Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
****
It was the day before the wedding.
Vicki watched as Delphine poured another large glass of wine. She wasn’t interested in drinking and was still nursing the first drink the other woman had given her. Betsy was having her hair braided, and Dhalia was enjoying little sips of her glass of wine. Over the years, with the way her mother was, making friends wasn’t exactly easy for her. No one wanted to be around her because of her mother.
The news of her mother’s death didn’t surprise her. What did surprise her was the fact she didn’t seem to care. Yeah, that freaked her out just a smidge. She didn’t care, and in fact, there was a tiny slither of relief mixed in as well.
Her mother was dead and that meant she could no longer harm any of them. They were free. There was no fear of her arriving at night, drunk or drugged, with men whose names she didn’t even know.
Her siblings also hadn’t cried over the death of their mother. Years of being let down, bullied, and at times, attempted to be used just to serve her needs, had taken their toll. No one loved Annette anymore, and she would not be missed.
Pushing thoughts of her mother out of her mind, she took another sip of her wine. She wasn’t too sure on the taste, but she wasn’t about to spoil her night. Delphine had insisted on having a girls’ night of just the four of them before she got married.
“Are you scared?” Delphine asked.
Vicki tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “Of what?”
“Of getting married? Settling down, doing all that good stuff?”
She smiled. “No, I’m not scared. I love Damion, and marrying him is going to be a dream come true.”
“She’s going to be Damion’s queen,” Betsy said, looking mighty proud of herself.
She couldn’t help but chuckle and pull her baby sister into her arms. She blew a raspberry on her cheek, and Betsy laughed.
Delphine chuckled. “What about you? Nervous for your sister?”
Dhalia shook her head. “Nah, Damion’s a great guy.”
“That I will toast to,” Delphine said. They raised their glasses, which included a soda for Betsy, and they clinked their glasses together and took a nice long sip.
She wasn’t nervous. If anything, she was excited about tomorrow. A little nervous because her brother hadn’t been heard from in quite some time. She had also asked around at the diner. Some of his old friends hadn’t seen or heard from him. She didn’t like this. She had no idea what the Lords had planned for him, but she had a feeling whatever it was, she didn’t really want to know.
“Right, so we’ve got some good movies to watch. Heavily romantic ones where nothing bad happens at the wedding, or we can play some games, or we can just talk,” Delphine said.
“Is this what a girls’ night entails?” Dhalia asked.
“You know, I don’t know, because in all honesty, you ladies are the only girlfriends I have. I’ve heard it can get pretty crazy at girls’ night. Cheating. Hooking up with random men, that kind of thing.”
Vicki wrinkled her nose. “Nah, thanks.”
“You don’t want to explore your options before settling down?”
“No, thank you.” She let out a chuckle. “I love Damion. Being married to him doesn’t scare me, and once tomorrow is done, I’m going to be Vicki Archer.”
“I like it,” Betsy said. “Can I change my name?”
“And me?”
Vicki smiled. “I’ll talk to Damion. I assume it is his name you would like to take.”
Dhalia pulled out her cell phone. “Smithy said Damion’s already cool with it.”
She knew Damion was hanging out with Smithy, Pete, Tank, and even her father. He did mention there were going to be a couple of other men he had to invite as part of his title within Old County, and she didn’t mind. She did ask if there were going to be women, and Damion said simply, not for him.
“You’re texting him?”
“Yeah, and I texted Damion.”
Damion had insisted all of them get cell phones, so if the need ever arose, he could get in touch with all of them. It meant a lot to her that he cared enough to want to protect her family. Damion was one hell of a guy.
“What else is he saying?” she asked, curious.
“That they’re having a great time. Neil and the guys are drinking, but Damion’s sticking to one whiskey. There are a couple of girls, but he’s not looking at any of them.” Dhalia looked up. “Does that bother you?”
“No,” Vicki said. “I trust him.”
“So, movies, or should we go and invade the guys’ ... private time?” Delphine asked.
Vicki chuckled. “It’s bad luck, and no, we can watch some movies, or we can play games. It is really up to you.”
“I’m up for movies, pizza, snacks, and just relaxing. It has been a long week.”