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“YOU’RE TAKING IRIS Winger to the New Year’s Eve party tonight?” Olivia’s voice was shrill. “Why are you taking a date when you want to get Charlie back?”
“It was Brad’s idea. He said it would make her jealous.”
“It might make her jealous. Or it might confirm her belief you don’t love her after all.”
“Do you really think so?” He kicked at the floor. “I can’t catch a break.”
“It’s okay,” she said, patting his arm as her mind raced. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. You could always ditch her after you get there. Iris is a huge flirt, and she’s so insipid she probably won’t even
notice.”
“Should I let Charlie see us together or not?”
“I guess it’s possible Charlie could come with a date. So maybe you should wait and see.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to stand it if she’s there with someone else. Maybe I just won’t go.” He looked like he might consider jumping in front of a moving bus.
“No, you have to go. It’s your best chance.” She tapped her fingernail on her chin. “Oh! You should wear a tux. Girls are suckers for a guy in a tuxedo. She’ll be practically drooling when she sees you. And Iris is pretty hot, even if she is brainless. Maybe this will work out after all.”
“You think so?” His smile was earnest.
“Absolutely,” she said, with more confidence than she felt.
“HI, GRAM. WHAT’S UP? You don’t usually call me.”
“Charlie, we have a problem.”
“We do?”
“Yes, it’s about the wedding dress. My dressmaker won’t give me a refund.”
“I’m sorry, Gram. But maybe I can keep the dress and use it sometime in the future. I really hope I’ll get married someday.”
“No, by then we might want a different style. So she’s altering a dress for you to wear tonight instead.”
“Tonight? But Gram, I wasn’t even planning to wear a dress. It’s cold outside.”
“Can’t you wear a coat when you’re outside?”
“Yes. But Gram, I was going to wear pants and a sweater.”
“It’s too late. I already told her to alter the dress for you. Now be a dear and wear it for me. I’m dressing up, and I want to get a picture with you and your sister.”
“But Emily’s not dressing up.”
“Humph! Yes, she is. She just doesn’t know it yet.”
“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT,” Anne told Steven.
“What’s my fault this time?”
“Josh and Charlie breaking up. You suggested the marriage wasn’t a good idea.”
“I did not. I merely suggested they were rushing into marriage for the wrong reasons. And I was obviously correct. And thanks to me, they found out they didn’t need to get married for Josh to gain custody.”
“Thanks to you? What did you have to do with it?”
“We simply did a bit of investigative work and discovered it was all a misunderstanding. Then we encouraged Mr. and Mrs. Parsons to ask for a meeting.”
