Chapter 14
DRED
“Iwish my gran read these kinds of books.” Tally’s eyes are wide, and her cheeks are red.
“I bet Dallas’s granny would totally read steamy romance,” Hemi muses.
“My grammy only reads autobiographies,” Rix sighs.
“My grandma loves cozy mystery,” Hammer says. “And my mom only reads self-help books.”
“I have loved romance my entire life. I wanted to be Cinderella when I was a little girl,” Essie confides. “But my hair wasn’t the right color, plus her stepsister situation wasn’t all that great.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” I agree.
“No one would be surprised to hear that Callie’s favorite is Merida.” Lexi rubs her baby belly.
“Not even a little,” I laugh.
“I always loved Pocahontas and Mulan,” Meems says thoughtfully.
“That tracks.” I grin.
She winks.
She’s been all smiles since the girls arrived for “book club” an hour and a half ago.
It’s a new thing I sprang on them post-engagement photoshoot.
I used the fact that we have an actual library as an excuse.
But honestly, how could I not when I’ve been granted access to my very own personal library?
It has nothing to do with needing insulation from Connor and the second kiss I can’t stop thinking about.
All it took was an invitation, and a time and date, and here they are.
I’m sure they thought they’d have a chance to dig into my reasons for this development in my relationship situation.
However, Meems is the hostess with the most-est, so they haven’t had an opportunity.
But they’re inadvertently getting to know the primary reason I’m here, in this gorgeous space, so there’s that.
We’ve already made a list of books to read for the next several months, most of them selected by Meems, and now we’ve moved on to other topics, with the girls carefully side-stepping the wedding.
“I have the coolest idea for the library gala!” Hammer slaps her knee.
“I’m all ears,” Hemi says.
“You’re throwing a gala?” Meems perks up.
“We’re raising money for programming. We do it every year, but Hemi and Hammer offered to help, and they run one for the Terror that’s wildly successful.
” Far more profitable than the ones we’ve previously run for the library.
Any money we can raise to fund our community programming is great, but it can be a lot of hours of extra work without much payoff.
I have high hopes this year. I want to build on the teen programs already in place for kids like Everly and Victor who could use more adult support in their lives.
“Hammer and I run an auction for the team in the spring. It’s always a lot of fun,” Hemi explains. “What’s your great idea for the gala?”
“Some kind of bookish backdrop for photos. Maybe featuring all the banned books?” Hammer suggests.
“Oh! Oh my gosh!” Essie claps and her eyes go wide with excitement.
“Did you have a wedding idea?” Rix teases.
Essie bites her lips together. “No.”
“That’s a yes.”
“More of an idea for a future Halloween party. We can put a pin in my idea and focus on the library gala. I kind of like the idea of Alice in Wonderland, you know? But featuring all the banned books, too.”
“I really love this.” I’m excited about leveling up this event.
We continue to discuss the gala for a while, tossing around ideas.
Eventually, Meems brings up the wedding. It’s inevitable. We can’t all get together without it becoming a topic of conversation.
“I’m so excited to see all of you in your bridesmaid dresses.” Meems’s eyes light up at the prospect. “And you in your wedding dress.”
“Us too!” Lexi tosses in, eyes darting between us.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I peeked at the dress book Courtney had sent over. You’ve flagged some beautiful options,” Meems says.
This is news to me. I haven’t flagged anything. In fact I’m barely over the engagement party. I haven’t even thought about a dress.
“I wondered if I’d, oh—” Connor stops short in the doorway. He’s dressed in black pants and a dark Henley. He looks polished and poised and completely out of his element. “I didn’t realize. Sorry to interrupt.”
“You’re not interrupting. We were just talking about the wedding and some of the dresses Dred has marked,” Meems says.
Connor’s eyes dart to me, cheeks flushing as he rubs the back of his neck. “Right, yeah.” He licks his lips.
“Connor will have to share which ones are his favorite,” Lexi remarks.
“Oh yes! Where’s the wedding book! We all want to see,” Essie adds.
“Oh, uh…” Connor seems at a loss for words.
“Why don’t you grab it for us,” I suggest.
His expression makes me believe it’s the very last thing he wants to do, but he gives us a curt nod and disappears down the hall. The lack of time it takes for him to return tells me a lot about the location of the book.
I shift over to make room for him on the couch, and he sets the book on the coffee table.
His ears are bright red as the girls move closer for a better view.
They ooh and ahh, pointing out their favorites.
And I note, as we flip through the pages that each page is marked with a post it and a number in the corner.
Connor’s ears never calm down while we browse the wedding book, and his leg is pressed against mine, his warmth seeping into me. He cracks a small smile when Hemi brings up Tristan’s near suit-fiasco at his and Rix’s wedding this summer. None of us knew about it until after the fact.
Eventually the girls head out and I walk them to the front door. Lexi laces her arm with mine and whispers, “Is that the first time you’ve seen that book?”
I dip my chin.
“So he picked all those out.”
“Or his mother did,” I offer.
“Doubtful.”
The girls hug me goodbye.
I don’t have time to read into the wedding book because Connor meets me in the hall. He tucks a hand in his pocket. “My mother sent that book over a couple of days ago. I wanted to make it easier for you, so I went through it first.”
“That was nice of you.”
He frowns. “I wasn’t being nice.”
I tip my head. “What were you being then? Efficient? Controlling?”
“That’s not—”
I pat his cheek. “Regardless of the reason, I like your top three.” Then I skirt around him and head upstairs. The wedding magazine isn’t in the library anymore, though, which means Connor has it tucked away somewhere. Probably in his bedroom.
Whatever his reason, I like that he’s been looking at dresses for me.
And that seems both dangerous and enticing.