Page 52 of Always a Bridesmaid
“I wasn’t keepin’ it a secret,” he hollered back. “Truth be told, you make whatever you wear work, whether you’re gussied up or kicking ass on the field.”
“Aww, thanks, McGuire.” Addie turned her smile from him to Lexi as she handed her a bottle of water. “Thanks to Lexi’s wedding, I learned that Icanrock a dress. I want to feel beautiful, and I’d like to stick to the more classic wedding gown thing.”
Addie gave the heels on the pedestal a dirty look. “Those torture contraptions, however, are a no go. If I can’t wear my comfy sneakers”—she lifted her foot, displaying her gel kicks—“I’d rather go barefoot.”
“I bet we can find an option that makes everyone happy,” Violet said. “But in the end, you decide which pass to throw.”
Relief and desire made an interesting cocktail, the kind that left him gratified. Not only had they calmed Addie down, Violet had used football analogies that managed to be both useful and superhot.
Ford stretched his arm and grazed Violet’s shoulder with the tips of his fingers.
And with Addie’s freak-out over, she began pointing at the different gowns, making comments that Violet and Lexi understood and he went along with—yay, teamwork.
The bridal consultant returned, and Violet rattled off terms Ford could hardly follow. Then she, the clerk, and Lexi headed toward the racks of dresses.
Ford resisted the urge to put his feet up on the pristine pedestal.
Addie slumped against the cushions and groaned. “I’m turning into a girl.”
“You’ll always be a dude in my eyes,” he said, hoping he was speaking the truth. While he kept telling himself not much would change, Addie had acted different since she and Tucker had gotten engaged.
“I care about the wedding stuff, though. I’m completely lost, but I want one day of feeling like a superstar. While also being comfy. And nothing too frilly, you know?”
“Totally. In fact, that’s what I think every time I open my drawers to get dressed.”
She laughed, and he laughed, too.
“The other day I teared up over not knowing which font to put on the invitations. Then I was like, who even am I? So I cried some more.” Addie rubbed a hand over her face. “It’s a big day, I get that. Since I’m not usually one to stress much, I didn’t think I’d get so emotional.”
Her spine went stick straight, and she tucked a leg underneath her as she faced him. “The rest of the gang can never know I had this meltdown. If I survive it, I’d die of embarrassment.”
“Takin’ it to my grave, I swear.” He held his hand to the square, like they used to do as kids. “Or may you hogtie me, throw me in a Bama cheerleading outfit, and parade me down Main Street.”
Ford placed his hand over hers. “You deserve an amazing wedding, Add.” He searched for the right words, ones that would calm her and retrieve the logical girl he’d been friends with forever. “You and Tucker are the real deal. You managed to work things out in spite of the ups and downs, and that’s worth celebrating.”
“Would you say it’s part of a full life, then?”
Ford cast her a sidelong glare. “Really? You’re goin’ there?”
“Just wondering.” She kicked off her sneakers. “Violet’s great, yeah?”
As expected, this storewasfull of traps. “Yeah.”
“After y’all left the table the other night, we agreed that she seemed funny and nice yet feisty enough to keep you in line.”
“I don’t need to be kept in line.”
“You keep on telling yourself that.”
Ford swallowed past a throat that suddenly felt too narrow. “She sure knows a lot about weddings. That’s what I’m having a hard time ignoring right now.”
“So? I’m fairly certain most women do. Have even dreamed of their own wedding and all that. Don’t make red flags out of molehills or whatever.” Addie hit him with her no-nonsense expression. “I just want you to be happy. The other night when you were playing pool, and even today, you’re happier than I’ve seen you in a long time.”
“Gear down, big shifter. Violet and I are just friends—and before you go and say so were you and Tucker, it’s different.”
The way Addie’s mouth snapped closed meant he’d been right.
“She’s sworn off men,” Ford said simply, although his insides rioted at the idea, and what the hell? Was he panicked she’d want to be with him or that she wouldn’t?
