Katie was usually the voice of reason. “What would happen to the dress if we cut off the puffs?”
Lissa stood up on her tiptoes and played with Dana’s left puff. “It looks like there’s a fabric strip beneath the sleeve that’s more like a halter. Did Sally have these stupid sleeves added to the dress? She would just do that.” She dropped back down and turned for her bag, rummaging around and emerging with a pair of nail scissors. “Give me a sec.”
Dana held still. “Hurry before Mom gets back.”
“Okay.” Lissa drew her to sit on an ottoman by the western-style sofa and then leaned down, gingerly cutting, her cheek close to Dana’s. “It’ll take me a few minutes to do all of these. How about we discuss Wolfe in the meantime?”
“Good plan.” Charlotte flounced over and sat on the sofa. “Dana? What the heck? He’s seriously hot.”
“And big,” Katie said, more gracefully sitting next to Charlotte. “He’s taller than Dad, I think. If not, he’s the same height.”
“I wonder what’s gonna happen when Mike sees him,” Charlotte said.
“Don’t tell me Mike actually showed up,” Dana groaned, fiddling with the wolf necklace she’d just wanted to wear for a little while. “Could this wedding get any worse?”
Lissa nodded. “I ran into Sally yesterday, and she mentioned he was coming and how nice that was. That maybe you two could get back together.” She rolled her eyes. “Obviously she knows the guy is a tool, but he’s friends with her fiancé, so there’s that.”
Charlotte nodded. “Total tool. Why did you go out with him, anyway?”
Dana shrugged. “I didn’t know he was a tool until a couple of dates. It’s not like I slept with him or anything.”
“Wolfe is a big guy. Maybe when Mike spots him with you, he’ll decide to keep a low profile.” Lissa tossed the offending puff across the room and moved to Dana’s other side. “You have always liked big guys. Is Wolfe solid muscle everywhere?”
Dana swallowed. “He runs and eats pretty healthy.”
“Go on,” Lissa said, pursing her lips and cutting.
“He kisses better than I can even describe.” Dana tilted her head away from the scissors.
Charlotte leaned forward. “And?”
“That’s all you’re getting on the matter.” Dana let out a breath as Lissa moved away with the puff. “He’s on some dangerous mission that he thinks will either ruin him or get him killed, so he keeps everyone at a distance, even me.”
Katie’s eyebrows rose. “That’s just stupid.”
Charlotte nodded. “Is he a moron?”
“No, just kind of lost,” Dana said.
“Weddings are romantic, and I’m sure you’ll easily catch his attention,” Katie said.
“You’re not gonna be able to seduce Wolfe in this dress.” Lissa motioned for her to stand. “Yet. Let’s see what I can do.” She knelt down and rapidly cut the shimmery fabric to right above Dana’s knees. “Well, that’s better.” She stood and viewed the dress critically. “One more adjustment.” She reached for the bodice and cut a quick v, tucking the edges into Dana’s bra so that a nice amount of cleavage showed. “Your push-up bra is doing most of the work.”
Katie stood. “So much better. Do me next.”
Dana turned to look in the mirror, starting in surprise. Twin straps held the dress up and attached to the back, and without the extra material, the bodice looked sleek and not so tight around her torso. “It looks a zillion times better, even though there’s nothing we can do about the color.”
Charlotte leaned to the side of the sofa to drag out a box. “Did you guys see the shoes?”
Dread pooled in Dana’s stomach. “No. How bad?”
Charlotte flipped open the lid to reveal a plain black orthopedic-type sandal with three thick straps across the top and a chunky heel. “Guaranteed to make even the slenderest of ankles look like cankles.”
Dana burst out laughing. “Those are the ugliest old lady shoes I’ve ever seen.” Knowing Sally, she’d bought them either too big or too small for everyone, too. “Maybe we should go barefoot?” Their mom would kill them.
“Ah, you’d have to go barefoot if I wasn’t your sister,” Katie said with a small smile.
Dana whirled around. “You didn’t.”
