Page 31 of The Cupcake Standard

“Not bad,” Liam said thoughtfully.

Gina grinned. “Not bad at all.”

It was the first thing they’d agreed on.

All of our planning hinged on the place being available, so Greg would get right on that. My phone rang, and I frowned when I saw it was Derek.

“Everyone, be quiet. Well, not you, Gina. It’s Derek.” I cleared my throat and answered. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Where are you?” Tension filled his voice as he skipped the greeting.

“Um.” My eyes darted around as if he might somehow appear. “Getting coffee with Gina.”

“So, my sister told my parents that I have a girlfriend. And they want to meet you. Tonight.”

I blinked. “Oh.”

A loud sigh came through the phone. “I tried to push it back, but my mother insisted, and Rhonda was available so…”

“Right.” I started to panic as I moved the mouthpiece away from my lips. “Dinner. With his parents. Tonight.”

Gina’s eyes widened, and Liam hid his face in his hands.

“Do you have anything to wear?”

A dress flashed through my mind.

“It would be best to have something designer to up your odds of surviving the night.”

“Would Armani work?” My eyes darted to Gina’s, gauging her reaction.

Gina slapped a hand over her mouth to cover a squeal. I nodded to her. My stomach tangled in knots as anxiety wove its way through. Meeting the parents. Ugh.

There was a pause from Derek, relief flooding his words. “Yes, that’d work nicely.”

My mind raced, trying to work out the details. “What time?”

“Six.”

Doable, depending on the answer to my next question. “Where do they live?”

“The Harbor.”

I thought fast, working everything out in my head. “Okay, here’s the deal, I’ll need to meet you there. And Greg will have to drive me, otherwise, I can’t make it happen.”

“Fine, done, whatever you need. Just…thank you. Thank you so much.”

I said a quick goodbye and hung up. Then I stood up. “Everyone to the limo.” My eyes locked with Liam, my tone no-nonsense.

He frowned. “But—”

“You’re my only intel on his parents, so you’re coming with me.” I grabbed his sleeve and yanked. After we were all settled, I told Greg, “Back to the storage unit. I have a date with a dress.”

There was one thing my mother had sent me that I had never been able to part with. It was perhaps a little formal for dinner, but it would definitely pack a punch. I was on the higher end of Armani’s size charts, surprised I fit their range at all. I’d shown it to Gina the day after I’d opened it two Christmases ago.

Her words still echoed in my head. “It looks like it was made for you.”

The silky black fabric went down to the floor. The neckline was high in front, then dipped down to mid-back. A slit rose to mid-thigh, and the waist gathered to the left. Gems glittered along the neckline, trailing down to the gather, edging the top of the slit. Hopefully, somewhere in my hoard there were shoes in my size and a clutch to match.

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