Too Distracting (The Lewis Cousins 3)

“Yeah, amazing,” Reardon agreed. “Don’t you think so, Dillon?”

I made some sort of grunt, which was mortifying, and I vowed to punch each of them in the balls once Laurel left.

“Thanks,” Laurel said, smiling broadly at my cousins, which drew my eyes once more to those fire-engine-red lips.

“Say, aren’t you still looking for a date to that ballet fundraiser thing in Chicago this weekend?” Gabe asked, his voice full of innocence.

“Hey, yeah,” Reardon answered, trying to hide his smile. “What do you say, Laurel, are you free this weekend? You could check out Chicago with Dillon and be his plus one for the dinner. He really hates those things, you’d totally be doing him a favor.”

Laurel looked at me uncertainly, but I swear to God, I thought I saw hope in her eyes.

“Well, yeah, I’d be happy to help, if you need someone…” her voice trailed off as she waited for me to finally say some damn words.

All I could manage was, “Uh, yes, I need a plus one.”

Jesus, I need a drink. What the fuck is wrong with my mouth?

“Perfect, he’ll text you the details,” Gabe said, answering for me since I was obviously incapable of forming a complete thought.

“Great,” Laurel said with a smile that finally made her look like her normal self. “And, let me know what you think of the final product. Sorry, I can’t stay.”

Then she turned, affording me the view of that gorgeous back once again, and walked gracefully out the door, shutting it behind her.

After a few moments, I heard my cousin’s snickering behind me like children and shook my head.

“What the fuck just happened?” I asked, turning my attention to them.

“You just got played. Beautifully,” Gabe said.

“I think it was the shoes that did it,” Reardon put in.

“Nah, it was the back … Did you see that dress? I have to ask her where she got it and pick one up for Zoey,” Gabe added.

I ignored them, turning back to the vacated door, and murmured, “It was definitely the shoes,” then I reached out my hands and hit them both in the balls.

12

Laurel

By the time I got back to the flower shop, I was shaking in my very painful shoes. Chloe was waiting outside, tapping her foot, her expression full of excitement.

I’d barely parked when she descended.

“Well, what happened? Did he die? He must have … I really outdid myself with this look.”

I laughed at her rapid-fire speech, then let out a squeal and managed one tiny hop without breaking an ankle.

“It was amazing,” I gushed, and Chloe let out a squeal of her own. “Dillon couldn’t even speak, Gabe and Reardon had to do it for him. And, Chloe, I’m going with him to Chicago as his plus one. Can you cover for me?”

“What? Oh my God, this is even better than I’d hoped. Yes, of course I can … Wow, I really am good. Maybe I should change careers.”

“You probably should, but there’s no way I’m letting you go,” I said with a laugh, too happy to contain it. “I hate to let your amazing work go to waste. What do you say to an early Ladies Night? We can call Jazzy, Zoey, and Rena.”

Chloe nodded. “You’re right, you look too good to go home and hang out with your cat. We should definitely do dinner and drinks, even Zoey can sneak away for that.”

“Yay!” I exclaimed, reaching for my phone as we walked into the flower shop. I waved to Lisa, one of the college students who helped me out, and said to Chloe, “I’ll call Jazzy and Serena, you call your sister.”

Less than an hour later, I left Lisa to close up shop, and was at The Eaves, Cherry Springs’ high class offering for dinner and drinks. It was the place you went for special occasions and fancy dates, or in our case, for a night out with your best female friends.