Chapter 21
Kendall
“Your ass looks incredible in that dress.”
I chuckle at Micah’s compliment, then twist around so I can see my backside in the fitting area mirror.
“You think so?”
“Absolutely.”
When I see the way my butt looks in this black, form-fitting gown, my eyes go wide. “Oh wow. You weren’t kidding.”
“Here, let me take a pic.” Micah walks up to me, phone in hand, and snaps a photo, then shows it to me. “Look at how well this dress photographs. You’re going to be a knockout in photos.”
“Wow. Kendall, your butt…” Jordan says as she walks out of her fitting room into the main area next to the mirror.
I laugh and tell her thanks.
“Okay, I think this dress is it,” I say. “It fits your black tie optional dress code, right?”
Micah nods. “To a tee. This dress looks like it was made for you.”
Micah, her sister Jordan, and I have been scouring boutiques in Nashville this afternoon to find our dresses for the wedding. Micah found her dress months ago so she’s helping us find our dresses today.
I turn to Jordan, who’s wearing a beautiful gold satin gown. “You look stunning.”
She smiles wide. “Really?”
I nod. “So, so pretty.”
Micah turns to her twin sister and beams. “Kendall’s right. You look incredible.”
I take in the similarities between the two of them. They’re not identical twins, but their resemblance is undeniable. They’re the same height with the same black-brown hair and big, deep brown eyes. They have identical button noses and full mouths.
The one stark difference is their hairstyle. Micah’s is long and hits all the way to the middle of her back. Jordan has bangs and cuts her hair to her shoulders.
“The dress search is over,” Jordan says. “I’m getting this one.”
“I’m getting this one too.” I take in my reflection in the mirror and smile at how pretty I look. I don’t get to dress up often, so I’m excited to wear this black satin sweetheart gown for Micah and Aidan’s wedding.
I pull up the hem of my dress and kick out my bare foot. “I’m going to need sky-high heels though. Otherwise I’ll look like a munchkin standing next to you two.”
Micah and Jordan chuckle. “You’re only, like, four inches shorter than us, Kendall,” Jordan says.
I tilt my head at her. “I’m barely five-four. I need all the boost I can get.”
I’m about to head back to my dressing room when the shop assistant stops to ask how we’re doing. We tell her we love the dresses and that we’d like to buy them.
“Actually, I’m going to pay for their dresses,” Micah says.
Jordan and I look over at her.
“Um, what?” I laugh.
Micah smiles as she looks between me and her sister. “The dresses are my gift to you both.”
“Micah, you don’t have to do that,” I say.
She grabs my hand. “I know I don’t have to. I want to.”
I start to tell her it’s okay, but Jordan stops me. “It’s no use. My sister is stubborn as hell. She’s going to win this fight.”
I hug Micah. “Thank you.”
When we break apart, she’s smiling. “Thank you. Getting you this dress is the least I can do for planning all the pre-wedding events with Liam. Aidan and I have been so busy and stressed out about work, you’re seriously saving us.”
“It’s no problem. Really.”
“I know how Liam gets on your nerves though. It must be agony having to spend so much time with him,” she jokes. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the guy. He’s my future brother-in-law. But he drives me nuts sometimes with what a smartass he can be.”
I bite back a smile. “He’s not so bad.”
I think back to just a few nights ago when he helped me take care of my aunt. How he dropped everything the second I told him she was hurt and insisted on taking me to her because I was so upset I was shaking.
I think about how sweet he was when he helped my aunt off the floor, how he chatted with her and joked around to make her feel comfortable. How he cleaned up the kitchen and ordered her food before he left.
How I can’t stop thinking about what he said to me that night.
I’d do anything for you, Kendall.
Even now when I think about him saying that, my heart skids in my chest.
I remember the look in his eyes when he said it. Like he meant every word.
I remember how badly I wanted to kiss him…and I was about to until his rideshare showed up.
And then I lost my nerve. I gave him an awkward smile and waved good-bye.
Regret rattles through me. I should have kissed him. I should have grabbed him and kissed him right then and there, rideshare be damned.
I catch Micah’s brow quirk up as she looks at me. “What do you mean he’s not so bad? You can’t stand Liam. He’s always giving you crap and you’re always telling him off.”
