Macey may need a lifeline, but what she doesn’t need is me preying on her vulnerability.
“And then, I’m going to tell you good night, and you’re going to go inside your duplex and go to sleep,” I say, hating how harsh my voice sounds.
“You sound conflicted about that,” she says, her tone breathy.
“I’m always conflicted around you, Macey. Just like you are with me.”
Her hand tightens around mine. “Right. But you had asked me about a pre-wedding make-out session.”
“That was before.” I swing her away from me and spin her around.
“So now?”
“For now, we dance.”
7
Macey
* * *
I curse under my breath as three women surround me in my office at The Cowherd late Saturday afternoon. Mama pulls at my hair, adding copious amounts of hair spray. Ginny tugs at my dress, making sure my corset is firmly in place. Eloise, the owner of Darcy Bridal Boutique, finishes up the hem so I won’t tear the gown when I walk.
And I’ve had it. I’ve been poked and prodded at for the last two hours, all to prepare for a Wild Darcy Derby I never wanted to participate in, to begin with.
“That’s enough!” I step back. “I’m sure I look fine.”
Eloise stumbles forward onto her hands and knees from my sudden movement, and Ginny steps away, but I can’t shake Mama, who’s glued to my hair like a cat on a mouse.
I bat at my mother’s hands until she lets go. Then I walk into the bathroom and survey the damage.
My hair is piled up onto the top of my head in a curly, styled bun, and the corset is so snug my boobs look about two sizes bigger than they are.
“Look at your cleavage!” Ginny’s come up behind me and is staring into the mirror. “That corset is fantastic!”
“This thing’s coming off as soon as possible,” I vow. “I have my bag packed with a tank top and shorts. You’ll hold it for me?”
“Of course. But you know—” She giggles. “I’d hold off on changing until after dinner. Logan’s going to want to jump you as soon as he sees that corset. And all those buttons and ties could be fun for him to work with, you know.”
“Shh. Don’t get my mother more intrigued than she already is. She’s desperate for me to date like a normal person.”
“How is Logan going to make sure he wins, exactly?” Ginny says in a lower voice. “I know he’s an amazing rider and all, but so are lots of men in this town.”
I shrug. “I didn’t ask him how. He just said he had it and not to worry.”
And in over twenty years, Logan Wild hasn’t let me down yet.
As Ginny and Eloise head outside, my mother shuts the door to my office, closing the two of us inside.
When she stares pointedly at my left wrist, I immediately cover it with my right hand.
“Mama, this isn’t the time.”
“This is exactly the time, baby. You know what Vivian’s diary says.”
Yes. I could recite it in my darn sleep.
Despite that fact, I know what she wants.
