Page 17 of Merry Mix-Up

"Thirty-four," I corrected, and the salesman approached us, cutting off our banter. Each of us took turns telling him where our suits needed fixed or tailored. I took the opportunity to pull Jared to the side for a quick chat. I seriously had to convince him to spruce up the wardrobe. After seeing what Amber's sister had done for the gown, I knew these suits weren't up to snuff.

"Yeah, what?" he asked, cocking his head. I knew he wasn't entirely fond of having me as his best man. I was the consolation prize since his real best friend couldn't be here. But he'd be my brother-in-law soon and that meant he had to go along with Naomi. I was trying to make this as painless as possible.

"I can splurge for the tuxes, man. Consider it my gift." I patted his chest, but he shook his head.

"I told you, Newt. I'm not going to take your money. Not even if it's a 'gift'. I can do this on my own. You might spoil Naomi, and as her brother, that's your right, but as her fiancé, I have to show her I can provide for her."

His heart was in the right place but his attitude sucked. He patted my chest the way I'd just done to him and clicked his tongue at me. "Money doesn't buy everything, buddy. You get to be average like the rest of us."

I caught his wrist and pulled his hand away from me. "Well, average men in this position would have something to say to the fiancé of their little sister." Naomi made me swear I wouldn't do this, but now I felt obligated. "If you hurt her, you will regret it. You've never seen an avalanche the size that will bury you if I find out."

Jared grinned at me and pulled his hand away. "That's the spirit, Newt. We all have our place, and I'm glad you know yours. Naomi is my world. I'd never hurt her. She's safe. Now, can we get back to my tux fitting? I have to go home to the most beautiful woman in the world soon." He winked at me, and something shifted. It was like by standing up to him, I'd been accepted.

I almost counted with a comment about Amber being the most beautiful, but since he was marrying my younger sister, I couldn’t argue with him.

The rest of the trip went smoothly with more joking and making fun of the "rich old man", and while I was driving home, I got the craving to hear Amber's voice. I called a few times but the calls went to voicemail, and I almost gave up. But the urge to speak with her and see her was so strong. She'd been busy all day Sunday with family gingerbread day, and she was working yesterday. Today, I'd spent the morning in the city and the afternoon until now with Jared.

We just weren't connecting, and I couldn't stop thinking of her. So I tried again, and this time, she picked up.

"Hey, Newt. What's up?" She sounded chipper, and that made me happy. A good mood hopefully meant her not rejecting my invitation.

"Hey, beautiful. What are you up to?" Snow was really falling, so it was essential to use hands-free, which I had only just installed in Dad's old truck earlier this morning. I sent my driver back to the city and I'd been using Dad's truck or Mom's little sedan when I needed to. As it were, the "hands-free" device was just a FM transmitter plugged into the cigarette lighter and connected to my phone via Bluetooth.

"Oh, just helping Jade work on the dress. You should see how beautiful it is." The dreamy tone in her voice made me picture her smiling.

"Want to ditch and come to my parents' house? They're out for dinner and I don't want to be alone." I slowed the car at an intersection and the tires slid on ice for a short time.

"Oh, Newt. I'd love to, but I promised Jade. I have to pass this time." She sounded apologetic, but I was still disappointed.

"Are you sure? I mean, I can come get you if it's the roads you're worried about." I pulled out and my tires spun and spun. The roads were actually really horrible. It wasn’t a good idea for her to drive at all. I stopped accelerating and let my car calm down, then turned toward her apartment and tried again. This time, the wheels caught and my car lurched forward.

"No, nothing like that. I just promised her."

Now she was just being stubborn, but I had to see her. I wasn't taking no for an answer. "Alright, well, stay warm. Maybe another time," I told her and then ended the call after our goodbyes.

Ten minutes later, I was standing under heavy snowfall on her front step and she opened the door and gasped.

"My God, it's a blizzard. Are you nuts?" She snickered and gestured for me to come in.

"You said you didn't want to come out, so I thought I'd join the dress-making party." I dusted the snow from my hair and shoulders as she shut the door. "Where's Jade?" I looked around as I took off my coat but didn’t see the elusive sister anywhere.

"Oh, um. You just missed her." Amber locked the door and spun around. "Went to get more thread." The comment seemed odd, considering there was a pile of thread on the table next to the white fabric and sewing machine. I wanted to question her, but I was here with her, and I didn't want to start the evening by questioning her.

"I missed you," I told her, cupping her cheeks with my cold hands. She gasped and pushed me away while snickering.

"Cold! You monster." Amber playfully swatted at me and took my hand, leading me to the couch. It felt like balm to a wound I didn't know I had.

Maybe if Jade got slowed by the road conditions, we could fit in a little necking. Or maybe Amber would just want to cuddle and talk. Either was okay with me. As long as I was with her.

11

JADE

My hands must've been clammy when I pulled Newt away from the door to the kitchen where I had the dress all laid out. It was almost completely basted together in preparation for stitching, and I had more than enough thread to finish what I needed to do tonight, but I had to have an excuse yet again. Pretending to be my sister sucked so badly. I wanted to be myself and just relax and let my guard down, but the façade wouldn’t be over until Amber came home and did what she should have been doing all along.

"I told you we're so busy with the dress." Flopping down on the couch, I tried my hardest to hide my shaking hand and fluttering heart. It wasn't just butterflies because Newt was around, though he did do that to me.

He sat down next to me and draped an arm along the back of the couch coolly, then reached up and brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. The black was already fading a little, though thankfully, Amber had been able to remove all of the color. My hair felt brittle now too, which disappointed me. I had to make an appointment at the salon for an oil treatment to fix it or I'd end up with a pixie cut because of breakage. Amber owed me big time after this.

---