Safari Island Shifters: The Complete Collection(20)
“I wasn’t, but Addison sounded a little upset so I wanted to run over these fabric samples.” He pulled three swatches from his bag. “I know you weren’t wild about the leopard print. What if we did the dresses in one of these?”
Addison fingered the peacock blue, sea green, and orange satin. “Is there time to change it?”
“No, but we can buy a whole new one. It’s on the company, darling. Don’t worry about a thing.”
“Is this for my dress?” Lily asked.
Gummy nodded. “It sure is, but these are also the accent colors for the wedding.”
“I want to wear orange,” Lily said.
Addison handed the fabric back to Gummy. “Orange it is.”
He hugged her. “Okay, I’ll find some options. I’m sorry about earlier. I’m a little attached to the leopard one. I thought it would look divine in the pictures. Forgive me?”
She nodded. “All is forgiven.”
“Great! I’ll see you in two days with the dresses.” And with that, Gummy snapped on a pair of white heart-framed sunglasses and was off.
“That guy is so awesome,” Lily said, in awe once again. “I have to have that bag. He’s nice. I’m glad I’m not going to have to tear him a new one.”
Addison shook her head as they sat down. “It’s an endless merry-go-round. You’ll see. He was nice right now, but he’ll be a total pain come fitting day.”
Lily flexed and snarled, “He better not be. I can totally take that guy and anyone else who tries to mess up your big day.”
Addison laughed. “You’re going to be very busy, then. Can I send you after Max and Finn next?”
“The twins?” Lily asked, surprised. “They were jerks last time I saw them, but Max, at least, was better this time. I saw him at the airport and he was really cool again.”
“I’m sure they’ll be really great to you, but they’re at each other’s throats.” Addison pulled on one of her blonde curls. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a fight at the wedding. I don’t know what’s gotten into them, but they’re being ridiculous whenever I see them together.”
“Bummer. I’ll squash it if it comes up.” Lily’s phone vibrated. It was Angelsen again. She turned her phone to silent and ignored it.
“Who was that?”
“No one. Tell me what I’ve missed in the three days we haven’t talked.”
Addison filled Lily in on the surprise she was planning for Chet at the reception: a red velvet groom’s cake in the shape of a rhino. She’d seen it in a movie and loved the idea.
Her eyes lit up as she talked about her fiancé. Lily was so happy for her friend. She couldn’t wait until she had that kind of love too. She’d been the one looking for island love when they came the first time, so it had been a bit of a letdown that she’d walked away empty-handed. Even worse, she had no prospects back home.
She was back to square one in her love life. She had been living vicariously through Addison during the planning. She hadn’t given up on love yet, but she was putting it on pause. Once she got her friend married and knew her job was safe, she’d think about love again. It could wait.
Two
There was a circle of pretty women dancing around Max Nunez. The one closest to him grabbed his tank top and tried pulling him in for a kiss. Max grabbed the girl’s hand and shook his head. He wasn’t about to make out with some random chick. She was a beautiful woman, but not his type. Not to mention that his twin brother Finn was already scowling at him from across the bar. Typical.
He didn’t know what had come over his brother, but Finn was a walking frown these days. He used to be a blast. They’d always had different friends, but he and Finn were still close. Max and his best friend Shane would go out together all the time. Finn would join them at least once a week, and they’d have a lot of fun. Now, Finn was still coming but he was never happy. It was like he was looking for something to be mad about.
It didn’t help with the ladies. Nobody wanted to be around an angry, moody guy all night. It wouldn’t have been such a problem for Max if it wasn’t for the triad. He and Finn had known since they were children that they were destined to have a triad marriage with one lucky woman. Max didn’t know how that was going to happen with Finn in his current state. His mind immediately went to Lily, and he was bummed out. He excused himself from the circle of ladies to get another drink.
He’d been into the spunky brunette from the minute he first laid eyes on her. She was curvy in all the right places, and hilarious. Lily always said whatever was on her mind. Sometimes that meant she put her foot in her mouth, but she was unapologetic about her opinions. They’d gone out on a date, but it was a disaster. Max had pretended that he hated her as much as Finn did. It was a stupid lie, but it was better than trying to convince his brother to change his mind.
Lily was back on the island for the big wedding and just his luck, he’d run into her at the airport. She still took his breath away. There was a connection there that he wouldn’t mind exploring, but he couldn’t. He and Finn were having problems, but he still wanted to be part of a triad. In his heart, he knew there was no way he’d claim his mate without his brother’s support. Whoever he was going to end up with had to be someone Finn liked too, and that wasn’t Lily.