Chapter 7
SEVEN
“How dressy is this supposed to be?” Shaun asked, her phone on speaker where it sat in the middle of her bed.
“Dressy casual,” she heard Jodi’s voice come from the phone. “I thought you said you had an outfit already picked out?”
“I did,” Shaun muttered, rifling through the clothes in her dresser before stepping over to the closet and sliding hangers around on the bar. “But that was before I knew Kasey fucking Corcoran was going to be there. I can’t wear that outfit now.”
“Why not?” Jodi asked. “Too sexy?”
Shaun scoffed and said, “No. I was leaning more toward the casual part of dressy casual.”
“So now you need to find something sexier? Because Kasey will be there?” Jodi asked and Shaun rolled her eyes. Damn nosy woman.
“You know what, never mind. I don’t know why I called you,” Shaun snapped.
Why was she worried about what she was going to wear?
Why did she care so much about what Kasey would think of her?
She didn’t. Jodi laughed out loud and Shaun clenched her teeth together in aggravation. “I’m hanging up on you!”
“I’ll see you in an hour!” Jodi laughed again, and Shaun lunged across the bed to disconnect the phone call. Rolling to her back, she stared up at the ceiling.
Kasey had refused to leave her mind all day. It’s like having him in the general area made it so it was impossible to get him out of her head. He was by far the most attractive man she’d ever seen, but also the most infuriating.
“Fuck it,” Shaun muttered and rolled into a sitting position, standing and striding over to the closet.
Grabbing a skintight pair of black jeans that she knew did wonders for her ass and legs, she tossed them onto the foot of the bed and then rifled through the tops until she found the one she was looking for.
Peeling the t-shirt she’d pulled on after her shower over her head, she let it fall to the floor, standing in the middle of the room naked.
She pulled a simple black thong out of the drawer and slid them up her legs, then fastened a matching strapless bra at her back, adjusting her breasts in the cups.
Stepping into the tight jeans, she jumped and wiggled until they were over her thighs and wide hips.
The top she chose was black, in a buttery soft material.
Fitted at her waist, it highlighted her narrow waist and shapely hips, but was loose at the top, the neckline wide enough to let it drape over one shoulder, leaving it bare.
The sleeves were loose and wide, floating around her arms.
She had let her curly hair dry naturally, which meant her curls were rioting around her head.
She had smoothed curl cream into it after her shower, taming them slightly, but the fullness bounced around her shoulders and down her back.
A pair of simple silver earrings adorned her ears and her make-up was simple but alluring.
She had taken extra time on her eyes, making the blue of them pop.
Staring at herself in the mirror in the bathroom, she turned this way and that, checking her reflection.
Reaching into her cosmetic bag, she pulled out a tube of dark red lipstick, staring at it for a long minute before uncapping it and gliding it onto her full lips.
“Eat your heart out, you arrogant prick,” she muttered to her reflection, smiling just the slightest.
Leaving the bathroom, she slid her feet into her favorite sky-high black heels, but then kicked them off, opting for a strappy option with low, chunky heels instead. She then grabbed her purse and keys, and was out the door moments later.
Driving the familiar roads to her parent’s home, she parked her truck alongside several other vehicles already in the driveway. Sliding out of the truck, she carefully picked her way across the gravel driveway to the wide front steps, taking them one at a time, when a long, low whistle sounded.
Whipping her head to the right, she swallowed hard as the owner of that whistle appeared from the shadow of the covered porch.
“I was wondering what you’d wear tonight,” he said in that low drawl that made her belly do somersaults. “I’ve been torturing myself all day imagining it.”
“You’re a pig,” Shaun snapped, taking the final steps up onto the porch, where she stopped. He continued forward, slowly, and for a brief second Shaun felt very much like she was prey, and he a predator.
“I just appreciate a beautiful woman,” Kasey murmured as he stopped several feet away from her, his hands tucked into the pockets of his dark wash jeans.
A black t-shirt stretched across his chest, and a mouthwateringly sexy black leather jacket hung open.
His blonde hair looked freshly washed and tousled, like he’d towel dried it and then left it alone to dry haphazardly.
Or like eager hands had been shoved through it—
“Well, don’t,” Shaun snapped, shaking the intrusive thoughts away, at the same time tossing her curls away from her face, revealing that bare shoulder.
