I wait for Paisley to correct this woman I’m assuming is her sister, but the correction must be stuck inside her throat, because she isn’t saying a word. Paisley’s sister circles me, a lioness preparing to leap at a gazelle’s jugular.
“Paisley, do you think I could hang from his arm if he flexed? This guy is jacked.” She paws at my arm, peering at her sister. “Good choice.”
“Hello?” I urge Paisley. I could make the correction myself, but I don’t want to embarrass her sister. Did she just squeeze my bicep?
Paisley grins, enjoying this show far more than she should. “Hi.”
I release a hard breath of annoyance and shake my head. If Paisley’s not going to make the correction, I will.Holding up my hands, I step away from Paisley’s prowling cat of a sister. “I’m not a stripper, I’m?—”
“He’s a police officer,” one of the girls in the group yells, jumping up and down and pointing at me. “He’s here to arrest you, Sienna, because you’ve been bad.”
Someone else hollers, “Watch out for the long arm of the law.”
The group of women cackle. I snap my head at Paisley. Her hand presses against her mouth, eyes sparkling like this is a comedy skit.
Fine. She wants to leave me out here to fend for myself? No problem. Two can play this game.
Gently, I remove Paisley’s sister’s hands from my forearm. “Actually,” I say, my voice raised enough that it gets their attention. Closing the space between me and Paisley, I place my hands on her hips and roughly haul her into me. Her hands land on my chest, and before she can protest, I say loudly and with confidence, “I’m Paisley’s boyfriend, and my strip shows are meant for an audience of one.” Then, to really add to the moment, I boop the end of Paisley’s nose.
Murder flares in her eyes, and that should be a warning sign, but I’m distracted by the ocean color of her irises. They are probably even prettier when they’re not shooting death rays my direction.
“Paisley?” An older woman steps around the shocked group.
I release Paisley, but only enough so that she can turn and address the person I’m assuming is her mother.
“Yes, Mom?”
The woman’s gaze darts from Paisley to me and back again. “Is this true?”
Any moment now Paisley is going to spin this into a joke, so I’ll just wait.
Paisley’s gaze lingers on my face, and I can tell somewhere in those eyes she’s making a decision. She looks back at her mother. “It’s true.”
What? Panic shoots through me. Now what do I do?
I’m still looking down at the top of Paisley’s head, but I feel her mother’s eyes burning holes into my temple. An automatic smile appears on my face, but it is tight-lipped and tense.
Why is Paisley lying? I honestly didn’t know what I was thinking when I decided to slot myself into the boyfriend role, but I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I’d assumed there was no way Paisley would go along with it. It’s not like I gave it that much thought or consideration before I opened my big mouth, but the real question is why Paisley is letting the lie exist?
I could be a real dick and announce the lie myself, but contrary to popular belief, I’m not an asshole.
So, I smile at Paisley’s mother and offer my hand. “I’m Klein. It’s nice to meet you.”
Her mother eyes me suspiciously as she takes my offered hand. “Robyn. Why am I just now hearing about you?”
“It’s new, Mom,” Paisley answers from beside me.
Paisley’s sister pushes in. “I’m Sienna. Sorry about the bicep fondling.” She looks different from Paisley, despite sharing a vague similarity. It’s the eyes, I think, and notonly that they’re different colors. In Paisley’s eyes is a depth that does not exist in Sienna’s.
I’d like to ask her how she justifies marrying her older sister’s ex-boyfriend, but it’s not appropriate. I won’t lie though, I’d like to know. My sister has thoroughly educated me on girl code, and I’m positive this goes against it.
“No worries,” I answer. “Just to be certain, are you expecting a stripper?” If so, I’d really like to be absent for the entertainment portion of the evening.
Paisley shakes her head. Sienna looks relieved. “Phew. I told Shane there wouldn’t be any of that happening this weekend. He’s so possessive.” She grins slyly, telling everybody she likes this facet of his personality.
Lexi’s complaint from earlier comes back to me. She’d said the bride wouldn’t stop gushing about the groom. But now I know the groom is Paisley’s ex, which probably makes comments like the one Sienna just spoke pretty hard on Paisley.
Without giving it too much thought and talking myself out of it, I thread my fingers through hers, squeezing her hand lightly. She flinches like I’ve caught her off guard, then relaxes and I feel the tiniest amount of pressure against my hand.
