Page 10 of All Dressed Up

Because being lit was the only way she’d get the courage to open the trunk.

Brandon set the drinks down in front of them, popping in two bright pink mini umbrellas. “Enjoy, ladies.”

“Thank you, Brandon.” Bethany picked up her glass. “To finding your wedding dress.”

Rachel clinked her glass to Bethany’s. Nice thought, but she knew it wasn’t that easy.

She took a sip, the mix of fruit and liquor coating her throat. Yep. Just what she needed. She took a longer sip of the sweet, cold drink. Damn, it was good. “Brandon,” she called out. “This is amazing.”

“Glad you like it. I’ve been working on that cocktail for Abby for months.” He pulled the tap and filled two beer mugs for the customers next to them. “Although, my very pregnant wife will have to wait until next summer to try it.”

“It’ll be well worth the wait.” Rachel grinned. She was really happy for Brandon and Abby. They were the perfect Buttermilk Falls couple with a daughter and a baby on the way.

She played with her paper umbrella. When Brandon had first come to town, she’d actually gone on a date with him that ended with them attempting to break a record for longest kiss on the town’s gazebo.

She pulled back a smile. It’d been fun trying to break the record, but the sparks hadn’t been there. It’d only been the one date, and he pretty much began dating Abby exclusively shortly after.

“So, Brandon,” Bethany started, “we were wondering...”

“Youwere wondering,” Rachel corrected. There was no “we” in Bethany’s zany idea.

Bethany narrowed her eyes. “Fine. I was wondering if we could go up and see the trunk.”

Brandon waggled his eyebrows. “Why, Bethany, you ready to ditch Adam already?”

“No.” Bethany chuckled. “Rachel’s opening it.”

“That’s still up for debate. Imightopen it.” Rachel lifted her drink. “I could use another one of these to help me make up my mind.”

“You got it.” Brandon nodded over to a young woman who sat down at the end of the bar. “And you’re in luck. The room is vacant tonight. Feel free to go up anytime. Tell Mary I said hi and that I’m going to start charging her trunk space rent,” he joked before going to help the woman.

Shivers ran up Rachel’s bare arms. Yeah, she was from a town whose residents dappled in magic and conversed with the dead, but she was usually on the outskirts, never a direct target. To talk so casually about Mary was something she wasn’t quite used to.

And why, when it came to her love life, was she really putting all her eggs in Mary’s basket—or trunk?

Maybe the truth was that Mary couldn’t care less about who Rachel ended up with. It wasn’t like they were related.

But on the other hand, she did help Donovan find his true love...

She thought a little more about that, sipping her cocktail while Bethany sent a quick text to Adam.

“Okay, you ready?” Bethany slid her phone back into her purse and pushed off her stool.

“Now? Can’t we finish our drinks?” She’d never known her friend to be so impatient.

“We can take them with us,” Bethany insisted, grabbing her glass and purse off the bar. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

Rachel shot her friend a sideways glance. Bethany clearly wasn’t going to drop it until they went upstairs. She took another drink for encouragement and pushed off her stool. “Okay, fine. You win. Let’s open the damn thing.”

“Now, you’re talking.” Bethany clapped her hands. She led the way away from the dock but turned around. “Wait. We can’t go up there.”

Finally!Her friend had come to her senses. Rachel spun around and took a couple of steps back down the hill. “Let’s order another drink.” And maybe a bunch of appetizers since it didn’t seem like they’d be getting that pizza they’d planned anytime soon. That was fine by her. They could hang out near the water and catch up over calamari, chicken fingers, and anything else fried they could get their hands on.

“Not so fast.” Bethany reached for Rachel’s hand. “We’re still doing it, but we probably should have a control group for this experiment. In this case, a single woman.”

“Control group?” Rachel scrunched her face. What did Bethany mean by “experiment” and a “single woman”?

“Someone else to also open the trunk. If a wedding dress appears for her and not you... Um...” Bethany clamped down on her mouth for a beat before continuing to stumble, “Um... I mean...”

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