Page 63 of The First Best Man

“What?” I shout. “We were just there, and it was fine.”

I’m already pushing myself out of my chair as I speak, and Logan takes Penny’s hand and pulls her up to her feet as the others follow suit. Sam calls out an explanation to Miguel as we rush from the restaurant as a group, and he calls back that he’ll wrap our meal up and keep it warm if we want to come back.

But the food is the last thing on our minds as we hurry down the street toward the bridal shop. Penny’s dress has to be okay. The wedding istomorrow.

When we crowd into the shop, we all freeze at the sight before us. Penny lets out a keening wail as she stumbles forward, running her hands over what’s left of the wedding gown Peg is holding up. Long strips of shredded satin and lace dangle from what was once the skirt, and the bodice has been sliced multiple times, leaving gaping holes.

“What happened?” Logan demands when the rest of us can’t find our voices.

“I’m so sorry,” Peg says, tears dripping down her cheeks. “I left the gown hanging out here so I could give it a final steam after you left this morning. I went to grab some lunch, and I was sure I locked the door behind me. When I got back, the door was unlocked, and I found the dress like this. I tried to see if I could fix it before I called you, Penny, but I’m sorry. I can’t. There’s just too much damage.”

Penny starts to cry, in earnest, and her knees give out. Logan catches her before she hits the floor, then carefully leads her over to a sofa so she can sit. I rush over to sit next to her, rubbing her back and speaking in soothing tones to try and calm her. My eyes find Tucker’s, and he looks a little lost. As I watch, his expression morphs into one of determination. He pulls Peg away from the rest of us, and they start to speak in rushed whispers before they turn and disappear into the back.

Penny starts to murmur through her tears, nonsensical mutterings that quickly increase in speed and volume. She’s freaking out, and I have no idea what to do. Our only option at this point would be to find a new dress, one straight off the rack that would fit her with minimal alterations.

She’s going to hate that idea.

She spent months searching for that dress, intent on finding the perfect style and fit, then spent weeks getting it altered until it was absolutely perfect. Shedeservesthe dress she wanted, and now, it’s gone.

I glance around the room. Logan is on Penny’s other side, whispering words of love and comfort as he brushesher hair back from her face and tries, in vain, to dry her tears. Sam’s eyes are wide and worried, and he’s pacing like he doesn’t know what else to do in this situation.

And Blaine? She just looks bored as she stares at her nails. Like she’s thinking about what color to get at our appointment later. Then she looks at Penny and smiles.Freakingsmiles.

Suspicion floods my system, and before I know what I’m doing, I’m up off the couch, cinching my fingers around Blaine’s wrist in a death grip, and dragging her through the door and out onto the sidewalk outside.

“Jesus, Kate. What the fuck?” she growls, jerking out of my grip and rubbing her wrist like I’d bruised it.

“What did you do?” I demand, my voice low and edged like a knife.

Her head jerks back, her eyes wide with surprise. “What do you mean?”

“You showed up at Miguel’s, all smug and proud of yourself. You tried to pretend like it had something to do with Tucker, but that wasn’t really the reason, was it?”

The innuendo in my voice is clear, and it only takes her a moment to piece together what I’m saying. Her chest swells as she throws her shoulders back and gives me a death stare.

“Are you accusingmeof destroying Penny’s dress?”

I don’t respond. I just continue to stare at her, anger boiling through my veins.

“That’s ridiculous,” she says, throwing her hands up in the air. “Do you really think I’d be so petty as to ruinmy own brother’s wedding? What kind of a monster do you think I am?”

I’m taken aback for a moment at the vehemence in her voice, but I quickly recover, saying, “You didn’t look too torn up over the whole thing in there.”

A muscle works in her jaw before she spits, “Fuck you, Kate.”

Then she spins and barges back inside without giving me a chance to respond.Shit.Did I overreact? Accuse Blaine of something she didn’t actually do?

I breathe out a sigh. Am I going to have to apologize to her? I’d rather have my fingernails plucked out one by one, but if I was wrong, there’s no help for it.

I head back inside and instantly spot Penny, Logan, and Tucker huddled up. He looks over and sees me, then pats Penny on the shoulder before striding my way.

“I found a shop in San Diego that has the same dress in Penny’s size. I bought it, and the seamstress is bringing it to us. She’ll be here in a couple of hours, and she and Peg will work all night, if they have to, to get it altered and ready for tomorrow.”

Holy shit.“How did you…?”

When my words trail off, he shrugs. “Money can get you almost anything. We called seven shops before we found it, and I offered the seamstress a month’s wages if she’d bring it and help get it ready in time.”

I throw my arms around him and hug him, burying my face in his chest as the tears I’ve been holding back pour out. Tucker hugs me back, but it lacks the warmth I’ve grown accustomed to from him. Maybe he’s not afan of PDA’s. I pull back an inch and offer him a watery smile as I sniff back my tears.

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