Page 86 of Mated To The King's Gamma
“You put it in my trunk.”
“Where else was I gonna put it, in my wardrobe? I think not!” she retorts.
I lift a calming hand. “Gannon said there’s no way he’s letting Liam wear it, you're both being dramatic.”
Dustin breathes a little easier. Just a little.
Until he smiles.
Azalea’s brows lift. “Why are you smiling like that?”
He doesn’t answer and Tandi sets her magazine down. “Yeah, dude. Why are you smiling like a Cheshire cat? You never smile, you're like the Queen's Royal Resting Bitch Face Guard,” she snickers.
“I will wear the white, but I got an idea.” He turns and walks straight out the door.
“Oh no,” Tandi mutters. “He’s gone rogue. I say we pick his suit because he is never gonna pick.”
“Should we follow him?” I ask.
Azalea shakes her head. “Let him go, if it means he'll pick a suit, I don't care what else he wears. My feet are killing me.”
Dustin returns a few minutes later.
Carrying it.
The apron.
The bloodstained, floral monstrosity Liam stole from Mrs. Daley, the same one he likes to wear while baking, gardening, or murdering people. The one that smells like sugar, copper, and death.
The boutique owner stiffens like Dustin’s just pulled a weapon.
“Can you copy this?” Dustin asks, holding it out like it’s a totally reasonable request.
The man stares, horrified. “Copy the… pattern sir?”
“All of it,” Dustin says calmly. “Blood and all.”
Tandi actually gags.
The man takes it between two fingers and dangles it like a diseased rag. “You’re not requesting an entire suit in this… ah… shade, are you?”
Dustin shakes his head. “No. Just a vest. For me.”
He turns slowly toward us.
I feel my soul shrivel.
“Oh, hell no,” Tandi says instantly.
“You’ll wear it,” Azalea says before he can open his mouth. “It’s his wedding. If he wants you to wear a paper bag you'll be wearing it.”
Tandi stares at her. “Are you serious?”
“I’m his matron of honor. I’ll wear the real thing if he asks me to.”
“Absolutely not,” Dustin says, mildly horrified. “That thing smells like someone bled out while baking cupcakes.”
“Exactly,” Azalea says sweetly. “So just tell me what this idea is.”
