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“I do Nick’s laundry,” Brooke pipes up. “And when I pack his lunch, I put little love notes in.”
“What does he do for you?” Lottie asks.
“Yes, remind me,” Avery says, with a meaningful note in her voice.
Brooke pauses, looking lost for a moment.
Uh oh.
“Look at that glitter!” I exclaim, changing the subject. “I like it, Lottie. Lots of sparkle.”
She examines her reflection. “It’s like a filter,” she says, sounding fascinated. “I don’t really look like me.”
Avery laughs. “Welcome to my world. Now, what are we going to do about you?” she asks, casting a critical eye over my simple silk slip dress. “You’re not wearing that to the dinner, are you?”
I have to smile. I’m used to her blunt tone by now. “Would you like to pick out something different for me?” I ask diplomatically.
“God, yes.” Avery immediately starts rifling in the closet.
“Make her wear the eyeshadow, too,” Lottie pipes up. “We want Josh to fall all over her. So she doesn’t wind up alone with the cat.”
I figureI’m at least ten years too late for my movie makeover montage, but when I walk into the rehearsal dinner, heads actually turn. Including Josh’s.
“You… you look…” he stares at me, and I feel a deep flush spread through my body, becausewow, I don’t think I’ve seen him flustered like this before. “Beautiful,” he says finally, raking a hand through his hair. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I give a vague shrug, as if it didn’t take the combined forces of three women, a teenager, and four different highlight balms to conjure this kind of magic. I’m wearing a sweeping long emerald green gown, with my hair pulled up in some kind of complicated twisty braid. “You don’t scrub up too badly yourself.”
Josh tugs at his bowtie. “Robert got them for all the groomsmen,” he says, looking bashful. “I tried to tell him I’m not a bowtie guy, but…”
“I don’t know, I kind of like it.” I reach up to adjust it, automatically smoothing my hands over his lapels.His chest.
Our eyes lock, and I feel a rush of desire – and something else, too.The sparkle of possibility.My breath hitches... I lean in?—
Some guests pass us, talking loudly, and all of a sudden, I remember that we’re in the middle of a crowded space here. With my daughter just across the room.
I quickly step back, dropping my hands.
Josh clears his throat, like he was thinking the exact same illicit things. “This looks amazing,” he says. And he’s right. The pavilion is a riot of deep purples, pinks, and turquoise: exotic flowers and rich silks forming a dazzling backdrop to the lavish gold place settings, all glinting in the setting sun.
“The team did a great job,” I agree. “And Anna’s been running point—Wait, where is Anna?” I ask, looking around.
“I haven’t seen her,” Josh replies. “But… why are the Great Danes glaring at you like that?”
I blink. Nils and Nella are over in the corner, and sure enough, they’re looking at me like they wish there was another tank of slime around. Directly over my head.
“I… may have made some small tweaks to their design plan for the night,” I confide, leaning in.
“Small?” Josh repeats, a quirk of a smile playing on his lips.
“OK, I had to overhaul everything,” I admit. “But they were planning a Marie Antoinette theme! Can you imagine the field day the internet would have had with that? Let them eat gluten-free, vegan cupcakes,” I add, and Josh chuckles.
“Maybe not the best move in this economy.”
I see Robert greeting some unfamiliar faces over by the doors. “Who are the new arrivals?” I ask.
Josh turns. “That’s my mom, Annette,” he says, sounding pleased. “My stepdad managed to slip in the bathtub and break his arm, so I wasn’t sure if she would be able to come. I’d love for you to meet her,” he says, already steering me across the room.
His mom?
