Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
We make our way to a booth in the corner and get settled.
“I have to say,” Markie says. “You’re much calmer about this today than I expected.”
“I got you.”
Shifting in my seat, I press Hartley’s voice out of my mind and shrug. “What am I supposed to do? I’ve thought it over and, while I still think this whole thing is unnecessary and intrusive, I agreed to it. All I can do now is accept it and strap in for the ride. Right?”
“That’s one ride I’d love to imagine if he weren’t my sister’s fiancé.”
An unwelcome surge of excitement threads its way through my nerve endings slowly, yet meticulously. It’s as if it knows I’m trying to deliberately shut it down—turn off any awareness of Hartley from a sexual angle—and it’s fighting me every step of the way.
This will be a challenge. It might quite possibly be the biggest challenge of the marriage. Everything about Hartley is attractive. From his rugged build to his sexy smile to the way he moves and handles himself—it’s the epitome of attractive. And somehow, I have to be married to the man, live in the same house with him for a year, and manage not to want to screw his brains out.
I grab my phone from my bag and open my Notes.
Don’t forget to bring my vibrators!
“What are you going to do with your stuff in Kentucky?” Markie asks.
“I think we’re heading up there as our ‘honeymoon.’ I don’t have that much stuff, so I don’t know whether to try to bring it all down here or ask Jeff if I can store some of it in his garage.” I flinch as Lisa, our server, pops up beside us. “Sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
“Hey, Mira. How are you? I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“We were in here the other night,” Markie says. “Donna was working.”
Lisa smiles. “Figures. So how are you?”
I fiddle with a napkin, wishing this wasn’t so awkward. Usually, I’d chat Lisa up. I’ve known her forever. But the next time I see her, I’ll be Mrs. Hartley Adler, and things like marriages usually don’t just happen overnight.
They aren’t usually predicated on an inheritance, either, but here we are. Thanks, Lolly.
“She’s great,” Markie says, jumping in to save my ass. “She’s in town to handle some business, so she’s a little overstimulated tonight. Exhausterwhelmulated, if you will. You’ll have to excuse her weirdness.”
I laugh in relief. “It’s true. I’m a little overwhelmed at the moment.”
“Well, I won’t bother you,” Lisa says. “Do you know what you want to eat, or should I get a menu?”
“I could recite that menu from top to bottom,” Markie says, glancing at me. “I think we’ll take a large sausage and mushroom pizza and two Cokes. Does that sound good, Mira?”
“Love it,” I say.
Lisa nods. “Great. I’ll grab your drinks and put in your order.”
Markie waits until Lisa is out of earshot before she restarts our conversation.
“So what do you need from me?” my sister asks again. “How can I help you make this easier?”
I sit back and release a breath, sinking into the booth. I’m usually on my own when stuff goes sideways. Sure, I have friends like Jeff and Clint and always make friends wherever I move. But none of them are like Markie. She knows my darkest secrets and has known me in every stage of life. She’d walk through fire for me, just like I would for her. Having her around while I sort this mess out is really, really nice.
“Honestly, I wish I knew how you could help,” I say. “But I don’t know what I need help with. We were going to go to the courthouse and have Judge Yanders marry us, but Lolly arranged for us to have the church on Thursday and said not to worry about anything.”
“Is Hartley getting a tux?”
I shrug.
“What are you wearing?” Markie asks, not impressed with my last answer.
I shrug again. “Clothes, of some sort.”
“Oh, my gosh.” She throws her head back and sighs as exasperatedly as she can muster. “It’s a wedding in a church, Mira,” she whisper-hisses. “You need a wedding dress. Hartley needs a tux. I think Lolly thought that went without saying.”
Apprehension gnaws away at the confidence I had gathered around the wedding. Have I misunderstood the assignment? When Lolly said not to worry, I figured she meant that she’d take care of getting Pastor Reed and maybe Violet Crowder to show up. I didn’t read through any lines and understand that I needed a wedding dress.
In three days.
“I can’t get a wedding dress before Thursday,” I say, my heartbeat quickening.
“We can go to Nashville and find something.”
I shake my head. Shopping for a wedding dress would put this on another level. It’d make it feel a lot like I was actually getting married. And although I’ve never had the dream wedding lots of little girls conjure up in their minds, if I ever did have a wedding, I’d want to do all those special things with my sister. For real.