Page 108 of When Fate Breaks
“Here, let me help you out,” Leah says, turning me to face the standing mirror and picking up my attempt at lacing the strings through the criss-cross loops on the back of the dress. I blow out a deep breath as she does so, staring at my reflection.
“You look great, Annie,” Leah smiles at me over my shoulder. I return her smile, but the sudden knots in my stomach prevent me from saying anything. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. I think. Just want to get this over with.” I feel Leah’s hands slow down their movements and catch her eyeing me in the mirror. “That’s not what I meant. Just– You know…”
“I’m asking this because I love you.” I already know what she’s going to ask before the words come out of her mouth. “Are you…having second thoughts?”
“No,” I say immediately. Maybe a little too immediately.
“Okay…” Leah replies. “I’m just a little worried how anxious you’ll be for the actual wedding if you’re freaking out this much about the wedding shower.”
“I amnotfreaking out.”
“Whatever you say.”
The door suddenly flies open behind us and I see Lori Beth barrel her way in. “Two minutes, ladies. We havetwominutes–” She skids to a stop at my side, tilting her head and looking from my reflection in the mirror to the real me. “It was tighter than this before, wasn’t it?” she asks, grabbing at the skirt of my dress. “I don’t remember you fitting into it this well.”
Leah’s eyes shoot daggers at Lori Beth before turning back to the mirror, ready to send me a telepathic message of reassurance through eye contact. She can’t, however, because my hands are covering my face and I’m stifling giggles. I spread my fingers out just enough to see Leah’s reflection through the spaces between them. Initially, it looks like she thinks I’ve finally cracked and gone crazy, but then realization hits her, causing her to shake her head and chuckle.
I burst out in laughter, the tension of the day flooding its way out of me.
“What? What is it?” Lori Beth questions, annoyance pinching her brows.
“Oh, nothing,” I chuckle, wiping a tear from my eye. “It’s just–it’s just–” I’m laughing so hard and Leah is looking at me with incredulous affection like only a best friend can. “That’s what–” I can’t finish, feeling like maybe I have finally broken, the insanity setting in.
“That’s what,what?” Lori Beth fumes, throwing her hands in the air.
“That’s what she said.”
My head snaps up, seeing a figure behind us in the doorway in the reflection of the mirror. Just like that, all of the tension I just relieved myself of settles right back in.
“Oh! Blake!” Lori Beth exclaims, her hand covering her heart. “Sorry, who isshe?” Blake doesn’t respond, his expression tight and eyes locked on mine in the mirror. “Oh, well, nevermind,” Lori Beth continues. “It’s so lovely of you to join us!”
Blake ignores Lori Beth completely, his eyes raking down my figure in the mirror. I feel the redness already rushing to my face and shift my eyes to his body instead to try to distract myself enough to combat it.
It doesn’t help.
He’s wearing a white button up dress shirt, dark slacks, and dress shoes. I realize he must have brought those things with him or jacked my truck last night to go and buy them, because I don’t recognize them from Remy’s closet, not that there’s any way he’d fit into Remy’s clothes anyways. His sleeves are cuffed and pushed up just enough that only the bottoms of some of the inked trees on his left forearm poke out. I don’t know why, but something about only the tiniest bit of the tattoo being on display and the rest being left to the imagination makes it way more attractive. Something about knowing that I will probably be the only person there tonight that’s seen the full thing. I suddenly remember that I still haven’t seen the other tattoo sleeve on the upper half of his opposite arm.
Why am I thinking about this right now?
I force my eyes back to Blake’s face, registering for the first time that he’s not wearing a baseball cap. Obviously it would make sense that he wouldn’t wear a hat with this nice of an outfit, but I’m just so used to his signature accessory being a part of him. His brown curls have gotten longer in the two weeks he’s been here, the longest one just barely hitting below his left eyebrow.
Blake’s gaze is still trained on my dress by the time my eyes make it back to his. Leah finishes tying her final knot and steps to the side, effectively removing any sort of barrier between Blake and me.
“The dress is fabulous, isn’t it?” Lori Beth asks Blake, clearly dying for any way to gain his attention and completely ignoring the fact that she definitely hated this dress when I picked it out. “Isn’t the color incredible? Just so unique.”
Blake swallows hard, putting one hand up on the side of the doorframe and shaking his head. “Like it was made for her.”
A wave of nostalgia and something else hits me so hard that it physically hurts my chest. Suddenly, it’s 2:30 a.m. and I’m in the cab of an old truck, pouring rain crashing against the windows and nothing but dim headlights illuminating the old backroad we’re driving on. A shiver runs through me, both in my flashback and present day, and I look down to see goosebumps prickling my arms. Arms coming out of an oversized t-shirt the very same color as the dress I’m wearing now. I feel a pressure against my side and glance at my shoulder to see a flannel clad arm keeping me in place. I turn my head to see the owner of that arm and the only thing making me feel warmth and protection in this moment. Theperson. Perhaps the only one that ever truly has–
“Annie.”
I shake my head, the snapping of Leah’s fingers quite literally snapping me out of my trance.
“Please answer her,” Leah begs, nodding towards Lori Beth.
“Sorry, what was the question?” I mumble, hoping my face doesn’t look as warm as it feels.
