Page 75 of To Belong Together
“Yesterday was a good day.” He slugged John’s shoulder and stepped around him.
John’s gaze wandered the lot, where his car should be but wasn’t because he’d lent it to Erin. Yesterday had been a good day. Was there hope for today?
Two dresses in one weekend.Erin checked the clerk’s reaction in the dressing room mirror. The college-age woman had picture-perfect blond locks, blue eyes, and eyeshadow that somehow looked like a sunset without entering tacky territory. Erin trusted this stranger’s taste better than the flutter in her own stomach.
She held her arms away from her sides to show the clerk the dress. The filmy fabric wrapped around her torso, and the skirt rippled in layers that ended at her knees.
“I knew the sky blue would look nice with the royal in your hair.” The clerk circled her finger in the air, and Erin turned. “Perfect. All you need is a pair of nude heels. There’s a store three or four down that’ll have some.”
Erin should’ve come into this boutique two hours ago, but the golden lighting, shining floor, and French name had intimidated her. Only after the non-intimidating stores proved disappointing had she braved the threshold. The high price tags would’ve sent her running if this clerk hadn’t asked how she could help with such a friendly smile.
Erin studied her reflection. The lacy dress made her look even more feminine than the one from yesterday. “He might not even recognize me.”
“Give him some credit.” Chuckling, the clerk checked the time on her phone. “You need to get going.”
Erin changed back into her normal clothes, excitement stirring her stomach.
A few stops later, she returned to the hotel and undertook her transformation in her room.
Finally ready, she stowed her phone, the car key, and her money clip in the pockets hidden in the folds of her skirt, then paused at the mirror near the door. She’d gotten her hair wet and added product to define her waves. She’d used dark eyeliner, as usual, but had tried sunset shades of shadow, inspired by the dress store employee. The result was softer than usual. Pretty, even.
She looked down at her shoes. Stores already stocked spring and summer styles. The only nude shoes she’d found without a towering heel were open-toed flats. She’d have to be careful of slush and puddles if they ended up leaving the hotel.
She glanced at her sweatshirt on the bed. If they stepped out, she’d also want another layer, but she wouldn’t ruin the look she’d worked so hard on by carrying that old thing.
She caught her furrowed brow in the mirror and purposefully relaxed. So what if everything about her outfit was impractical? This was what men wanted from women: pretty, flouncy, and delicate.
At least she hoped so, because for the first time since Homecoming, she’d gone all in.
24
John’s sisters had demanded makeup after all to cover the remnants of his bruises in family photos. Thankfully, Kate and Stacy had sent Angie after him instead of coming themselves, or his face would look as painted as a doll’s.
As he washed his hands in the bathroom near the ballroom, he studied the darkest area, hardly noticeable under the stuff she’d slopped on.
Good.
The posed photos were finished, but everybody with a cell phone kept aiming it at their table, angling to get a shot of the ring Gannon had given Addie.
Once the meal ended, fans grew braver, crowding up for autographs and conversation. Meanwhile, staff began clearing tables from the dance floor.
Still no Erin, but it wasn’t yet eight, when the invitation had noted dancing would begin.
With forty-five minutes to go and his patience wearing thin, he’d excused himself from his friends, greeted more relatives he hadn’t seen in years, wandered the halls, and stopped here at the restroom. When he made it back, hopefully the squall of attention would’ve subsided and Erin would be arriving.
He took a paper towel as the bathroom door swung open.
Tanner appeared in the mirror behind him and stopped short.
From an outsider’s perspective, the wedding would’ve appeared perfect. Not so to John, but there was no going back now. Only forward, and he’d be there for them, whatever they needed. But that didn’t mean he was up for chats with the groom. He tossed the paper towel in the trash and turned to head out.
Tanner stepped into his path. “It’s not enough that Kate’s whole childhood was about you?” His words weren’t slurred, but his breath was heavy with alcohol.
John shifted back. Was Tanner drunk already? At this rate, he’d start a brawl before the evening ended, but John wouldn’t be the one to instigate it.
“I should’ve known not to let Robby invite you to the bachelor party. Of course you turned that into a circus. And now the engagement party out there. You haven’t stolen enough of the limelight from her? You had to ruin her wedding too?”
He hadn’t told Gannon to propose last night, and he wasn’t responsible for how the bachelor party turned out. But he also didn’t want to add fuel to the fire with Kate. “What do you want me to do?”
