Page 41 of The Wedding Ranch
“I know the speech.”
“Well then quit making me repeat it. Trust me, I don’t like giving it over and over and over and over—”
“Okay, okay. I got it. I’m just going to call and check in on her.”
“That’s a good start.” Diane took another bite of her lunch. “You know, I’m surprised you’re willing to talk to her at all since she lives in the neighborhood. You still harbor such anger about it.”
“Not her fault she’s benefitting from our family stupidity.”
“Be nice. We were born into that family.”
“I’m just telling it like it is.” Over seven years had passed since the day Valerie and Ronnie Dwayne died in that car accident. Just the thought of calling Lorri was twisting in his gut, and reigniting guilt he thought he’d put to rest. But why? You’d think by now he’d have forgiven himself for not being with them, but that wasn’t as easy as it sounded. He couldn’t picture himself with another woman, but he had enjoyed Lorri’s company. It had felt good to laugh, and he could do with more of that.
No strings. No expectations, just two neighbors checking in once in a while. And as for that neighborhood, Joe was right—it wasn’t going anywhere, and even if Ryder and Diane hadn’t benefited directly, this town had.
If Diane wasn’t on him about dating, then she was on him about letting go of grudges. She was the second person this week to comment about his moods. Maybe hehadbecome more bitter over the past few years.
“Well, you not holding it against her that she lives in the neighborhood has to be a step in the right direction.” She took a long slug of her tea and set the glass down. “I’ve got to run. I have a packed schedule. Thank you for lunch. This was a treat, but you know what was even better? You. Almost living again. I love you, brother.” She made a beeline for the door, not giving him the chance for a rebuttal. Not that it would have done any good.
Family. They know all your soft spots. No hiding from them.
Chapter Twelve
Lorri had been up and down all night. The ideas kept coming for the new Bloom campaign. She’d given in to the creativity, letting it drive her out of bed again and again. Bleary-eyed, she could still see that what she’d put together overnight may have been one of the best campaigns she’d done in her whole career.
She shot off an email to her boss with the project package, citing her love for her new home as inspiration and letting him know she planned to take the rest of the day off. She hoped he loved the graphics as much as she did.
Lorri texted Tinsley to see if she could stop in and check on Mister a couple of times throughout the day. Tinsley responded quickly that she could.
With that taken care of she dialed Pam. “What are you doing today?”
“Working. Why?”
“I thought we could shop for dresses for the celebrity wedding.”Lorri knew she wouldn’t find what she needed here. “Can you take a few hours off?”
“Definitely.”
“I’ll meet you at the boutique at ten.” She knew Pam knew where she meant. It was the place to go for designer dresses, and they’d bought many there over the years.
By 10:15 Pam and Lorri were holding champagne flutes in one hand and flipping through racks of gorgeous dresses with the other.
“I’m not even sure what I’m looking for,” Lorri admitted.
“He said dressy, but not overly so.” Pam pulled a simple black dress off the rack and held it up.
“You have fourteen dresses just like that,” Lorri said.
“I’m always drawn to them. It’s a country-themed wedding, but there’s likely to be a little bit of everything from denim and fringe to sequins and pearls.”
Lorri shrugged. “Should we wear boots and a bandit’s bandanna with our sequined gowns?” She laughed. “I’m not doing that even if everyone else is. It would be hilarious though.”
“He’d kill us, but honestly I have no idea what we should wear.” Pam shrugged and slid aside the next dress, a sequined number with a halter top. “No sequins.”
Lorri said, “I’m sticking to a black dress and pearls.”
“Wait a minute. If I can’t buy another black dress, neither can you.”
“Fine. You’re right. I didn’t need to drive an hour and a half from home to buy another black dress. Here’s the deal. We’ll both buy something with some color.”
