Chapter 58
Cori
“Jesus fucking Christ. I told you to play with his head, not fall in love with him.” Selene jabs her finger in my shoulder, and I knock her hand away. “You two were making eyes at each other.” She suddenly hugs me. “I’m happy for you, though. You deserve to be loved.”
Eden joins in, and the three of us do a group hug.
Selene breaks away, opens my wine fridge, and pulls out a bottle. “You have the good stuff.” She pours a glass for each of us. I down mine, and so does Eden. Selene sips hers.
“Did Gill get those tickets yet?” I ask. “Let’s go into my sewing room. Eden, I have something I want you to try on.”
They follow me upstairs while Selene complains.
“That idiot somehow got kicked out of the queue. Then he said the app got deleted. By the time he downloaded it again and got back in the line, there were tens of thousands of people ahead of him. I don’t think he ever wanted to go.” Selene frowns.
“Oh, that sucks,” Eden says. “I know how much you were looking forward to it.”
“I was. And Gill’s the one who said he would get the tickets.
I would have gotten them myself if I knew he was such a dummy.
” She sighs and looks away. She plops herself on the sofa, looking dejected.
Whatever’s going on seems to be more than just the concert tickets.
I make a note to talk to her about it later.
“Eden, come on. I want to put this on you before the guys finish talking about whatever.”
Selene lies on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.
“I can’t believe you both are married to associates.” She puts the word in air quotes. “You two better not drop me as a friend.” She takes a deep breath. “I’ll never find a husband.”
“Girl, please. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Wash your hands and come help me button this dress.”
“That’s gorgeous,” Selene whispers as she gets closer. “It looks like you made it just for Eden.” I wink at my cousin and gesture for her to get behind Eden, but she walks around our friend, gazing at it in awe.
It molds to her hourglass figure. The dress is elegant, has white lace, a sweetheart neckline, and capped sleeves. It fits her curves and spreads into a long, dramatic train at the bottom.
The back is a row of buttons that leads to the top of her ass. I let Selene button her up while I get on a stepladder and add the veil to Eden’s head. It’s the same lace as the dress.
Once I have that done, I send a text to Dax.
“Oh, wow. Eden, you look so beautiful.” Selene dabs her eyes, and despite Eden’s veil, I know she’s rolling her eyes.
“Well, I’m just a model. No need to get all emotional, Selene,” Eden chastises. “But, I do look good.” She wiggles around in the dress. “Are you taking pictures, or do you need to alter it? I’m getting hot under this veil.”
“Alter it for what? It’s perfect,” Selene sighs. “I want to get married.”
The door swings open as the words leave Selene’s mouth.
“No one is that desperate.” Dax coughs, but I hear him. Selene flares her nostrils. I look past Dax in time to see Preacher and Ripley enter the room. Rip stops mid-step when he notices his wife in the wedding dress.
He swallows visibly, then takes a step forward and stops.
“Hey, Selene.” Preacher stands next to my cousin, who scrunches her face.
“What up, Preacher boy?” she asks.
“My King,” Eden says to her husband. “I’m Cori’s model.” She twirls in the dress and giggles, but Ripley remains frozen while his eyes roam her entire body. “You like it?”
He takes another step and stops in front of her. It’s like he has no idea what to do, but he finally takes the veil and lifts it.
“Dearly beloved,” I joke. “Maybe Preacher boy can marry you two again. I’m sure he probably still remembers one of his sermons.”
“Girl, please. You know I don’t like to hear men talk,” Selene says after giving Preacher the side eye.
“Okay, then I won’t talk.” Preacher gets closer to Selene.
“Eww.” She moves away.
“I could, though. I’m still ordained.” Preacher grins, and Selene scowls.
The room goes quiet, and I look at my friend as she stares into her husband’s eyes. Her expression goes from playful to confused to horrified.
“Oh, God, no. Ripley, no.” She raises her hands in the stop gesture. “Get that look out of your eyes.”
“Too late.” Her husband’s voice is raspy. His eyes rake over her body again, and he takes her hands. “You made this?” Ripley tilts his head in my direction.
“She did,” Daxton answers for me. He puts his arm around my waist and pulls me closer. “Beautiful and talented.” I blush when he kisses my temple.
“We’ll take it.” Ripley doesn’t take his eyes off Eden when he says those words.
“What? No! Not unless you plan on wearing this dress.” Eden’s head whips around to look at me. “We will not take it.”
“We’ll take it.” Ripley pulls out his wallet and hands me a credit card, but I raise my hands and take a step back.
“I made that dress for my best friend. Your money is no good here. Consider it my wedding gift.” I hide behind Dax when Eden’s eyes narrow at me. “Sorry, but I planned this with your mother. This was all her idea.”
“Ripley, no. We said no to her offer to throw us a wedding, remember?” Eden’s words come out rushed, and they almost sound like a whine.
“You said no. I didn’t say anything. Call your mother and tell her that—”
“No! You don’t want my parents paying for anything.” My friend sounds so desperate that I laugh. So does Selene.
“Do I look like a pussy to you, Thorny? We’ll take the wedding, but I’m paying. Call your mother.”
“No. If you want the dress, we’ll take it, and I’ll wear it for you. We can have a private wedding at home. Just the two of us, and you can take the dress off.”
“How will the entire town know you have the baddest wife in Shadow Cove?” Selene asks.
“Shadow Cove?” Eden asks, clearly affronted.
“Sorry. The world,” Selene clarifies.
“Exactly. Call your mother,” Ripley orders.
“No,” Eden practically whines.
“I’ll call her,” I volunteer.