Page 15 of Silent Cravings

It was a lot easier getting out of the gown than it was getting her into it. Pretty soon, she was sitting on a sofa, sipping flat ginger ale while we discussed our choice of bridesmaid dresses.

“You really should try the peach one on,” Lourde urged, holding it out to me now that Aria had taken it off. “I want to see it on you.” Rose nodded her agreement, and I didn’t want to make the bride unhappy. I took the dress and ducked into one of the dressing rooms, closing the curtain before taking off my jacket and the sundress underneath it.

“You said something about a cake tasting next weekend,” Aria said, and I assumed she was talking to Rose. “Are you going to have time for that? Do you need one of us to go in your place since you’re so busy at the store?”

“Valentina is already on it,” Rose announced. I couldn’t see her, but I could hear the smile in her voice. “We oweEvan so much for riding his team like he is, getting everything in place.”

The sound of his name tightened my nipples. That was all it took, just hearing his name mentioned in a casual conversation. Goose bumps rose over my arms and shoulders, but that could easily have been the air conditioning vent over my head.Sure. Air conditioning. A likely story.

“Is he giving you shit?” Sienna called out to me.

No, he gave me his dick.I grinned. Right. That announcement would go well. “No,” I replied as I stepped into a puddle of peach chiffon and slid it up over my body. “Honestly, he’s been great. He doesn’t keep me waiting for a response to questions, he’s proactive in coming up with solutions to problems. He knows his stuff.”

“Coming from you, that’s a huge compliment,” Rose declared. “I don’t think I trust anybody’s judgment the way I trust yours.”

If she only knew how shitty my judgment had been lately. Still, it had been two weeks since I slept with Evan, and the world hadn’t come tumbling down. He was behaving himself, keeping it professional in our emails and brief phone calls. I had the sense there was as much riding on this for him as there was for me. He wanted to do a good job for his best friend. I might still have wrestled with mixed feelings toward him, but I wouldn’t let him cloud my opinion.

There was a chance we could move on from this with no repercussions or complications. I needed to believe that, or else I had opened myself up to a world of bullshit there was no time to deal with.

“You know,” Aria said, her voice closer, as if she were standing just on the other side of the curtain. “If you need any help at all, I’m here. I don’t think Mom would miss meat the foundation if I told her I was helping you with the wedding planning and stuff.”

Something in her voice made me pause before pushing back the curtain. It was only a matter of time before she started worrying about me. I was amazed she had waited this long before saying anything. On the surface, her offer came across as one sister trying to help another, but I knew better.

I pulled back my shoulders and forced a smile. “I’ll let you know if I need your help,” I told her, brushing past her on my way to the three-way mirror. “I really, really do like this,” I announced, checking myself out from all angles. “It’s so pretty. Do you still want those flowered combs for our hair?” I asked Rose.

“Yes, for sure. I want everything to look romantic and soft and lush.” Her voice had a dreamy sound to it, and I knew she would shit a brick when she saw what I had in mind for the ballroom. It was sort of a surprise, something I had seen done at an event in Virginia and wanted to recreate.

“Really,” Rose continued as she stood, looking and sounding stronger than before. “We could try for the rest of our lives, and we would never be able to thank you and Evan enough for all the extra time you’re putting into this. It means everything.” She gave me a hug before I reached the dressing room to change into my clothes.

“No tears,” I murmured, chuckling when she sniffled. “We got you. Everything is going to be incredible. All you have to do is look gorgeous, which you do every day anyway.”

“Are you so nice to all of your clients?”

“Only the ones I love.” I gave her a wink before disappearing behind the curtain and releasing a soft sigh.

It wasn’t easy keeping up appearances. Not that the wedding was a problem. Aside from the planning being so damn hectic, it couldn’t have gone better. I normally had to poke and prod vendors on a rush job like this, but Evan was on top of everything. I typically hated being cc’d on emails but actually enjoyed witnessing the way he interacted with members of his staff. He was firm but fair. He didn’t threaten or force the way shitty leaders tended to do. I was seeing a new side of him, and it was… nice.

“I better run. As much as I want to hang out with you girls all day…” Sienna was gathering her things when I opened the curtain, the peach dress hanging over my arm. “I have a lunch meeting in twenty.”

“Another client in trouble?” Aria guessed.

“I swear, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry sometimes. No matter how I tell people to behave themselves, they do whatever the hell they want.” Sienna shrugged, smirking before she went to her mom for a quick hug. “Then again, would I have a job otherwise? I guess I can’t really complain.”

We made plans for dress fittings in a couple of weeks before she scurried off, followed by Lourde and Olivia. “I’m going to head over to the apartment with Mom,” Rose announced. “Dad will be happy to know we found dresses today. He’s so stressed, you would think it washiswedding all over again.”

“He wants everything to be perfect. Tell him it will,” I reminded her before she left the dressing area.

That meant Aria and I were on our own. “Want to grab some lunch?” she asked, lingering in the doorway leading out to the showroom.

“I wish I could, but I have to check in at the office,” I told her.

“On a Saturday?” She sighed.

“I’ve been too distracted by this project to pay attention to everything else we have going on, and Bianca’s going to wring my neck if I don’t answer some questions she has.”

“A quick coffee?” she offered.

I narrowed my eyes at my sister, concerned. “Are you all right? Do you need to talk? I have all the time in the world if you do.” Work could wait.

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