“Yeah,” he shot back, turning so he was forced to walk away from her backward. “But one day you’ll love me.”
CHAPTER NINE
“That color looks absolutelylovely on you, dear.”
Wendy spread her hands along the pale pink fabric bride’s maid’s dress. Surprisingly, Serenity had chosen something reasonable. It wasn’t a stiff silk and it wasn’t so obviously a dress worn by a member of a bridal party. It was formal and yet in right conditions it’d be considered casual.
Wendy would never wear it to church, though. The straps were too thin for her liking, but the length was good. It had a square neckline and the layers of the fabric skirt draped around her knees unevenly. It was longer in the back than the front and the bodice had been decorated with microscopic pearl-like beads.
It was the perfect dress for a date or a holiday party.
“Now, turn around so I can cinch in the waist a bit.” The seamstress had a pin between her lips and her words came out muffled as she attempted to keep the pin from falling.
Wendy did as she was told and came face to face with her reflection. The dress accentuated her form in ways she wasn’t expecting. She’d always considered herself pretty in an averagekind of way. She’d never struggled with self-confidence when it came to her looks.
But this dress simply did something for her. It made her skin glow. It made her believe she was…more.
Her hands lingered at her waist and a smile pulled at her lips. What would Tripp think when he saw her in this dress? He’d been acting strange at that overnight campout. She’d been so thrown off by his candor that she’d found it hard to sleep.
Then the following morning, he kept his distance.
And she’d been disappointed.
Her cheeks warmed with embarrassment as she recalled just how disappointed she’d been and for no good reason, either. Tripp wasn’t hers and she didn’t want him.
Except that wasn’t entirely true, either.
Wendy’s brain chemistry had changed. Tripp had done something, said something, to make her want to get to know him just a little bit better. It was insane, really. She had no business having these feelings and?—
She sucked in a sharp breath.
“Sorry, sweetie. Did I poke you?”
Wendy forced a smile, biting her lower lip. “Yeah, but it’s okay.”
The seamstress offered her an apologetic smile. “I’ll try to be more careful. After we get this waist done, I’ll need to adjust the neckline and the length. You’re going to be here for a little while yet.
“That’s fine,” Wendy assured her, eyes lifting to her reflection once more. Then movement in the far corner of the mirror caught her attention. The glass door opened, and several men entered.
Wendy sucked in a sharp breath, causing the seamstress to pause for a moment but with Wendy’s sharp shake of her head, she continued her work. Wendy refused to let on that her gasp had been the arrival of the one man she couldn’t get out of her head.
The men had crowded around their group, chatting with the women while the seamstress did her job. All of them, except Tripp whose eyes were locked on her—burning her.
She fidgeted with her hands, wringing her fingers as she forced herself to stare right back. He didn’t scare her. Then again, maybe he wasn’t trying to. The boyish grin on his face seemed to insist there was something else on his mind. When he strode closer to her and took a seat nearest to where she stood, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled.
Tripp leaned back in his seat and placed his ankle on his knee. His arms were spread out across the back of the loveseat. He looked almost too comfortable. Heck, he was probably in his element. Had he been here before? Watching another woman get a dress adjusted?
And why did that thought fill her with such vile jealousy.
Wendy needed to escape. She needed to jump off this pedestal and hide away in the dressing room. So much for not letting this man affect her. Unfortunately, until the woman at her back was done doing her job, Wendy was stuck right where she was.
“Doesn’t Wendy look lovely, Tripp?”
Wendy stiffened at Serenity’s voice. She found her friend’s eyes through the mirror and her cheeks flushed a vibrant red—not entirely from embarrassment, either. How dare Serenity draw the attention of not only Tripp, but the others in the room. It was all too noticeable that the group had gone somewhat quiet at Serenity’s question.
Oh, she was going to pay for that.
Tripp tilted his head, his eyes twinkling with mischief. Here it was. Here was his chance put her in her place and embarrass her. He could tell Serenity that the color washed her out or that she looked like a piece of fruit.
