Taya pulls the tie again.
He makes a choking sound and laughs. “Ow! I’m kidding!”
She starts over, putting her attention back on the tie, disappearing behind him to fix his collar.
Sam looks over at me and mouths,I’m not. He bites his lip and fake humps the air, pretending it’s Taya. He stops before Taya can notice.
I giggle, rolling my eyes.Such a child.
Taya finally finishes and turns to face me, her hands on her hips.
Sam looks at himself in the mirror, loosening what Taya did. “You sure you don’t want to come with us? I think you could really like it. It’s not judgy like you think it’s going to be,” Taya asks.
Sam speaks to me in the mirror’s reflection. “Yeah, you should come with us. Then we can both suffer.”
Taya rolls her eyes and smiles at me. She rounds the back of the couch and plops on the cushion next to me. “Don’t listen to him. Please, come. Give it one more chance. If you don’t like it after that, I promise I’ll never ask you again.”
It’s not that I didn’t like it, but that I don’t want to run into a certain someone with... I look down at my wrists... It’s too hot to wear long sleeves. And it’s not like I can get away with wearing wrist straps here.
It’s hard to say no to her.
“I don’t have anything to wear.”
“You can borrow one of my dresses.”
Dammit.
“Yeah, but my nails aren’t done.”
It might be the worst lie I’ve ever come up with.
“You can borrow my gloves. I have this really cute lacy pair.”
Huh. I didn’t think about fashion gloves.
“That might work.”
“So, does this mean you’ll come?”
I sigh, conceding. It’s the least I can do since she stayed up listening to me and consoling me all night.
“Fine. Just this once,” I say.
Taya squeals and claps her hands. “I’ve got just the thing for you!”
***
Jemma, Sam, Taya, and I take our seats in a wooden pew, sliding over, so we can all fit. The last time I was here, I sat with Caleb in the front. Sitting back here, it feels like I’ve been demoted. At least, that’s probably what is running through the heads of the women who peer at me over their shoulder with ahmphand all-too-proud smirks.
Jealousy is really ugly, and they are way too pretty to be worried about me.
Sam, Taya and Jemma have made me feel so welcome, I almost forgot other pack members know I’m not one of them.
I glance behind me to see if everyone else is also looking at me, or if it’s just my anxiety eating at me. I’m relieved to see no one is paying any attention to me—except for one.
Caleb is escorting his mother down the aisle. His eyes are trained on me, and they soften when our glances meet. I give him a hopeful smile, and I follow him with my eyes until he reaches the front pew. He assists his mother into the seat.
Once she’s settled, he stands with his back facing the front of the church. I convince my delusional self it’s, so he can continue to look at me. His eyes drop to my chest and waist as he scans my body. I could’ve sworn I saw his wolf surface to get a look at me. His heated gaze has me blushing, and I avert my gaze.
