Page 19 of With This Ring

“Okay,” Skye said, her mood a little subdued. She started toward the offices. “Do you want me to help steam dresses?”

“That would be perfect. I need to get started on Layla’s gown since the alterations will take some time.” And she couldn’t wait to get started.

***

Hudson found his aunt and sister sitting on the back deck later that evening. The cool evening air penetrated his shirt as he climbed the steps to where they sat drinking tea. His sister was dressed in pink scrubs, and her long dark hair was pulled back in a thick braid.

“I was hoping you’d come by this evening.” His aunt smiled up at him. “What’d you do today?”

He took a seat at the round table. “I ran some errands around town, then I bumped into Gavin Wallace at the coffee shop. We stayed and talked for a while.”

“Wasn’t he your lab partner in biology?”

Hudson nodded. “And then we worked at Smith’s Construction together after graduation.”

“I remember him,” Layla announced.

Hudson fished the receipt for the dress from his pocket, then handed it to Layla.

A slow smile overtook her lips as she examined the receipt. “Thank you so much. How was your visit to the boutique?”

Hudson studied her reaction, and irritation pricked him. “Why didn’t you tell me Dakota worked there?”

Layla shrugged, but her smile betrayed her display of disinterest.

“If you’re trying to play cupid, you can just forget it.”

“Well, you and Dakota are both single, and a lot of time has gone by...,” Layla said.

So shewassingle. That information shocked him.

Not that he cared.

“Hud,” Layla began, “you and Dakota are meant to be together. Neither of you has settled down with someone else, so you should give it another chance.”

“Don’t even start, Layla,” Hudson warned. “I have no interest in getting into a relationship, and if I did, Dakota would be my last choice.”

Aunt Trudy sat straight in her chair and made a sweeping gesture toward her yard. “Hud, did you see what Shane has done here with my landscaping?”

He surveyed the backyard, taking in the strategically placed shrubs and landscape timbers, an impressive slate path, and the organized flowerbed. A birdbath and birdfeeders were nice touches as well. “Looks good.”

His sister beamed. “He does fantastic work. I’m so proud of him.”

Hudson nodded. Shane obviously had talent, but talent didn’t necessarily translate to financial success. And it also didn’t mean he’d gotten his life together after running with a rough crowd and getting himself expelled from school.

“Are we still meeting his family at the country club tomorrow night?” his aunt asked.

“The country club?” Hudson lifted an eyebrow. “For supper?”

“No,” Layla hissed. “We’re considering having our reception there, but it might be out of our price range. Want to come with us?”

“I guess,” he said, feigning a long-suffering sigh. “I don’t have anything else to do.”

Layla smacked his arm, and he chortled.

“Of course I’ll go.” He would offer to pay for the reception too—though he was still determined to make sure there would be no wedding or reception at all.

***

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