Tease (Cloverleigh Farms #8)(10)

Allie smiled at the kids as she approached. “Wow. Look at you guys.”

“I said I’d watch them. I didn’t say I’d keep them clean.”

She shook her hair like she was in a shampoo commercial. “Do you like the new cut?”

I squinted at her. “Looks the same to me.”

She stuck out her tongue. “Hey, someone in the chair next to me at the salon mentioned she was going to her ten-year reunion tonight. Is it yours?”

“Probably.”

“You’re not going?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

I focused on the water pouring from the hose. “I already have plans.”

“Poker night? Those are your big plans?”

“I didn’t say they were big. I just said they were plans.”

She tilted her head, the way I imagined she did in therapy sessions before she pushed on an emotional bruise. “Is Felicity going?”

“I think so.” And in a dumbass move that I can only blame on sun poisoning, I said, “She asked me to go with her, but I said no.”

My sister’s glare was fierce, and she thumped me on the shoulder. “Hutton! How could you say no? She was your best friend in high school. She was your prom date.”

“I remember.”

She stuck a hand on one hip. “And do you remember what you went through before asking her?”

Of course I did.

“Because I do. You agonized over it for weeks. It got so bad, you came to me for advice. I had to talk you into it.”

“Because it was scary. I didn’t know what she was going to say.”

“But she said yes, and you had a good time.”

For a moment, I was back in that hotel ballroom, working up the nerve to ask her to dance to a slow song, forcing myself to do it, even though I was positive she’d only said yes to going with me because she hadn’t wanted to hurt my feelings.

But her face lit up, she took my hand, and I held her in my arms as we swayed awkwardly on the floor. It was heaven and hell at the same time. I was torn between wanting that song to go on forever, and wanting it to stop so I could quit freaking out over how I smelled and whether I’d worn the right shirt with my suit or whether she really liked the red wrist corsage I’d given her or would have preferred white. When the song ended, I said something stupid, which I spent days agonizing over, although now I couldn’t even recall what it was. At the end of the night, instead of kissing her like I wanted to, I shook her hand.

Then I agonized over that too.

But I did have a good time. There was no one else I’d ever wanted to hold that close. I often thought about doing it again, usually late at night with a hand in my pants.

“Look, it’s nothing to do with Felicity,” I told Allie. “I always have fun with her.”

“Of course you do.” She rolled her eyes. “We all know how you feel about Felicity, Hutton. It’s been obvious for years. And despite your messy hair and your ugly mug and your terrible personality, she genuinely likes you too. I don’t get why you two aren’t a thing.”

I glanced at her. She looked like our mom, the way she was standing there with her weight on one leg, hip jutting out, hand parked on top of it, blond hair gleaming in the sun as she gleefully pushed my buttons.

So I did what any self-respecting little brother would do—I turned the hose on her and sprayed her down.





THREE





FELICITY





After prepping all my appetizers, I jumped in the shower and washed my hair. As I blew it dry, I kept hoping maybe the shampoo and conditioner might perform some miraculous trick and it wouldn’t look so haphazardly chopped, but no such luck.

I threw it in a ponytail and hunted through my closet for something to wear, but after an hour, I gave up, drove over to Winnie’s condo, and banged on her front door.

“I need a fairy godmother,” I told her when she pulled it open.

She grinned as Dex’s daughters, nine-year-old Hallie and six-year-old Luna, appeared behind her. “How about three of them?”

“Even better.”

“Dex is out running errands, so we’re having girl time,” she said, shutting the door behind me. “Come on upstairs!”

Fifteen minutes later, I came out of the bathroom in my fourth dress.

“How about this one?” I did a little twirl for my audience of three, who sat on the edge of Winnie’s bed.

“Yes,” said Hallie, her brown eyes thoughtful as she tapped her chin. “It’s definitely the best so far.”

“I like it.” Golden-headed Luna clapped her hands. “Blue is my favorite color.”

“It is a great shade for you.” Winnie got up off the bed and moved behind me, pulling the zipper all the way up to the top. “There. Now it fits a little better.”

“Thanks.” I went over to the full-length mirror on the back of her closet door and studied my reflection. The dress was cornflower blue with small white flowers all over it. The skirt was short and flared, and the neckline was deep and round. It would have looked better if I’d had more chest to fill out the top, but even with three fairy godmothers, the chances of going from a B to a D cup by seven o’clock tonight were slim. “I do like the color. You don’t think the top is too . . . baggy on me?”