Skye clapped her hands. “Look at her dopey smile. Of course, it is.”
Between their laughter and the beauty of the dress, for one moment I forgot altogether that this wasn’t real.
I was being silly.
“I still want to try the rest of the evening gowns,” I told them before taking refuge in the changing room.
I could easily tell Tess and Skye this wasn’t what I was looking for, that I’d had an image of my perfect dress in mind for years, and instead of settling on something that wasn’t what I’d envisioned, I preferred no bridal dress at all. They’d understand.
But we were getting married in one of the ballrooms. We had two hundred guests. I couldn’t show up in a cocktail dress. It would raise eyebrows.
I twirled in front of the mirror, grinning like a fool. I wouldn’t let this dress pass me by. I opened the curtains to the changing room again and announced, “You’re right. This is the one.”
They cheered and came to hug me. I felt overwhelmed with emotion and a little guilt but hugged them back just as hard.
“You just need shoes,” Andrea said. “I’ll be right back.”
“And keep Saturday before the wedding free,” Tess said.
“Why?”
“For the bachelorette party.”
I swallowed. “We need a whole day? I’d planned to move into the new house on Saturday.”
“Change your plans, girl. We’re kidnapping you and treating you to the whole bridal program.”
“Should I be afraid?”
Skye placed one hand on her hip. “Is the Arctic freezing? Yes.”
“Okay, then.”
“We’ll help you pack your stuff. I can’t believe you’ve agreed to marry Hunter before you’ve lived with him. What if he’s one of those guys who leaves his stuff everywhere?”
I gave a nervous laugh. This is the type of thing I should know.
“I’m pretty laid-back about everything.”
Tess raised an eyebrow. “Have you met yourself? You’re crazy exact about everything.”
“No, I’m not.”
“The shelves in your bookcase have labels with the first letter of the authors’ names.”
“Isn’t that normal?”
“It is if you’re a bookstore. You get my drift?”
“Well, it’s all about compromise,” I muttered, but I couldn’t quite meet Tess’s eyes.
Chapter Ten
Josie
Leonie was a lifesaver, as usual. She’d informed me that she’d take care of packing up my stuff while I was at work, as well as moving everything over to the house. All I had to do was separate everything in three piles: take with me, put in storage, throw away/donate.
Tess and Skye had offered to help.
Two evenings into the packing process, I realized packing was code for interrogation.
“Did he already make space for you in his closet?” Tess asked.
“Umm....” Shit. Every time I thought we were on safe ground, something new came up. I didn’t even know what Hunter’s closet looked like.
“I’m going to help him do it,” I said vaguely. “He just moved in the house, so nothing’s set yet.” Now that I came to think about it, what would our arrangement look like? I slept in a different bedroom, but all my clothes would be in his closet? My toiletries in his bathroom? There was more than one bathroom in the house, but we had to make it look as if we were sharing a bedroom and a bathroom.
The thought of showering in his shower, entering his room on a daily basis felt far too intimate. What if he slept naked? Nope... I would not think about that. Yet now that I’d let that thought in, it was all I could think about. A bout of heat coursed through me.
We somehow had to manage this, because there was no way I could keep my clothes in my bedroom. I’d have to move everything back and forth every time a Winchester came to visit, and they liked to drop by unannounced.
On Saturday, I was all jittery on the subway ride to the house. Leonie had already sent all my stuff there yesterday. I only had time for a quick tour before Tess and Skye picked me up for my bachelorette party. I couldn’t wait. Sure, I was liable to get drunk and say something I wasn’t supposed to, but I needed to blow off some steam.
Besides, Hunter and I had fabricated some more details about our relationship at the beginning of the week. We’d had dinner together and plotted. It had started out fun. We each came up with potential questions Tess and Skye would throw at me.
By the end of it, I was breathless and needy and thoughts I should never have about my best friend were now permanently branded in my brain. It had started benignly enough, but then I’d somehow dug my own grave.
“What if they ask me intimate details?” I’d asked.
Hunter had winked. “Just tell them I’m the best you’ve ever had.”
“Always so humble.” My cheeks had heated up. Even now, I blushed as I remembered the conversation.
My face still felt hot as I knocked at the door. Hunter welcomed me with a lazy smile, gesturing for me to step inside. He was wearing a very thin shirt—it was practically transparent. I had to make a concerted effort not to trace all those muscles with my gaze. Damn it. The man looked like sex on a stick.
“Wow, this looks incredible,” I said the second I stepped inside the house. It had been completely empty when the real estate agent had shown it to us, and was unrecognizable with all the furniture. The living room was split in two areas: the kitchen, complete with an island and barstools and a glass table, and the living area, defined by a celestial blue couch with three seats.
“Leonie outdid herself. She already unpacked everything.”
I still wasn’t sure how we were going to handle having separate bedrooms but keeping all our clothes in one place. It seemed like a lot of hassle and a lot of bumping into each other.
We didn’t have time to talk logistics, because both of our bachelor parties were starting in a few minutes.
Skye and Tess arrived first.
“Ready?” Tess asked, rubbing her palms together in excitement.
“Depends, are you going to tell me what we’re doing?”
They both vehemently shook their heads. I turned to Hunter, who was watching us with an amused expression.
“Fiancé, don’t you have anything to tell them? A warning? A lecture?”
“Afraid you can’t handle your own bachelorette party?” he asked lazily.
Tess snickered. “You talk as if you’ll be able to handle yours.”
Hunter’s eyes flashed.
“Okay. Here are some ground rules. Don’t get my girl too drunk. Don’t let anyone come on to her. And whatever you do, don’t torture her with questions.”
Skye smiled indulgently. “Awww, that’s so sweet. Completely useless, but points for trying.”
***
Hunter
My cousin Ryker was a master at organizing events. He’d scheduled a full day. We’d started with a rafting trip on a river just outside the city and were finishing the night by going to a bar. It was just the three of us: Ryker, Cole, and me.
“Didn’t think I’d see the day you married,” Ryker exclaimed when we downed the second round of tequila.