Page 8 of Sweet Little Spies

Only one person had screwed it up, and he wasn’t here tofeel her wrath. She gave her cousin a smile. “Seriously. It’s not like yourdad’s not packing. There’s a reason there are no metal detectors. I would be aheinous misogynist if I didn’t allow you to defend us simply because you’rewearing a dress.”

Kala breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank god. You’re the best,Car. I’ll be back. Lou’s got my emergency pack in her car.”

She did not want to know what Kala considered emergencysupplies for a wedding. Something lethal, for sure.

Kenzie turned as her twin walked out yelling for her bestie.“She’s right, you know. You are the best.”

Carys held up a hand because her cousin had a very specificlook on her face. The one warning Carys she was about to get all emotional andgirlie. Girlie in the best way, in the way only women ever truly got with thepeople they loved. “Do not make me cry.”

She’d cried enough. She’d cried every day for the lastmonth, hiding out in the call room at the hospital so Aidan wouldn’t see her.He was being strong. She had to be strong, too.

“Don’t ruin her makeup. We can tell her how amazing she isand how grateful we are to have her in our lives when she is not wearing apristine white dress and hasn’t spent two hours on hair and makeup,” Tash saidwith a sigh, sitting down on the luxurious couch. “But she is. Amazing. So nowthe question is why she didn’t let us get dressed in here with her.”

“Well, the room is pretty small,” Carys tried.

Kenzie’s pink hair was in an elegant updo. “It’s huge andliterally built for like eight women to get dressed.”

Carys turned back to the mirror, taking a long breath.“Kenz, I’m barely holding on. I can’t lose it today.”

Kenzie moved in behind her. “And if we were in here, youwould?”

“If my closest family and friends were in here, I would…”She blinked, forcing herself to stay calm. “I would think about him, and that’snot fair to Aidan.”

If she let herself truly feel the gravity of the day, shewould melt down, and she wasn’t about to do that to Aidan. She had to thinkabout the man who actually loved her.

The man who also needed Tristan. Was she forcing Aidan intoa position where he had to choose? Would he resent her for the rest of theirlives? Would he wonder what could have happened if they’d waited longer? Foughta bit harder?

Why was she having these thoughts now? It was her weddingday. It was supposed to be the best day of her life and she was plagued withdoubts.

Kenzie had tears in her eyes. “I love you. I could kill himfor you. Well, I could let Kala do it. She wouldn’t mind getting her dressdirty, but I think I look really good.”

She turned to her cousin. This might be the right time toask a few very specific questions. “Is he involved in something dangerous?”

Kenzie’s gaze didn’t falter. “Yes. Yes, he is, but itdoesn’t mean he should shut you out. My father would never shut my mom out. Hewouldn’t care about clearance. I’ve tried to talk to him.”

And this was why she didn’t blame her cousins. She put ahand on Kenzie’s shoulder. “I know. I know you didn’t bring this down on us.Tristan chose this. If he’s worried he’ll lead us into something dangerous,well, he forgot who my family is.”

“He forgot whohisfamily is,” Tasha corrected. “Iassure you his mother wouldn’t let herself be left out of things. Even if theywere dangerous.” Tasha frowned. “Sorry. I meant to not mention anything aboutTris. You should know we’ve all registered our disapproval.”

Kenzie stepped back, and she was the one on the edge ofwrecking her makeup. Tears pooled in her cousin’s eyes. “Are you sure you wantto go through with this? It might only be a couple of weeks. I understand moreabout the situation now. I can’t talk about it, but I think we’re going to fixthis.”

Ah, so he’d been a secretive bastard with everyone. She’drather thought that was part of the problem. Her cousins, for all their abilityto keep secrets, wouldn’t leave her dangling if they had any wiggle room. Thefact that Kenzie was letting some light through meant she’d only recentlydiscovered whatever games Tristan was playing. “I don’t want to put you in abad position.”

“We’ll tell you what we can,” Tasha promised, sitting up andoffering the seat next to her.

“Everything we can.” Kenzie moved over to the elegant buffettable where the owner of this gorgeous venue had set out light snacks andchampagne to be shared with her bridesmaids.

Carys had asked a secondary spread be made available in theroom she’d set her bridesmaids up in. Now that she thought about it, it waskind of a bridezilla move. “I’m sorry I shut you out.”

“I understand, but you need to think about why you’re doingit.” Tasha was always the voice of reason while Kenzie popped the cork on thechampagne. “This is supposed to be a joyous day. Not something you survive.”

It looked like the most practical of her cousins was goingto push her. “Aidan thinks this is the way to go, and I can’t let him down. Ofcourse I have mixed emotions. I know everyone thinks I should push the weddingagain, but the third time’s the charm. How close are you to magically fixingthe problem so Tristan could potentially come home if he wanted to? Or am Iasking for classified intel?”

“You know he works for other teams.” Kenzie handed her aglass and poured one for herself and her sister. “Cooper and Zach do, too, butonly occasionally. I think Tristan’s gotten in deep.”

Tasha sighed. “I don’t think anyone would care if I gave youa projected date if I had one. I don’t. The case is ongoing and serious. I onlyrecently learned how serious. There’s a reason for him to stay away from you.”

She’d thought this over a million times. Whenever she wouldgo to a family function and see he wasn’t there, she’d asked the question. WhenTristan sent her flowers or long letters where he told her how much he lovedher, how much he missed her but didn’t mention why he had to stay away, she’dasked this question. “Then he should have talked to me. He should have sat downand explained to Aidan and me why he chose this path and why he thinks we can’thandle whatever damage he thinks he’s going to take. I’m not some naïve,coddled child, Tash. I’m not some security expert, but I know how to duck, andI take it all seriously.”

---