Page 62 of Hot Mess

“Are you?”

“Ignoring her? Absolutely. She’s my cousin, that doesn’t make her my friend.”

Nick pulled me back against his chest and began walking me backward toward the bedroom. “So we can stop talking about her and do something vastly more interesting.”

I couldn’t have agreed more.

26

NICK

Isat back and watched as Grace cinched Kayla into an elegant dress.

Kayla stood on the dais in the middle of the room, and I lounged on one of the side chairs.

“What color is that? Is it purple or gray?” I asked.

“It’s a silvery lilac,” Grace answered.

I grunted.

“Don’t you like it?” Kayla tried to look over her shoulder at me. She could have more easily looked at my reflection in the mirror in front of her. It’s how I was able to stare at her beautiful face.

Grace tapped Kayla on the hip, and she straightened up with an apology.

I shrugged and made another noncommittal sound.

“He doesn’t like it,” Grace announced as she started to unfasten the back of the dress.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. I’ve been dressing you long enough to know those noises. If you don’t like something you end up fussing with it all night. If you’re doing that, I’m not doing my job right.”

“Oh,” Kayla sighed. “I thought it was pretty.”

“If you like it, wear the dress,” I said. “You know I’ll be fine in whatever. A tux is a tux.”

I thought Grace was going to choke. She certainly glared at me hard enough.

She held up a finger. “If that were the case you wouldn’t need my services.” A second finger flashed up. “And I don’t have a basic black tux on my racks. Isaac was very clear, this is a couple's look, and that Kayla should not appear in black.”

“Why can’t I wear black?”

“Oh, honey, not with your completion. You…” Grace made a gesture at Kayla, but I knew what she meant.

“You radiate a warmth that black would try to kill. You practically glow with golden radiance.”

The blush that lit her cheeks only emphasized my point.

“Exactly,” Grace continued. “Like Nick said, you glow. And now that I really look at you, this silver color is all wrong for you.”

“Well if the color is important to you, why don’t we start with Nick’s tux first?”

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine in anything. I want you to be comfortable and feel as beautiful as you look.”

She blushed even more. “I’m background scenery. Everyone will be looking at you.”

Grace snorted.

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