Page 23 of Deny Me

Eight

“There,” I stepped back after placing the last stitch in Lu’s dress. She stood before the full-length closet mirrors in her room. The sun shining in from the open doors behind her gave her an ethereal look and made her glow with a radiance I’d never seen. She looked flawless, and I couldn’t have been happier for my friend.

She ran her hands along the vintage white lace covering her thighs. “Evelyn…” she whispered, turning to me with tears pooling her eyes. “This is the most beautiful dress I’ve ever worn. How am I going to thank you for this? I just … It’s perfect.”

My heart swelled with pride at her words. Seeing her in the dress on her wedding day made me love it more than anything else I had created. She’d given me few guidelines: vintage, unique, beachy, but still very bridal, and let me run with it. She had a thin frame with a gorgeous curve in her hips and I created a form-fitting skirt that was covered in the vintage lace with a small train flowing down the length of her legs. The top was separate, but made of the same material. It was cropped, hanging loosely around her chest, with thin spaghetti straps holding it on her shoulders. The scalloped edge of the top whispered along her stomach and exposed the abs she worked so hard for.

She was the most beautiful bride I’d ever had the pleasure of dressing. “A thank you is fine, and you’re welcome,” I replied curtly, dabbing under my own eyes. “Now stop crying before you ruin your makeup. My skills with the eyeliner were on point this morning and I’m just not sure I can create it again.”

We both laughed as she turned to me. “Thank you, Evie. I couldn’t imagine having anyone else here by my side.”

We could have gone on back and forth and turned this into one big gush-fest about how much we loved each other, so I cut it short and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight.

“God, what saps,” I muttered, dabbing at my eyes some more. I hated crying. “Let’s talk about anything else. We have,” my eyes flicked to the clock on the nightstand, “thirty more minutes before we have to be ready for the golf cart to pick us up.”

“Okay,” she agreed. I cocked my eyebrow at the devious glint in her eye and tried to prepare myself for what she would say. “Let’s talk about how you and Jameson danced for like ten songs last night. Let’s talk about how I looked over and saw him laugh and then pull you in close.”

Dropping my shoulders in defeat, I gave her the side eye to let her know what I thought of the conversation. Jameson and I had danced for a while last night until I decided to make an excuse and head back to my room. When I got there, I sat on the patio of the room and listened to the waves as I tried to sort out the information overload I was in.

The turbulent waves of an evening storm out at sea matched the chaos crashing inside me. Crawling into bed, I had willed myself to sleep and woke with a clear head.

The bottom line was that Shane didn’t know what he was talking about. After the past month, my relationship with Jameson was rockier than usual. So Shane’s words only stirred up what we were just recently trying to get past. In the end, Jameson and I were the same as before. We just needed to balance out again after a tough month. He was my best friend’s brother, and while I wouldn’t turn down his hot body, I was still me, and I didn’t want anything more than a man to get off on. Period.

With that reassuring pep talk in mind, I was able to face the day easier than I was the previous night. I was ready to flirt and make Jameson blush with my racy comments. I was ready to see the tic in his jaw from irritation. I was ready for him to mess with me back. If I could push him to react like I had in the storage closet, then bonus points.

So, I was ready for Lu’s questions. “Oh, that? I basically forced myself on him. You know how much he loves that. He was begging for me to let him go and I held on tight saying I was going to wring him dry.”

Lu laughed but still seemed skeptical. “I don’t know, Evie. You know what I always say about you guys and your equilibrium. You two always have ups and downs, but in the end, it evens out to a somewhat healthy relationship.” She always managed to crack me up with her science terminology applied to real life. “And he seemed comfortable being there.”

“Well that’s because I have these great tits to press against him.” I joked, shimmying, my breasts barely contained in the periwinkle, Grecian-style dress Lu helped design. It was spaghetti-strapped, with a deep V that cut down to right above my belly button where a thick band accentuated my small waist before flowing outward. The back dipped down low to the dimples above my butt, leaving only the thick waistband and two thin straps to press against my skin. “I mean, he’s still a guy.”

“Ew. That’s my brother,” she said and cringed.

“I know. And he’s so damn hot. You know I would be on it if he would just. Give. In.” I fell back on the bed, dramatically flinging my arm up to cover my eyes.

Her laughter faded and I peeked out from under my arm to see her considering me. “You know, Evie, I wouldn’t mind if you and Jameson were together.”

“Lu, you know me. You know I don’t do relationships. Just because I want to ride your brother and wear him out, doesn’t mean he makes me want forever. And, like you said, that’s what he’s looking for.”

She cringed again.

“She was wrong, Evelyn,” Lu said softly, referring to my mother. “Look at Jack and me. He makes me happier than I could’ve ever been. And I’ve lost love too. But he is worth it.”

I needed this conversation to be over. It was her wedding day and it was turning toward me. “And I am happy for you. You deserve him and you deserve to be happy.” I finished before turning to find it was thankfully time to go. “Now let’s go get your gorgeous ass married.”

* * *

The Jamaican steeldrums greeted Lu, Juliana, and me at the beach and we only had a small glimpse of the pergola set up in the sand with white drapes artfully hanging from the posts. The hotel had set up a makeshift privacy wall to keep the groom from seeing his bride as we pulled up.

“Hello, Miss King. Your groom awaits you,” The event coordinator greeted us. She didn’t waste any time and had everything ready when we showed up, so all that was left to do was walk down the aisle. The groom and groomsmen were already waiting with Jack’s parents as the only audience.

Just as I was about to make my way to the front, I turned to Lu and wrapped her hands in mine. “We can run. I can highjack that golf cart if you want. You don’t have to marry Jack. We could always run away and live our lives together. Sister-wives for life,” I finished with enthusiasm. Juliana stood beside us, looking off and pretending she wasn’t listening to our escape plan. I was sure she wanted no part of the plan to take her brother’s bride away.

Lu laughed, just as I knew she would, and wrapped me in a tight hug, whispering in my ear, “You’ll always be my sister. Thank you for being here.”

Damn, I loved her. Fanning my eyes, I looked up at the sky to try and control the tears. “Alright, alright. Enough of that. You know I had to ask.” Juliana joined in our laugh once the threat of a runaway bride was over and then we moved to line up and walk out.

When I rounded the wall, I saw the three men up in front with a dark-skinned man holding a bible and wearing a Hawaiian shirt. The juxtaposition between such a formal setting and bright shirt made me smile. Moving down the line, my eyes eventually fell on Jameson. He stood a head taller than the other guys and looked gorgeous in the simple white button up shirt, opened at the collar, and black pants. He looked stunning with his short dark hair ruffling in the wind.

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