Page 77 of Meet Dare

“I had a mom,” I growl.

“I know you did, princess. I know you did.” He kisses my forehead. Thankfully, he drops the subject because if ever there was a sensitive subject it’s my mom’s death.

“Let’s go inside before they start without us.”

He hands me a beer before taking my hand and leading me toward the room. At the entrance, he slows to glance down at me.

“Take all the time you need, princess. But this conversation isn’t over.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to sass back before dragging me into the room. Someone’s a sneaky bastard. A trait I usually admire but not when it’s directed my way.

Chapter 26

Holding a grudge is important so people understand how pissed you are ~ Cassandra’s rules for living her best life

“What are the two of you doing here?” I ask when I step outside my apartment building to discover Gabrielle and Elizabeth waiting for me.

“We’re riding with you to White Bridge,” Gabrielle says as she opens the passenger door to my car.

“Whatever,” I mutter as if I don’t care, but I’m afraid I haven’t had enough coffee for whatever this is yet.

“Well,” Elizabeth says when we’re on the road.

“Well what?” I feign confusion. It won’t do me any good, but if it annoys Elizabeth, it’s a win.

“How are things going with Cedar?”

“You two looked pretty cozy at the monthly business meeting,” Gabrielle adds.

I don’t know why they think I’m going to discuss my relationship with them. I never have before. Of course, I’ve never actually had a relationship, so I can see where there’d be a bit of confusion.

“Who’s great idea was it for all three of us to drive together?” I complain.

“We all live in Winter Falls and are going to the same place,” Gabrielle answers.

“And it’s bad for the environment to use energy when it’s unnecessary,” Elizabeth adds.

I decide to drop it. Ever since my sister shacked up with River, she’s become nearly as vigilant about saving the environment as our big brother. I don’t need anyone to lecture me about what toothpaste I use, thank you very much.

The rest of the thirty-minute drive to White Bridge is blissfully quiet. When I park in front of the bridal boutique, Gabrielle and Elizabeth rush out of the car to the store.

I sigh. I’m not exactly excited about helping Lilac pick out a wedding dress. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy Beckett found her and they’re getting married, but girly stuff like dress shopping is not my thing.

I force myself out of the car and into the boutique to find chaos. Who thought it was a good idea to merge the West and Dempsey families? There’s now a total of eight women. I grew up with three sisters. The four of us never agreed on a thing. I don’t know how five West daughters and three Dempsey sisters are going to manage to agree on a wedding dress or bridesmaids’ dresses.

“How many bridesmaids is Lilac having anyway?”

“Eight,” Lilac answers from behind me.

I spin around to confront her. “Eight? Have you lost your mind?”

“You do know you can’t actually lose your mind.”

Lilac the literal strikes again!

“Why are you having eight bridesmaids?”

“Ashlyn eloped, Aspen didn’t have any bridesmaids, and Ellery’s dragging her feet on setting a date.”

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