Love Drunk (Love Me Duet 1)

I turn to my mother. “Who said I’m wearing white?”

She shakes her head. “Dear, you have to. It’s tradition.”

I ignore that fact. I think I’m already doing enough for this tradition as it is.

“I’ll look at the black dresses, please.”

May laughs loudly, but my mother, on the other hand, does not. Actually, she turns so white I think she’s seen a ghost.

“No, you will not. You are not attending a funeral.”

“But aren’t I?”

My mother gasps at my words. “Everly Thorne,” she chides me.

I ignore her and walk over to the dresses, and check out the ones that aren’t white. I pull one from the rack as the saleswoman steps over. “You have excellent taste. This one on, is marvelous. Would you like to try it on?”

I nod enthusiastically while she pulls it off the hanger and into the dressing room. It’s easy to put on, and it feels like it was made just for me.

“Wow! This is yours. Wait till you see it.”

I look down at the white underlay that has see-through black tulle draped over it, both colors displayed beautifully. Then there’s a black lace top with a white underlay and a large cutout showcasing my back. It’s beautiful. It holds the old tradition princess-style bottom with a modern twist.

When I walk out, May’s eyes go wide. “That’s it, Ev. That’s it.”

When I look to my mother, she only nods her head once. “It’s beautiful.”

“I found my dress,” I say smiling. “And it was so easy and so quick. I absolutely love it.”

Now it all feels real.

In a few days, I will be walking down an aisle in this gorgeous dress, and the name I grew up with will no longer be mine. Soon I will become Mrs. Reid. I smile.

“You did,” my mother says.

I turn to the lady. “Is it the most expensive?”

“Not quite, but it’s pretty close.”

“Bill him for all three dresses.” I look at my mother. “Pick a dress, Mother.”

She does just that, and May finds the perfect white one, and my mother does the same.

“You should never wear white to a wedding, but then again I’ve never been to one where the bride wears black either,” my mother says, smiling.

18

My mother sends me cake samples the following day. Gunner just looks at them and doesn’t say a word. We’ve hardly spoken over the last couple of days. His way of speaking is touching me, it’s the only way he knows how to convey his feelings. He’s a master at it. I try to tell myself that I will say no to him, but I never do. He walks away from me and the cake samples and takes a seat at his table. It takes me a while to narrow it down to which one I like, and when I do, I call my mother to tell her. She screams in delight when I pick the red velvet cake with the cream cheese icing.

“That was the one I hoped you’d pick.” And then she’s gone.

I go through a few work emails until I finally get up and head to my new bedroom. All this—it still feels weird. I found a key on top of my phone the day before, but no words were attached to it.

Is it meant to be like this? I thought the moving in with your fiancé phase was meant to be exciting and fun. This shit’s anything but.

And I haven’t known what to say to him since my mother told me I used to play with him when I was younger. I don’t know what to make of it.

The doorbell rings, and there’s no sign of Gunner so I go and open it. When I do, I’m taken aback by who I see standing there.

“Alec,” I say shocked but manage to smile. He doesn’t. “What are you doing here?” He looks over my shoulder then back to me.

“You don’t have to do this, squirt. You absolutely don’t.”

I shake my head. “What are you talking about?”

He goes to lean in to whisper to me but pulls back and stands tall.

“Yes. What are you talking about, Alec?” Gunner asks stepping up behind me, his hand going to my waist holding me there firmly, possessively. I frown at his actions and go to brush him off, but his grip is impossible to move.

“How come you never told me?” Alec directs his question at me.

“It all happened so fast.”

“Your mother said you were seeing him. But it’s only been three months.” I nod, not denying it. “So, why, squirt?”

“I didn’t know how to tell you.” I didn’t. So, I thought it was best to leave that part to my parents. I turn so I can see Gunner, his cold eyes locked on Alec. “But, I do believe you two know each other. From when we were younger?” I say and both sets of eyes go to me.