Page 20 of Crave Me

CHAPTER 6

Wren

My sales job requires me to dress for success. I have a lot of nice clothes and usually drop a few grand every couple of seasons to keep up appearances, and keep kicking ass. But while I like looking nice, I hate shopping. And everyone hates me when I have to.

My sister-in-law Sofia is the only one patient enough to put up with me. She would’ve earned a shot straight into heaven for all the times she’s tolerated my bitching, if Saint Peter wasn’t already saving her spot for being the nicest person on the planet.

I put her on speaker the moment she answers. “Hey, Sofe. How you doing?”

“Hi, Wren.” She pauses. “Is something wrong, honey?”

Like I said, Sofia is all sorts of sweet, but she’s also really smart and knows I’m not calling to shoot the shit. “Nope. Just trying to decide what to wear. You know that hounds tooth sheath dress we picked up at Talbots?”

“You’re going on a date?”

Yeah, Killian didn’t marry some airhead. “Slow down there, Sofe. I’m just trying to decide what to wear to work.”

“I thought you were off this weekend?”

Okay, now those smarts are backing me into a wall. “I’m helping out for a few hours.”

Again, she pauses. I’m not one to lie, but I don’t want to go there with Sofia. She knows I haven’t dated anyone since Bryant, which has already led to too many questions. My brothers, being as protective as they are . . . yeah, I don’t need this.

“All right,” she says, slowly, clueing me in she doesn’t believe me.

“I was going to go with the strappy stilettos from Nordstrom’s you insisted I buy. But it looks like it’s going to snow so I was thinking about the ankle length boots with the three-inch heels.” I hold up both shoes and take another look at the nose-bleed heels. “By the way, are you trying to kill me?”

She laughs in that soft gentle way of hers. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I don’t know,” I say, giving the spikey heels another look. “All it will take is one false step for you and Killian to collect the insurance money.”

“You know that’s not true,” she says. I don’t have to see her to know she’s smiling. “I think either pair would look great with the dress. But my suggestion is to go with the thigh-high knotted boots.”

“Which ones?”

“The black ones we bought on sale last spring. Oh, and the multi-colored bead bracelet. There’s too much black and white in that ensemble. You need a splash of color.”

“The interior designer thinks I need a ‘splash of color’. Geeze, how on earth did I guess you were going to go there?” I ask.

I walk to my closet and dig through it after I tuck the other shoes in their boxes. “Wren, may I ask you something?”

My phone is on the floor by my left knee, but I can still hear her loud and clear. “Sure.”

I reach for what I think is the right box, a white one with red lettering. “What’s his name?” she asks.

My head falls forward. I don’t want to keep lying to her. She and my other brother’s girlfriend are the best friends I have. “Evan,” I say, thankful she can’t see the stupid grin on my face.

“Okay,” she says, quietly. “What did you have in mind for earrings?”

That’s one of the cool things about Sofia, she only pushes enough to make sure I’m okay. But this past year, I haven’t been okay much, and have avoided her and my brothers because of it.

My phone vibrates against the wood floor as I shove myself into my boots. I frown when I don’t recognize the number, but keep talking to Sofia. It’s not until I disconnect with her that I realize whoever called didn’t leave a voicemail, but did leave a text.

Hello, pretty girl.

I curse realizing who it is.

I haven’t forgotten our time together. Have you?

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