“Known ye since ye were wee.”
“What’s my favorite color?” I asked.
It was his turn to look confused. “How’s that relevant?”
“What’s my birthday?”
“Blake—”
I got closer to him and bit, “You’ve never known me well enough to tease me, Dair. Though, that’s never stopped you.”
His voice lowered, and in doing so, got even more rumbly. “Calm down, Blake.”
“I’m perfectly calm,” I retorted. “I’m also perfectly sick and tired of allowing people to treat me like shit.”
His chin jerked back.
“Enjoy the barbeque,” I bid, then stupid me, way too late, I walked away.
I sensed I looked like a fool.
Everyone was in pretty, but casual sundresses (except Chloe, Judge’s wife, and one of Alex’s bridesmaids, and this wasn’t only because Judge was a groomsman, but because Chloe and my sister were tight—but Chloe was also a Pierce, that being the daughter of a famous pro tennis player and even more famous Hollywood actress, so even if she lived in the Arizona mountains with her husband, she still dressed like she was going out to a three hundred dollar dinner in LA).
But I was me.
I didn’t own a single casual, pretty sundress.
This was why I was wearing a rose-colored, one shoulder, figure-skimming dress that went to my ankles, had some ruching at the side waist, a billowy bow draped on the shoulder, and a high side slit.
I was wearing this with a pair of Christian Louboutin Sandale du Désert, four-inch, satin ankle wrap sandals.
It was totally over-the-top for this bar.
From what I’d learned, it was totally over-the-top for the entire state of Arizona.
And right then, I felt self-conscious about it, because I felt Dair’s eyes heating my back as I walked away.
I should have dressed down.
I just didn’t know how.
“This is me. This is me. This is me. It’s okay to be me,” I whispered to myself as I walked to the bar to get another glass of wine.
It wouldn’t be good wine, even though I tried my best with their limited wine menu.
But I was going to drink it.
I’d just got my order in when I heard, “You all right?”
I twisted to see Chloe standing next to me.
“Everything’s fine,” I lied.
But seriously?
Why did I let Dair get under my skin like that?
I needed to think about why this happened and let go of it.
