Low chortles as if it were the cutest thing. “She is so not a hater. Lex has come a long way, I’ll have you know. She wants nothing but the best forpeople.”
“That’s not true,” the queen of mean is quick to protest. “I’m constantly wishing people dead. It’s exhausting.” She glances my way. “Does that make me a badperson?”
“I’m pretty sure you qualify.” I take a sip of my coffee and groan it’s so good. Almost as good as one of Brody Wolf’s kisses. “We kissed,” I confess without prompting. “And I might have married him by accident—and before you ask—no, we did not consummate the nuptials.” A weight lifts off my chest that I hadn’t even realized I’ve been luggingaround.
Both Low and Lex stare at me, slack-jawed, stripped of any affect they might have had just a momentbefore.
Lex reaches over and sniffs my coffee. “What in the hell did they put inthis?”
Now it’s Low and me with our mouths open. Lex is slow to commit to anexpletive.
“It’s true.” I take my coffee back. “The kisses, the marriage—not the spiked latte.” I take another sip and moan as I imagine Brody’s lips over mine. And why is it that java suddenly reminds me of Brody? Maybe it’s the fact we’ve been brewing coffee together for the last few weeks. Boy, would I ever love to grind hisbeans.
“What?” Low shouts so loud you’d think she was speaking to me from across a football field. Her palms land hard against the table, creating a coffee tsunami. “You did not deny me the right to be a maid of honor at your wedding.” If looks could kill, I would have died yesterday by way of a spiked stiletto through the heart. And I know Low. That’s exactly what it must feel like forher.
“Relax,” I hiss, glancing around in the event one of my brothers should pop up, and then just like that, I sit up straight in my seat. “Oh my God.” I slam my own hand down over the table once again. “I just remembered you’re married to Levi,” I whine as tears come to the party. “You cannot—you mustnotunder any circumstances tell him a thing.” I look to Lex, forlorn. “I can’t tell her secrets anymore. I can’t expect her to keep secrets from her husband.” I smack Low over the arm three times fast. “Why in the world did you have to marry mybrother?”
She smacks me right back. “Because you didn’t bother to warn me that he was so darnsexy!”
Lex groans like she might be sick. “As much as I enjoy watching the two of you bang the crap out of one another, I have a wedding to plan.” She glances at her phone a moment before dipping into that Louis Vuitton bag she calls Poppy. Lex has a name for every inanimate object in her home, and she thinksI’mthe oddone.
“Your wedding!” Low moans, looking quickly from Lex to me as if she were torn. “Okay.” She folds her hands together as if she were centering herself. “First”—she looks my way sternly—“you will explain briefly how you came to be Mrs. Brody Wolf and what in the world is going on between the two of you, and then we need to quickly discuss a certain girl’s bachelorette party before she up andleaves.”
“Leaving.” Lex stands, and Low pulls her right back down again. “Oh no, you don’t.” She continues to keep her hand wrapped around her arm. “Spill it, Raven. We have three good minutes before she body slams me to theground.”
“Half of that.” Lex glowers atme.
I tell them all about my hairless kitten celebration, waking up in Brody’s arms the next day with nary a hint of a walk down the aisle, and then finding the marriage certificate tucked in mybra.
“Aw.” Lex doesn’t bother to hide the fact she’s mocking me. “Isn’t that sweet? I’m sure your grandkids will love the part about Grandma’s hairless kitten, coupled with the fact she’s alush.”
I grunt at thethought.
“Oh, hush,” Low reprimands. Her glowing tan highlights her pale eyes. “I think it’s kind of sweet. So, you’re certain he’s not interested inyou?”
I shake my head in response. Honestly, I never want to verbalize thatthought.
Lex makes a face. “And why Mojo? I like him. If he asks you out, you should behonored.”
“Oh, I would be. And terrified. Something tells me he’s not your textbook bad boy. Although, at this point, it would be a miracle. I’ve been hitting on him forweeks.”
Low’s mouth falls open. “So weird. Have you shown any interest in the things he likes? Motorcycles,music—”
“Sharp knives?” Lexinterjects.
“No, because I’m not really interested in Mojo. And to be truthful, my plan seems to be backfiring. Brody actually makes an effort to give me alone time at the bar with him. I guess we’re just not meant to be.” I nod to Lex. “Anyway, I’m the last person I want to talk about. Your turn. We’re going to go out and get wild whether you like it or not. How about a naughty night at the Dungeon? I come bearing the promise of spankings and nakedmen.”
“No,” both she and Low sing in achorus.
Lex smacks her lips. “I’ve forbidden Axel from any girlie clubs. Turnabout is fairplay.”
Low gives a vigorous nod. “I’ve promised Levi the same. But he swears he doesn’t care, and he does want us to havefun.”
“Of course, he does.” I blink a devious smile. “They both do. Leave the details to me. When’s thewedding?”
“Day after Christmas.” Lex shrugs. “My cousin Nolan is getting married New Year’s Eve, and I want to be back for the wedding. We’re having the ceremony and the celebration in the banquet room at ThePelican.”
“You should do it on Christmas Eve.” Low gives Lex’s hand a quick jostle as if trying to wake her up to the idea. “December twenty-sixth is so anticlimactic. A Christmas Eve wedding would be something very, veryspecial.”