Kasey’s lips tightened and then he murmured, his voice low and slightly bitter, “Right. You just love to remind me.”
“What—”
“Oh, you’re here!” her sister’s voice met her ears as the front door opened. “I need a Sissy Cocktail, though don’t tell Freeman!”
Shaun laughed, stepping forward through the open door, letting her gaze slide over to Kasey’s for just a heartbeat before linking her arm with Jodi’s. “Well, we can’t let the bride go thirsty. Let’s go get you a drink.”
Shaun let Jodi lead her through the house and into the kitchen, where a vast selection of beverages had been arranged, along with several trays of charcuterie that were ready to be set out when the guests arrived.
Stepping toward the drinks, Shaun first poured Jodi a cocktail, then mixed one for herself.
Levi Kendall, their father, walked into the room wearing his usual jeans and a clean white dress shirt.
His collar had been left unbuttoned and his sleeves were rolled to his forearms. He lumbered toward the two of them, his cowboy boots clicking on the tile floor.
His hair was dark, sprinkled with white strands at his temples, and his dark, full beard had more white than it had just a few years ago, but Shaun had always thought her dad was one of the most handsome men she’d known. He was six foot four and solidly built.
“Heya, girls,” he rumbled as he stopped next to them.
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to each of their cheeks, and Shaun inhaled the familiar mix of cedar, pine, and musk that clung to him.
Reaching for two highball glasses, he poured several fingers of bourbon into them. “You both look beautiful.”
Jodi smiled and Shaun shrugged, though they both said, “Thank you.” Jodi fixed one side of his collar and said, “You look very handsome, Dad. Did Mom pick this out?”
Levi grumbled and took a sip from one of the glasses in his hands. “At least she didn’t make me wear a tie.”
“I had one laid out, and he refused to put it on,” Serenity Kendall muttered as she entered the kitchen and Shaun laughed.
Her mother looked beautiful in a simple, flowy dress that hit just below her calves, the material light and fluttery as she moved.
The v neckline dipped to the middle of her chest, the sleeves flowy to where they buttoned at her wrists.
Her dark, wavy hair had been secured into a loose French twist at the back of her head, several tendrils slipping out to frame her face.
“Oh, Jodi, you look gorgeous!” Seren said and beamed. Her sister had chosen a white lace maxi dress that was a little whimsical and slightly bohemian in style, and her long curly hair had been swept into a loose Dutch braid that fell over one shoulder. “Shaun, you look stunning!”
Levi took another drink of his bourbon as the doorbell rang, to which Seren disappeared out of the kitchen to answer.
Levi bobbed his eyebrows at the two of them before sidling back out the door.
Jodi and Shaun followed. Levi exited the house to the expansive back patio, where a smattering of handcrafted Adirondack chairs dotted the porch.
A fire had been built in the large fire pit in the middle of the yard, and Shaun could just make out the shapes of several bodies in the growing dusk.
“I should have just worn boots,” Shaun grumbled, stepping out onto the porch. “I’m going to break my neck walking around in the dark in heels.”
“You’ll be fine,” Jodi said, waving her hand.
“Says the woman in sensible flats,” Shaun muttered, and Jodi laughed.
“Guilty,” Jodi chuckled. “I also didn’t expect it to be warm enough to have a fire outside. It’s a pleasant surprise.”
A smattering of people had already gathered around the roaring bonfire set in a giant fire-ring of masonry blocks.
At least a dozen handcrafted Adirondack chairs circled the fire, some empty, some taken.
In the golden glow of the fire, she could make out the faces of those surrounding it.
90’s country drifted over the yard from the hidden surround sound from the back porch.
Shaun saw Jodi’s two best friends and fellow bridesmaids, Tessa and Kit, who sat in chairs side by side to the right of the fire, clear plastic cups in their hands filled with cocktails.
Tessa’s wavy blonde hair shone brightly in the firelight, and she had on her classic red lipstick.
She took a drink from her cup and pushed her red-rimmed glasses up with one finger.
Kit sat with one leg crossed over the other, leaning back in her chair, her honey brown hair piled high on top of her head and a comfortable looking sweater wrapped around her curvy frame.
The woman was voluptuous in all the right places.