Page 103 of Love and Other Trials
She wouldn’t put it past her mother to have him arrested for stolen property.
None of that could happen. She knew her family. He didn’t. She didn’t care that he didn’t like it. She couldn’t tell them the truth. Even if that put her at odds with Dax. It was in her blood to mitigate disasters. She didn’t start them.
She pulled out her phone to text Jeffrey on the sly as Dax drove, his entire demeanor stiff and unapproachable. That she had hurt him she had no doubt, and she hated that.
Except the question remained like a dark whisper in her head. Who else would have hidden Tiffany’s wedding dress? And how could it have ended up in Dax’s trunk?
She had no answers there, and right now, she couldn’t waste her last working brain cells considering the possibilities.
There was a wedding to get done.
Meet me in the parking lot. Stat. We found Tiffany’s wedding dress. I need you to take it to her.
Best Brother Ever
You what? Okay. Whew! I’ll be there with bells on. God, I need a Manhattan.
Then I need you to come back to our cottage and escort Dax to the wedding. Keep on him like a June bug.
Best Brother Ever
She pocketed her phone again and stared out the window until they arrived at the resort. Jeffrey was waiting for them, looking rumpled, although his cravat was freshly tied. The minute Dax parked, she was out the door.
“You really found it?” Jeffrey asked, hugging her quickly before pushing back.
“It was in the back of my Bronco,” Dax confessed as he came around the front.
She wanted to knock her head against the side of the car.
“Someone put it there,” he just had to add.
Jeffrey’s eyes widened. “But who? That’s?—”
When he stopped mid-sentence, she knew he understood the implications. “Jeffrey, I need to change. Will you take Tiffany her dress?—”
“I’ll handle it.” Dax opened the back door, which prompted Ariel to slide under his arm and stand in the way, shaking her head. “Ariel, I am taking that dress to your sister and telling her what we found.”
“No, you’re not.” She put a hand to Dax’s white jacket and gave it a gentle but firm push. “Jeffrey is. You are coming with me to the cottage and helping me get dressed. I need you to zip me up.”
He glared at her. “You are not keeping me from telling the truth and defending my character.”
“Oh, dear sweet baby Jesus in heaven, Captain Hotpants!” Jeffrey cried as he walked to the other side of the car and opened the door, pulling out Tiffany’s dress. “This is not the time to be a good Boy Scout. We need to get bridezilla into her dress and get her married off to your asshole friend lickety-split. We’ve delayed the wedding basically until the bride is ready. The natives are restless, and you’re already sporting a shiner. We’ll deal with this frame-up later.”
He started walking off, but Dax called his name sharply.
Jeffrey only turned and looked down his nose at him. “Honey, I say this with love, but get that stick out of your ass. This is yourmake lemonade out of lemonsmoment. Listen to Ariel. It’s her specialty.”
With a flick of his head and a touch of flourish, Jeffrey strode off. Dax glared at Ariel. She glared back.
“So…are you going to zip me up or not?”
His mouth twisted.
She gripped his arm and started walking, aware she was dragging him a little. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Ariel, I don’t like this.”
His voice was flinty, but he was still coming with her, so she wasn’t going to tempt her luck. “Neither do I, but let’s take things one step at a time. We can do crime solving later.”
