Page 28 of Drunk Dialing My Enemy

She sighs.

“At this rate I’m never getting married. All of the good men in Wild Bronco have been snatched up.”

“Now, that’s not true. William Lewis is still single,” I tease her, referring to her much hated boss.

“Single for a reason! He’s a menace.”

“Maybe if you give him one of your pictures, he’ll go easier on you at work.”

Dot’s eyes widen and I hold back my laughter, carefully avoiding any movement that might cause a pin to stick me again.

Her phone buzzes in her pocket and she glances at the screen.

“Speak of the devil,” she mutters.

She glances at me guiltily.

“Go ahead,” I tell her. “It’s just another fitting. You’re not missing anything important.”

She nods and exits out the door, the phone already held to her ear as she says in a grandiose tone,“Good morrow, Sir William! How may I be of service, Your Grace?”

I shake my head. I know my best friend complains about William being the issue, but sometimes I think it’s a mutually hostile relationship, with Dot instigating things just as often as her boss.

The seamstress adds a couple more pins, then steps back.

“Okay,” she says. “Look.”

I turn to the three way mirror in the corner.

“It’s perfect,” I declare.

It’s not the first time I’ve seen my dress. This is my final fitting, and after this, the next time I put on this white dress will be on my wedding day. Which is only four days away from now.

It’s hard to believe that soon I’ll be Katie Baker, wife of Darren Baker. I want to pinch myself, because the last few months have been one long, amazing dream.

In so many ways, nothing has changed. I still live in the apartment above the store. I still work most days a week. Only now, Darren comes by for lunch most days. And then after work on Fridays, he picks me up in his truck and takes me out to dinner.

Sundays are for family dinner with the Bakers. I have a feeling that Darren and Dot are both glad I’m there for support. Things between Mrs. and Mr. Baker are always tense, the result of a divorce that is long overdue but will probably never come. Darren always holds my hand beneath the table, squeezing at several points throughout the night when he especially needs me.

Dot has told me I might be the one thing keeping Darren from getting into a fight with their dad.

I think she was serious.

“Wow. Is there a tablecloth convention I wasn’t aware of?”

I turn and see…Heather.

Of course it’s her. After the bachelorette party, I attended our friend’s wedding with Darren as my plus one. She was nice in front of the bride and others, but when we were alone together for a moment in the bridal suite, she laughed at the way I was doing my hair.

Always something negative to say. And then she saw Darren at the reception and realized we were together. She put on the sweet girl act in front of him, touching his arm and laughing at everything he said as though it was the funniest thing she ever heard.

I know flirting when I see it.

I don’t know why she ever started to hate me. But I know that now? Now she has multiple reasons to hate me. The fact that I’m with Darren and she’s not, must drive her crazy.

“Look at me,” I smile, gesturing down to my dress. “It’s a very pretty tablecloth, don’t you think? And it seems like I won’t be the last in our friend group to get married. That honor is yours.”

Her eyes widen for a moment, then narrow. Meanwhile, I’m congratulating myself for thinking on my feet and coming up with that comeback so easily.

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