Ever After (Nantucket Brides 3)

The girls laughed. “Exactly right. Adam is my brother,” Lainey said, “and Ian is Paige’s brother.”

Hallie was looking at them in curiosity. “If you two look so much like your brothers, does Raine have a sister who looks like him?”

The three women nearly exploded in laughter. “Raine has a younger brother and that’s all. No sisters.”

“I think that may be good,” Hallie said, and there was more laughter.

She’d thought that shopping with Cale was fun, but it didn’t compare to being with the young women. It was another new experience for Hallie. After Ruby and Shelly had arrived in her life, there had been little money. Her grandfather’s income from the home bookkeeping service he ran was gone, and with the garden flattened, their food bills—mostly takeout—skyrocketed. Add that to Shelly’s endless lessons and the clothes she needed for auditions, and there wasn’t a lot left over.

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Now, for the first time in her life, Hallie could afford new clothes. But what was most fun was the giddy laughter of the women. Cale stepped back and watched as the girls moved through the stores, looking at everything.

“Hallie,” Lainey said, “this would look great on you. Try it on.” It was a pretty cotton dress with a tight, low-cut bodice.

“I’ve never worn anything like that. The top isn’t exactly modest.”

“That’s the point,” Lainey said.

Paige agreed. “If I had your rack, I’d wear sundresses in the snow. And I’d bend over a lot.”

Hallie still hesitated.

“Jamie would like it,” Cale said, then smiled when Hallie snatched the dress from Lainey’s hand.

“That’s right,” Paige said. “Alicia used to wear—” She stopped at the looks Lainey and Cale gave her. “Jamie will love it.”

Hallie was behind the curtained dressing room. “Who’s Alicia?”

“Old girlfriend,” Lainey said. “Long, long time ago. So what do you think of my brother Adam?”

“Intense,” Hallie said as she stepped out in the peach-colored sundress with the little knit jacket. It was indeed quite low cut, but it looked very good.

“Isn’t he?” Lainey said. “I’m always telling him to lighten up. You must buy that. It was created for you.”

“Cory said Adam was dancing around your house,” Paige said. “That doesn’t sound like him.”

“Everybody was celebrating the royal wedding,” Hallie said.

Paige paused while holding up a very cute leather jacket. “Even Jamie?”

“No dancing for him,” Hallie said, “but I think after I left he stayed to watch the reception on TV.” She was going through the racks and looked up to see the two young women staring at her.

“With all those people around?” Lainey asked. “I know they’re family but still…”

“Tell them what you did,” Cale urged. “Cory called it the Pan Parade.”

“I didn’t hear about that!” Lainey said, sounding shocked.

“I was scared to death,” Hallie said, then told the story from the beginning.

“What did you do when you realized it was the sight of Jamie that had made everyone stop?”

They kept shopping as Hallie talked. She didn’t leave out how frightened she’d been or how it all could have backfired. And she told them what Raine said afterward.

When they were on the street, Lainey and Paige walked in front, with Cale and Hallie behind. “You seem to like Raine a lot,” Cale said.

“I do. He’s been kind to me and he’s a very perceptive man.” Hallie saw that Cale was frowning. “But he’s not Jamie,” she added.