Page 23 of Simply Irresistible
“The top, yes.” I held my arms out to the side so she could see the how the fabric fell around my waist. “It looks like it’s tucked into the skirt, right? But it’s not.”
“Wow, that’s so cool. I wish I could commission a few pieces from you. I love your style.”
My face heated. I wasn’t used to being complimented on my designs since generally no one ever knew they were mine. “Thank you.”
“Of course!” Hannah smiled.
We spent the next few minutes talking about our favorite designers and the best places to shop. Tyler inserted the occasional comment, but mainly left Hannah and I to speak in a language he didn’t quite understand. He’d said as much.
By the time Hannah’s husband made his appearance, I had a pretty good idea of what designs in my closet Hannah would like.
Maybe I’d bring something over one day…
11
Tyler
Melanie and my sister were hitting it off better than I’d ever expected. I was glad to see her so relaxed considering how tense she’d been on the way over. I had planned on taking an Uber, but when I was waiting for her to finish her work emergency, I knew she’d need the walk to calm down. I was hoping the wine and conversation would have her so laid back that she wouldn’t get pissed at me for what was about to happen. For not being completely honest with her…
“Preston! There you are. Come meet Melanie,” Hannah said, looking behind me and Melanie.
Showtime.
Melanie and I stood, turning to face my brother-in-law together. I heard Melanie’s gasp as I stepped forward and gave him a bro hug.
“Melanie, good to see you again,” Preston said, smiling at my frozen girlfriend. I nudged her with my elbow.
“Mr. Parks, it’s good to see you, too.” She held out her hand, and he took it.
“Call me Preston, please. I hate being called Mr. Parks, even at the office.”
“Preston,” Melanie said, trying the word out. The two syllables rolling awkwardly off her tongue.
Preston smiled. “What have you got there, Ty?”
“Whiskey, neat.”
“Macallan?”
“Glenfiddich.”
Preston laughed. “Always after the best?” I smirked, knowing he was going to try to make me look bad. “Melanie, this clown you’re dating threw a huge party his senior year of high school when his sister and I were out of town for business. They drank all my liquor, expensive shit, too. I think one of the bottles was over twenty thousand dollars.”
Melanie looked at me, still wide-eyed. “Twenty thousand dollars?” she asked no one in particular.
Preston nodded. “Yeah. The little shit puked it all up the next day, too. We got a call from our housekeeper the next morning, and Hannah had to come home early to take care of him.”
“I didn’t mind,” Hannah said. Whenever she had to do something maternal for me, she always added the disclaimer that she didn’t mind, so I wouldn’t think I was a burden, even though I knew she was really pissed that time. She could say it as often as she wanted, but I still knew it wasn’t exactly convenient for her to have to take care of her younger brother when she was still basically a child herself. She should have been enjoying being a newlywed instead of becoming an insta-mom to her ornery teenage brother.
“Anyway,” Preston said, taking a seat beside Hannah and placing a kiss on the side of her head. She closed her eyes at the contact and smiled. My sister hit the lottery with Preston Parks, literally and figuratively. So had I. “I’m guessing the work emergency that held you up, Melanie, was the same one that held me up.”
“Oh, I guess it was. I’m glad Brianna wasn’t hurt.”
“The woman works too hard,” Preston said.
“She does. It’s why she’s the best.”
“Indeed. She speaks very highly of you.”
