’s stomp,” Jamie instructs in an all-too-familiar voice. Jordan swallows a laugh. “Left foot, let’s stomp. Cha-cha, real smooth—”

Amy flips two middle fingers at him. It’s the first real smile she’s cracked since they arrived.

“Sorry, Ames, but this is where I, a man who dresses like this”—Jamie signals to his choice of a black Henley and tight dark chinos cinched at the ankle—“am very unhelpful.”

Amy scowls. Jordan can see this going sideways fast.

He elbows Jamie for her. “The gown’s beautiful, Amy. It’ll look great in photos.”

“You think so?”

A practiced grin glides over Jordan’s mouth. “I already see you on the cover ofSouthern Bride.”

Amy’s own smile dims a fraction. She carefully turns around on the small gold riser to face the mirrors. Marisol, the seamstress, steadies her before getting to work on the bodice.

Amy tucks locks of hair behind her ear. “I didn’t originally want a wedding this… big,” she says to her reflection.

Jordan straightens. “You didn’t?”

“I’m not a cover girl. I’m simple.”

“Hey,” Jamie says with a mock glare. “That’s my friend you’re talking about.”

“I know, I know.” Amy snort-giggles. “But I’m serious. I’m a bookish, nerdy girl who—don’t judge me—always pictured getting married on, like, a farm. In a rustic barn. With twenty guests, max.”

“That’s not bad,” Jordan comments.

“Or, like, eloping in Vegas,” Amy adds.

Jamie gives a slow clap. “There’s the drama. Jane Austen, Bellagio style!”

Another snorty laugh flies out of Amy. She quietly apologizes to Marisol after almost tipping off the riser. “That’s not how Sam’s family lives,” she says with a sigh. “He’s aMcClintock. I couldn’t ask him for that.”

Why not?is on the tip of Jordan’s tongue. Questions like that are crossing the line. He’s here to plan, not interfere.

Instead, he reiterates, “It’s still a gorgeous dress.”

“My mom picked it out,” Amy says with that same sad smile. “It’s a gift from my parents, who are—”

She stops short.

Beside Jordan, Jamie chews his thumbnail. There are a lot of unsaid words in their shared stares. A life Jordan’s not privy to. He refuses to let that bother him.

Finally, Amy says, “I like it.”

“But you don’t love it,” Jordan says, surprising himself.

She puts on her best smile, though Jordan can see the fight behind her eyes. “It’ll look great on our wedding day.”

Amy leaves it at that.