I glance down at my gown and brush away an imaginary piece of lint. “Well, um, these past few weeks of hanging out have kind of changed how I feel about him.”
Her brown eyes go wide as she looks at me. Jordan gives me the same look.
“Kendall, are you serious? You like Liam now?” Micah asks.
I bite my lip and nod. “Yeah.”
The biggest smile spreads across her face. Her sister flashes an identical smile.
“Wait…” Micah narrows her gaze at me. “Is there something going on between you two?”
“Um…”
Micah sits on the nearby plush padded bench along the wall of the fancy boutique fitting room. “Sit. Spill.”
I sit down next to Micah and tell her about how apologetic Liam was to me after I got stuck planning the engagement party by myself.
I tell her about how sweet he was when he saw me with my aunt at brunch and how he helped me take care of her the other night.
I tell them how he came up with the idea to start a book club together as way to get inspired to write his best man speech.
“And, um, the other weekend, we went to a bakery to order dessert for your rehearsal dinner and well…we kissed.”
Both Micah and Jordan’s eyes bulge out of their heads.
“How the hell did that happen?” Micah asks.
I explain how the owner mistakenly thought that we were the couple getting married and Liam didn’t correct her so we could get free cake out of it.
“At first I thought he was just messing with me, but then I thought that maybe he was serious,” I say. “And then the owner wanted to take a pic of us kissing for her social media and we just decided to go with it and, um, well…it was really hot.”
Micah just blinks at me while Jordan smiles. “He totally has the confidence of a guy who’s a good kisser,” Jordan says.
“He really is,” I murmur. “His mouth was on mine for barely five seconds, and my head was spinning. What would a proper kiss with him do to me?”
Jordan laughs. “I think we all know.”
My face heats. I look over at Micah, who’s shaking her head. “I thought hell would freeze over before Liam won you over.”
I fold my hands in my lap and glance down. “I didn’t always hate him. In college we were friends.”
“Yeah, but then Aidan said you two kind of drifted apart,” Micah says.
“That’s not the full story.”
I tell them about the house party during junior year when I overheard Liam insult me while talking to his teammate. Both of their jaws drop.
“He said that about you?” Micah says, her tone on the edge of a shriek.
“What a dick,” Jordan mutters.
I let out a breath. “It was a long time ago. But it really hurt my feelings. It still does when I think about it.”
Micah grabs my hand. “He’s my future brother-in-law, but he’s a jerk for that.”
Jordan nods as she aims a sad look at me. “I don’t know Liam as well as you guys do. He’s always been nice to me and fun to hang out with, but Micah’s right.”
I let out a breath, my shoulders sagging.
“Yeah. I’m still not over it obviously. But he’s been so sweet lately.
And I think I can get past what he said years ago if this sweet and kind Liam is who he really is,” I say.
“Besides, it’s not fair for me to hold this against him.
It happened almost ten years ago. I wouldn’t want someone to hold stuff I did a decade ago against me. ”
“Yeah, that’s a fair point,” Micah says.
“Why don’t you talk to him about it?” Jordan says.
I shake my head. “It was so long ago. I’d sound like a weirdo if I brought it up. I bet he doesn’t even remember it.”
“Maybe just take this slow then,” Micah says. “Enjoy flirting with him and spending time with him. See where things go.”
“You’re right. Maybe I should do that.”
The shop assistant comes back in and checks on us.
“We should probably pay for these dresses,” Jordan says.
We head to our fitting rooms, change, and take our dresses to the front of the shop. Micah pays for both of them and we thank her.
As we leave the shop, we walk down to the block to find a place to grab lunch. My phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s a message from Liam.
I tap on my phone screen and see that he sent me two photos. One is a screenshot of the audiobook app on his phone and one is a photo of Persuasion in paperback.
Liam: Just got the audiobook AND the paperback of Persuasion. I’m so ready for book club
I smile down at my phone screen. Yeah, this thing with Liam is complicated. But I can’t deny that I like him. A lot.
“Wow. Look at that smile. Liam’s texting you?” Micah teases.
Excitement sparks in my tummy. “Yeah.”
“Twenty bucks says you two end up making out at your next book club,” Jordan says.
I laugh it off and roll my eyes, but I can’t help the burst of excitement that flashes at the thought of things getting hot and heavy with Liam.