ROMAN DRAKE
You are neither mysterious nor subtle, little vandal.
ME
Are you going to be home today while I’m working?
So I can glare at you in person?
ROMAN DRAKE
I know you miss me horribly, but no. Probably not. Send your daggers from afar.
“Psst.”
I startle and drop my hand back to my side, stepping quickly back, but it’s no good. Juliet has already spotted me.
“What?” I say, trying to look casual as my face heats. But my voice is too loud for the little shop we’re in, especially because we’re the only ones here—apparently Thursday afternoons and evenings are slow.
“Try it on,” Jules says now.
“Try what on?”
Juliet rolls her eyes and waltzes closer, nodding at the dress I was just looking at. It’s a deep red, simple but classy—fitted and knee length with cap sleeves and a deep neckline. A littlebit sexy, but not too much. It would look amazing with a pair of crimson heels.
I clear my throat, turning away from the dress, which is probably for bridesmaids. “We’re not here for me to try things on. We’re here to look at wedding gowns.”
“We can do two things at once,” Juliet says, her eyes bright with excitement. This is her dream—dress shopping with her sisters.
I love her for it.
“It’s totally hot, Aurora,” Jules goes on, eyeing the dress. She lifts it off the rack and touches the satiny fabric. “It would look so good on you, too. This is a great color.”
“We’re here for Indy,” I say, taking the red dress out of Juliet’s hand and hanging it quickly back on the rack. “I shouldn’t even have come over here.”
And it’s true. Because where would I wear that dress? Who would see me in it? Who would I want to impress, anyway?
Roman’s face flashes through my mind, and I shake my head as though that will dislodge him from my brain. I shouldn’t be thinking about him at all.
I went over to his house yesterday, and as per his instructions, I left his room alone. So I’ll go again tomorrow to do a final walkthrough, but after that I’ll be done, presumably out of his life.
It’s a good thing, I guess.
I swallow and turn away from the rack of dresses.
“Boo,” Juliet says, but when I return to Indy’s side, she follows.
There aren’t any wedding dress shops in Lucky, Colorado. We had to come to Boulder, and this is the third place we’ve looked. But now that India is officially engaged, she needs a dress. And as much as she grumbled that there was no hurry when Juliet brought it up, I can’t help but notice that she’swearing a rare expression as she drifts down the rack of dresses against the wall—sweet and hopeful and content.
“Okay,” Juliet says. “Do you see anything you like? Do you have any more thoughts about what you want?”
“Not really,” India says, her voice distracted. “I just want something simple. But—still nice,” she adds, her cheeks coloring slightly.
Something inside me softens, and I rub her back. “You’re allowed to want a nice dress,” I tell her with a little smile. She ducks her chin, trying to hide her own smile. “That’s not—embarrassing, or whatever. You’re getting married. It happens once in a lifetime. Find a dress you love.”
India turns to Juliet and I, and if possible, her cheeks go even redder, contrasting with her orange hair. “I think—” she whispers before breaking off.
“Yes?” Juliet says.
