Page 43 of The Wedding Crush

Valerie’s eyes go wide as saucers. “Ooh, mama, no.”

“Iknow. I don’t want to hurt her feelings though, so somebody is gonna have to say yes to this dress.” She dips her chin. “But only one or two.”

Let’s not get carried away.

It’s Monica who circles back to why we’re in here.

“So, dress number three is a bust, too, but again, what’s all the hush-hush whispering about?”

I shoot Morgan a pleading stare.

But it’s too late.

“We caught Ace and Stefano talking at the vineyard, and now Miss Wedding Planner of the Year is crushing on Stefano.”

“No, that is absolutely ridiculous,” I say emphatically.

I’m met with four deadpan stares, daring me to lie in a room full of mirrors.

The Sister Circle are my mirrors, constantly reflecting.

An exasperated sigh huffs out of me.

“Lord, have mercy, I just thought he seemed sweet.” I shrug. “Plus, why would I even bother when he’s fresh out of a marriage, and his mother is inviting his ex-wife to the wedding, hmm?”

“If you like him and want to pursue it, I can go to Dante and see about him uninviting Carina,” Morgan adds.

“It’s not about liking him; I’m empathizing with him.”

Even if he’s got archaic ideas about maturity and age. Well, about most things. He’d rather go with a full orchestra instead of a deejay. He wants them to jump the broom AND cut a log in half with a double-headed saw. Like, who brings a weapon to a wedding?

I let my shoulders sag at my sides.

“Here we go with the empath stuff.” Seneca flicks her gaze skyward and laughs.

Valerie, the queen of online dating zeroes in on me, though. “Ma’am, he’s divorced, and she’s got a new boo, so I’d say that’s over. And sweet is how it starts. Why do you think I get my steps in at the park twice daily? All the single dads, Thezaddies…mmm.”

My face twists.

Surprisingly, no one else seems grossed out.

“She’s not wrong,” Seneca says. “Women of child-bearing age are hard-wired for men who seem responsible enough to take care of their family. I thought it was a myth but stick Will with his baby cousin or his sister’s puppy in front of me, and my ovaries practically weep with joy.”

“Will needs to shit or get off the pot.” Valerie says what we’ve all thought at least a dozen times about Seneca’s complacent, live-in boyfriend, even if I’d have gone with a less vulgar saying. “Why should he marry you when you already treat him like a husband?”

“Anyway…” Seneca ignores her. “Like I was saying, a man being sweet to your kid is like sexual catnip.”

Monica flashes her a side-eye.

“Look, I don’t know about all that, but Stefano is fine as hell, single, and the silver-fox thing is sexy as all get-out. He can call me a good girl and spank me anytime.”

“Mon?!” I stumble back, laughing and letting the wall hold me up just as a knock sounds at the door.

“Is everything okay with the dress?”

Shanice.

It’s pin-drop silent.

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