Game (Gentry Boys, #3)(2)
“Long Island, actually,” I told him. “Suburb about thirty miles outside of the city.”
Brayden nodded. “You used go there often though?”
“To the city? Not really, maybe four or five times a year while I was growing up.” Whenever we took the train into Manhattan it seemed like an alternate universe full of crowds and noise and confusing smells. My mother hated the city. She was forever pining for her childhood country home in the Catskills. She did love the beach though. I couldn’t think of my mother without remembering the old Jones Beach boardwalk.
Millie rested her head on Brayden’s shoulder and smiled at me while I half-heartedly took a bite of my meal. My two companions were very nice people. Being around them made me want to make a little bit of an effort.
“How long have you two been together?” I asked in what I hoped was a friendly tone.
“A year and a half,” Millie answered. She really was a beautiful girl; slightly built, with glossy black hair and flawless brown skin. She was even more beautiful when she gazed up at Brayden. I wondered if love always did that to people, made them prettier. My gaze turned to Saylor, who was positively glowing as she stood on tiptoe and kissed her new husband.
I didn’t usually drink and even a few drops of champagne had made me a little fuzzy around the edges. It wasn’t a feeling I enjoyed. I would always rather know which direction I was traveling in.
After glancing at the time and figuring I ought to stick around for at least another hour, I settled back into a conversation with Millie and Brayden. At one point Saylor stopped by, hugged her cousin and told me how glad she was that I had made the trip. I smiled and told her she was a stunning bride. I wasn’t lying.
Saylor looked down at herself and patted her stomach. “Not a moment too soon. Another week and I wouldn’t have been able to squeeze into this dress.”
Millie reached out and placed a gentle hand on Saylor’s stomach. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired,” she sighed. “But good.” Saylor giggled. “Still can’t believe it’s really multiples. I should have known though.”
“Multiple what?” I asked.
“Babies,” she answered with glee. “Twins.”
“That’s nice,” I said, feeling stupid because I knew less than nothing about pregnancy or multiples or anything that came with it. I also didn’t know why the hell a twenty two year old girl would want to be married and saddled with babies but Saylor was so blissfully happy I figured she must just be a different brand than I was.
Saylor laughed and told me to have another glass of champagne in her honor before she moved on to talk to her other guests. I didn’t know most of them. There was some fortyish guy I’d heard someone refer to as Saylor’s dad, but the cranky blonde he was attached to apparently wasn’t her mom. She didn’t look happy to be here. Neither of Cord’s parents had made the trip and Truly had told me it was rather an unhappy situation between the Gentry boys and their folks. The only other Gentry here was a cousin of theirs. His name was Dreck or Decker or something. I hadn’t really been paying attention when names were being given out. He lounged in a corner while some trashy bimbo gave him a lap dance.
The other guests were a mix of Cord’s coworkers from the tattoo place where he worked and assorted friends. As far as I could tell I was the only one who had arrived without a date. Except for Chase, and that was probably only because he liked to keep his options open.
Speaking of Chase, I noticed him looking at me again as I adjusted my dress for the thousandth time while gritting my teeth. The damn dress was a whole new chapter of disgrace. Last night as we were getting ready to leave for the airport, Truly asked me how the hell I’d managed to stuff a dress into my backpack. I shrugged and told her I was just going to wear jeans to the wedding. After all, it was a small affair at the Excalibur, not a celebrity bash at the Bellagio. That caused her Southern accent to materialize like it always did when she got all huffy.
“Stephanie Bransky, I plain forbid you to wear jeans to this or any other wedding.” Then she dropped her suitcase on the floor and ran back to her bedroom. I could hear her searching her closet and cursing not so quietly.
Finally she emerged and shoved a wispy sky blue gown into my hands. “You will wear this,” she ordered, and then opened up another suitcase to carry it in.
“Fat chance,” I snorted. “Look at your body and then look at mine. I’ll have to stuff the top full of gym socks to make that work and then no one will be looking at the bride because they’ll be too f*cking fascinated by my lumpy implants.”
Truly frowned but then waved a hand. “Nonsense. I’ll take it in a few inches when we get there.”
She did try, but couldn’t take it in enough without committing to a serious redesign. That was what happened when you took a dress made for a girl with a DD cup and tried to make it work for one who couldn’t fill a B on her most bloated day of the month. Truly was clearly exasperated when I refused to prop up my rack with anything else. As a result I was pretty much swimming in this damn thing from the waist up. I felt ridiculous, like I was wearing my big sister’s prom dress. I figured that’s why Chase kept looking at me; he was probably laughing like a bastard on the inside.
Once Saylor moved on to her other wedding guests, Brayden and Millie continued their attempts to chat me up. I realized they were doing me a favor. If it weren’t for them I would be sitting here alone and conspicuously uncomfortable. Still, I kept glancing at the time and wondering how much longer I needed to hang out before I could escape to my room.