Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
“What do you think?” I asked.
Our eyes met in the floor-length mirror.
“It’s perfect.”
“We’ll need to make some alterations now that I have the body done.” I pointed out a few places that I wanted to take in and how much length I wanted to take off the bottom. “Here, here, and here.”
“Perfect. We have plenty of time. The wedding isn’t until June.”
“Yep. Let me take some measurements. You’re not going to lose any more weight, right?”
“Not with the way I’m cooking for Maddox.” She laughed. “I’ve been re-creating all of Gran’s old recipes. Half of them use actual lard.”
I giggled. “I bet they’re delicious.”
“I’ll start bringing you the leftover pie.”
“Leftover pie doesn’t sound real.”
Josie smirked. “Maddox agrees with you, but my hips don’t.”
“You’re ridiculous. You’re already small. Don’t worry about it. Just be happy.”
“Like you and Ash?”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Here it comes.”
“I’m just saying … I want the scoop.”
“I know what you want.”
Josie looked down at me as I pinned up a section of her bust. “The wedding is this weekend.”
“I’m aware.”
Lila and Cole would be tying the knot in Athens, Georgia, where they’d met in college, on Saturday afternoon. Derek had told me, like I needed to know … like I even cared. I didn’t know if Ash knew all the details, but I had to assume that he did.
“Well, is he …”
I looked up at her. “Going to be there? No.”
“You’ve talked about it?”
“Also no,” I admitted.
“Amelia!”
“I told him last year that if he went to the wedding, he’d never see me again. That it would be like I never existed. I don’t think he’s stupid enough to do that. Not when we’re actually dating.”
Josie gave me a skeptical look. “For Lila?”
“Why don’t you let me worry about Ash, huh?”
“Okay, okay,” she said, raising her hands in surrender. “If you say so.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from saying anything more. I should have had this conversation with Ash already. That my words still held. That he’d never see me again if he went. But he’d admitted that he knew they were toxic and that they’d already had their chance. That was real progress for him. I didn’t think he was going to destroy it all for Lila’s wedding.
But … I probably should make sure of that.
Damn it, Josie.
The minute I was out of work, I drove straight to Ash’s instead of my own place. I’d been spending a lot of nights there since it was so much closer to Ballentine. But I definitely was not looking forward to this conversation.
I skipped up the front sidewalk and opened the door. “Ash?”
“In here, Mia,” Ash called.
But I heard a second voice in the room, and my brow furrowed. “Derek?”
My brother stood in the living room. “Hey, sis.”
“What are you doing here? It’s a weekday.”
“Yeah. I thought I’d drive down and see y’all.”
I gave him a skeptical look. “Really?”
“Yeah. Do you want to go out with us?”
Ash walked across the room and pulled me into a hug. He dropped his lips down onto mine. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Oh God, are you already drunk?”
Ash laughed. “We might have had a few.”
Derek made a gagging noise. “Can you not while you’re around me?”
“Fuck off,” I muttered. “I already told you that we’re dating.”
“Yeah, but you’re my sister.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a hypocrite. You and Marley are all over each other around me.”
“And?”
“At least he didn’t threaten to punch me,” Ash interjected.
“I’d kick his ass if he laid a finger on you,” I snapped. “Don’t come in here with your bullshit misogyny, Derek Ballentine. You don’t get to have an opinion about my love life.”
“He’s my best friend,” Derek said as if that explained it all.
“So, he’s good enough for you to hang out with, but not me to date?”
“Yeah,” Derek said with a laugh. “That’s kind of the point.”
Ash pulled me back from smacking my brother. “He’s joking, Mia. He doesn’t give a shit. He’s happy for us. He’s just trying to rile you up.”
“And it worked,” Derek said with a laugh. “Come on. Where should we go out?”
“I have work in the morning,” I groaned.
“Call out.”
“I own the business!”
“All the more reason,” Derek said with a smirk.
I shook my head. “Fine. Let’s go. I need to change.”
I headed upstairs and found the stash of clothes that I’d left in Ash’s closet. I pulled on a blue dress, applied some lipstick, and was ready to come downstairs when Ash appeared in the bathroom.
“Hey,” I said with a smile.
“Sorry about Derek. I was going to text you.”
“I don’t really care. I miss him being here all the time.”
“So do I,” Ash agreed. “But we both know why he’s here.”
I arched an eyebrow. Were we finally going to have this conversation?
When I said nothing, Ash kept his eyes focused on me and said, “Because Lila’s wedding is this weekend.”