Page 26 of Monsters, Vows, and Growls
I put the picnic basket into the trunk of her car, unable to believe she was actually giving me another chance.
"And Patrick," she called while I held her door open for her.
"Yes?" I looked up, still grinning like a man who’d just been handed oxygen after ten years underwater.
She slid into the driver’s seat, met my eyes, and added, “This dinner? It better be damn good. Redemption-grade good.”
I chuckled. “I’ll bring appetizers and groveling.”
Her smile widened. “Don’t forget dessert. I hold grudges, but I’m also highly susceptible to chocolate.”
She shut the door before I could respond, leaving me outside the car—stunned, hopeful, and more determined than ever not to screw this up.
Thorne muttered,Wear the shirt that makes our arms look big.
I’m not wearing that shirt.
Wear. The. Shirt.
This was a bad idea.A terrible idea. Theworstidea.
“Tell me again why I agreed to this,” I said, holding up a dress like it personally offended me. “And if you sayclosure,I'll throw this hanger at your head.”
Carol, comfortably perched on the edge of my bed with a glass of wine and a bag of pretzels, barely looked up. “You didn’t agree to this forclosure. You agreed to this because you’re still wildly in love with him and your soul lights on fire every time he breathes near you.”
I blinked. “How much wine have you had?”
“Not enough to make your drama any more tolerable.”
I groaned and flopped face-first onto the bed. “This is a disaster. I haven’t had arealdate in years. I don’t even know what people talk about anymore. Do I ask about his health insurance? His five-year plan? If he’s emotionally stable enough to date someone he ghosted for ten years?”
Carol took another sip. “Breathe, Marshmallow.”
I lifted my head and glared at her. “Don’t call me that. That’sGabe’sname foryou.”
“Oh, sorry. Princess of Panic. Better?”
I threw a pillow at her. She ducked and smirked.
“You look great, by the way,” she added. “Even in sweatpants.”
“Not helpful.”
She stood and took the dress from my hand. “Okay, this one is a no. Try the black one. The one with the halter neckline.”
“The one that makes me look like I’m trying too hard?”
“No, the one that makes you look like a woman who might finally be ready tostop hiding behind menu tastings and sarcasmand just say she still wants the guy.”
I sighed. “You’re insufferable.”
“That's why you love me so much.”
I slipped into the black dress and turned to the mirror. It was… good. Flattering, in a simple way. A little soft around the waist, but nothing a posture adjustment couldn’t fix.
Carol appeared behind me and gave a nod of approval. “Light makeup. Barely-there gloss. Tiny earrings. You’re going forI’m effortlessly thriving,notI cried into my salad last week.”
“I did cry into my salad last week.”
