“Apparently it’s traditional for the bride to wear a dress to one of these things.” I glanced over at the silent booth again. They were slowly making their way through their desserts, as if they had all the time in the world. They were also throwing quick glances our way.
“Good,” Crow said. “I happen to have a clear schedule this afternoon.”
“What?”
“To help pick out the dress,” he said. “I’m free all afternoon.”
“No.”
“But I’m family.” At my look he tapped his finger tip on the table a couple of times. “Close enough, right? And as your uncle, I want to be a part of this special time in your life.”
“No. You’ll be lucky if I invite you to the ceremony.”
“What do you mean? I’m officiating.”
I laughed at him. “Weren’t you just fighting over being the best man?”
“Maybe that hasn’t been decided yet. Maybe I’m going to be the officiant.”
“No, you very much are not.”
He looked shocked. “Who? Who is going to marry you, Delaney Reed? My one and only niece—”
“I have two sisters.”
“—one andonlyniece who is gettingmarriedin two weeks. Who else would you possibly consider giving you your official vows?”
“There are dozens of gods in town, several religious leaders, judges at the courthouse, an entire dory fleet of ship captains, not to mention I’m pretty sure Jean took one of those online quizzes to make it legal for her to notarize stuff and marry people.”
“Other than those people?” he demanded.
I took the napkin off the table and dropped it in my lap. “We haven’t decided. No, don’t get your hopes up. From how much Ryder keeps being called out of town, I don’t even know how we’re going to pull everything together on time.”
“I have plenty of time,” he said. “Let me help. You can start by letting me be there while you’re picking out the dress. Consider it an audition. A chance for me to show you how supportive I can be. Way more supportive than your sisters, especially Jean with her fake certificates.”
I opened my mouth to tell him the whole point of dress shopping was so we three sisters could spend a little time together outside of work and all the other busy things that filled our lives. Then I noticed he was still tapping his finger on the table.
Like a nervous tick.
What was he nervous about?
“It’s a girls-only thing,” I said, watching his reaction.
“Absolutely. Girls and their favorite uncle.”
“Why are you trying to elbow your way into my dress shopping, Crow?”
“There you go again, Delaney. So suspicious. You know I love you, right?”
“That was so not an answer.”
“No, no. I understand. You don’t want me there. I heard you, loud and clear. I won’t push.”
I waited, expecting him to push.
“What?” he asked.
“I was waiting for the push.”
