“Modern cocktail, I’m told.” I smooth my palms down my sides, knowing she doesn’t mean the dress code.
“Minimal. Satin.” Jaclyn twists open a bottle of wine from the side table and pours it into plastic cups. “Maybe crepe.”
“I like satin.” Nettie settles into a dusty-rose wingback, knitting needles already clicking.
Zara flings a handful of dress bags on the bed. “Satin is going to skim, not cling.” She yanks a zipper down with her teeth. “And I think I have extra ones.”
A frosted, above-the-knee sparkle statement is thrust against my chest. Glittery. Bold. A little over the top. Exactly the kind Tess would sprint toward.
“I don’t need anything fancy.”
Zoe swaps it for a long champagne number dripping in beads and feathers.
She presses it to my front, head tilted like a stylist. “This one will get his attention.”
“If you actually want his attention”—Jaclyn yanks a white dress from a garment bag, the slit flashing dangerously high—“this is the one.”
“I don’t want anyone’s attention.” I reach past them for a coastal blue dress.
Cute. Covering. Comfortable.
“Sweetie.” Jaclyn plucks it from my hands and tosses it onto the bed without looking. “You don’t have to hide your weekend fling from us.”
I exhale loudly. “You know?”
The room exploded as everyone chirps in.
“Oh, honey.”
“Please.”
“We’ve had eyes all weekend.”
“He’s had eyes for you since the moment he saw you.”
Heat creeps up my neck. “Oh.”
Jaclyn drapes a metallic silver off-the-shoulder dress over my arm and smoothes the fabric down my side. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”
“I—” I hesitate. “I didn’t realizeyouall noticed.”
“Did you think we missed the whole not-so-private cinnamon bun lesson?” Zoe crouches and lines a pair of heels beside my feet.
“I didn’t give it much thought,” I admit.
Jaclyn hooks a necklace around my throat. The chain is cold against my skin.
“I think you gave it a lot of thought.” Jaclyn centers it on my neck.
I frown.
She laughs. “Don’t be shy.”
“It’s not shy. I didn’t realize this was an anti-Valentine’s Day thing, and now you’re all dressing me for your single host.”
“We’ve seen the way he looks at you.” Jaclyn swaps the necklace for one with rhinestones.
The room turns into a pit crew.
