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“Fabulous?Really?” She eyed Mason. All he did was shrug.
“No, he’s not that good with words.” Katie snorted. “What he said is that you’re super busy making a bunch of wedding dresses and stuff. Not so eloquent, my brother. I added the fabulous part because I’m sure that’s what he meant. Right?”
“You know it.” Again, the affectionate tone of voice. Plus, he wrapped his arm around Andie’s waist and squeezed. Here was a man who knew how to keep all his ladies happy.
“Did he mention my wedding? Probably not, he’s been pretty grumpy about anything love-related…until recently.” Katie gave them a completely over-the-top wink. “Anyway, it’s a New Year’s Eve ceremony. Formal but not traditional. Trendy, but easy on the bling. I’d love to get something unique instead of off-the-rack, for me and my girls.”
Wow, Katie could talk. Fast. Like, impossible-to-interrupt fast. But after the comment about her bridal party, which sounded rather like she was referring to her ample endowments, Mason and Logan broke into laughter. Logan even tweaked the side of her boob.
“You guys are pigs.” Katie gave both men a shove. They used this as an excuse to put distance between their testosterone and her talk of taffeta.
Andie envied them. Mixing business with socializing had the same effect on her stomach as finding out her regular lady doctor had been replaced with a hot male gyno—afterthe nurse had her gowned up and waiting in the stirrups.
Mary drifted over to fill the gap left by her son and future son-in-law. “I heard wedding. Whadid I misss?” Not the bar, apparently. She slurred as much as she swayed. She’d probably tip the scales on a breathalyzer machine before getting close enough to blow.
“Andie might do the dresses,” Katie said. “We just have to work out the details.”
Oh god. How had they made that jump? “I’d be happy to meet with you sometime and show you samples of my work, references and a rough pricelist, though I’d need to work up a firm quote based on the intricacy of your designs.” Mentioning money scared off most acquaintances who thought she’d either work for free or at some secret, discounted rate.
“Can you drop some names of bigger weddings you’ve done?” This from Katie. Mary was too busy trying to focus on Andie’s face to speak.
“Sure. I did the bridal parties for the Almeida-Halliday wedding and the Jenner-Barrey wedding. I made all the dresses for the Paton-Thaler wedding, including the bride’s gown and both mothers.” Yes, she was boasting a bit, but Katie’d been the one to ask. Those jobs were the jewels in her business crown. Well-known families with enough money to buy the best of the best, and they’d chosen her to do custom work. Katie looked impressed. Mary, not so much.
“I remember you…” Mary aimed a pointed finger at Andie, but it wavered as much as its inebriated owner. “That liddle housse on Buller Street.”
“Years ago, yes. I’m on Paradise Avenue now. The address is on my card, I’ll run inside and get one from my purse.” Anything to get away from the wild-eyed stare.
Mary stopped her with a drunken grab on the forearm. “You hem pants.”
“Some. Less than I used to.” Where was this tangent coming from—or headed to—for that matter?
“Mason’s filled out since you first met him, hasn’t he?” Mary’s speech was getting clearer and her grip tighter. She gave an unfriendly laugh that turned most heads in their direction, Mason’s included.
“Excuse me?” Andie asked, trying unsuccessfully to free her arm.
Mason appeared beside her, gently prying his mother’s fingers loose. “Mom, what the hell? Let go of her.” He stood between them, one hand on each woman. Like a referee.
Andie’s stomach rolled. She’d let Mason—and her heart—talk her into coming back to the party. What a mistake.
“Mom needs a big glass of water and some food,” Mason said to his dad after the senior Mr. Lang made his way through the party-goers. “And to walk away before she says something she’ll regret later.” Those words were directed at his mother.
“I’m jusstalking.” The hostess shook off the helping hands. And the advice. “Your baby cried the whole time you were pinning Mason’s pants. When was that…?”
“Mom, let’s go inside and make coffee,” Katie pitched in, her arm firmly around her mother’s shoulders.
But Mary wasn’t quite finished. Her eyes bulged as Katie hauled her toward the house. And her voice got louder—much louder. “His senior prom. Must’ve been…twelve years ago.”
An acidic burn rose from Andie’s stomach. Up her throat, threatening vomit at the top. She looked up at Mason. Saw the shadow of the cute, gangly eighteen-year-old he’d been before becoming the handsome, muscular man of today. And she remembered.
He’d stood in her little workroom, probably thinking about sneaking booze into the dance or getting laid in the backseat of a borrowed car. Her mind would’ve been on whether her baby would sleep more than four hours at a stretch, if her milk would wait for the clients to leave before it let down and if her husband would touch her again before she hit thirty.
The years between her and Mason suddenly seemed like an eternity.
“I remember those pants. They fit great.” Dozens of his friends and family goggling and he didn’t balk. Just smiled and took her hand. “Nowwefit great.”
* * *
ANDIE
