But we were getting married in one of the ballrooms. We had two hundred guests. I couldn’t show up in a cocktail dress. It would raise eyebrows.
I twirled in front of the mirror, grinning like a fool. I wouldn’t let this dress pass me by. I opened the curtains to the changing room again and announced, “You’re right. This is the one.”
They cheered and came to hug me. I felt overwhelmed with emotion and a little guilt but hugged them back just as hard.
“You just need shoes,” Andrea said. “I’ll be right back.”
“And keep Saturday before the wedding free,” Tess said.
“Why?”
“For the bachelorette party.”
I swallowed. “We need a whole day? I’d planned to move into the new house on Saturday.”
“Change your plans, girl. We’re kidnapping you and treating you to the whole bridal program.”
“Should I be afraid?”
Skye placed one hand on her hip. “Is the Arctic freezing? Yes.”
“Okay, then.”
“We’ll help you pack your stuff. I can’t believe you’ve agreed to marry Hunter before you’ve lived with him. What if he’s one of those guys who leaves his stuff everywhere?”
I gave a nervous laugh. This is the type of thing I should know.
“I’m pretty laid-back about everything.”
Tess raised an eyebrow. “Have you met yourself? You’re crazy exact about everything.”
“No, I’m not.”
“The shelves in your bookcase have labels with the first letter of the authors’ names.”
“Isn’t that normal?”
“It is if you’re a bookstore. You get my drift?”
“Well, it’s all about compromise,” I muttered, but I couldn’t quite meet Tess’s eyes.
Chapter Ten
Josie
Leonie was a lifesaver, as usual. She’d informed me that she’d take care of packing up my stuff while I was at work, as well as moving everything over to the house. All I had to do was separate everything in three piles: take with me, put in storage, throw away/donate.
Tess and Skye had offered to help.
Two evenings into the packing process, I realized packing was code for interrogation.
“Did he already make space for you in his closet?” Tess asked.
“Umm....” Shit. Every time I thought we were on safe ground, something new came up. I didn’t even know what Hunter’s closet looked like.
“I’m going to help him do it,” I said vaguely. “He just moved in the house, so nothing’s set yet.” Now that I came to think about it, what would our arrangement look like? I slept in a different bedroom, but all my clothes would be in his closet? My toiletries in his bathroom? There was more than one bathroom in the house, but we had to make it look as if we were sharing a bedroom and a bathroom.
The thought of showering in his shower, entering his room on a daily basis felt far too intimate. What if he slept naked? Nope... I would not think about that. Yet now that I’d let that thought in, it was all I could think about. A bout of heat coursed through me.