Page 9 of Bombshell (Whiskey Dolls 1)

“Finding you some shoes,” she answered. There was more shuffling around. I had to duck to avoid being hit in the head by a Chuck Taylor. Then finally, she announced, “Got ’em!” She crawled backward until she was free of the dark confines of my crammed closet.

Resting back on her haunches, she held up a pair of strappy bronze stilettos with a smile. “These’ll lookkillerwith that dress.”

I took them from her hands and slid them on my feet. Sure enough, they looked great. Grabbing her hands, I pulled her off my bedroom floor and, together, we moved to my dresser to rummage through my jewelry drawer.

“I miss dating,” she lamented wistfully as she clasped a long, delicate gold chain around my neck.

“Yeah, well, I’d gladly trade places with you if I could, but stupid Layla already texted my picture to the guy I’m supposed to meet tonight.”

My girls hadn’t hesitated to put their plan to get me back on the dating wagon into action once I’d given them the go-ahead. The day after that fateful conversation in the dressing room, I’d gotten a call from Layla informing me she’d talked to Clark, my blind date, and everything had been set without me having to lift a finger—without my knowledge.

“Who is this guy again?” Tali asked as she pulled out a chunky ring I’d gotten on a whim because it looked like the one Cersei Lannister wore all the time onGame of Thronesand held it up for inspection before passing it to me.

I slid it into place on my middle finger while answering, “I think he’s an accountant or something? She said he does her taxes. I don’t have high hopes for tonight.”

“Hey, accountants can be good-looking.”

I turned back to her with a quirked brow. “Yeah? Name one hot accountant.”

She looked up and to the side as the seconds ticked by. “Oh! I have one. What about that guy from Nick’s firm? The one I introduced you to at the Christmas party we hosted a couple years back? He was cute.”

“Wasn’t he fired for embezzling?”

She looked at me with befuddlement. “So?”

My mouth gaped open. “He’s in jail right now, Tali!”

“He was still cute,” she stated firmly, pointing her finger like that just won her the argument. “And anyway, cute or not, at least you’re getting out and spending time with adults. I’dkillto have a conversation with someone over the age of twelve.”

My issues and unhappiness with my blind date instantly moved to the back burner when I turned to look at my sister, concern flooding my chest. I knew her almost as well as I knew myself. She was doing her best to hide it, but I could see the pain and sadness beneath the mask she’d superglued into place.

“You and Nick could go on a date. I’ll watch the kids so you two can have a nice night.” I offered up a smile. “We can have a sleepover at Aunt Marin’s house. They’d love that.”

Tali let out a snort and plopped down on the edge of my bed, clasping her hands between her knees. “Please. Like he’d take enough time off work to come home and take me on a date.” She laughed derisively and shook her head. “The only reason I was able to come over here was because Erika’s at the movies with some friends and Matty’s staying the night at his friend’s house.”

“Oh, Tali,” I said softly as I moved to the bed to sit next to her. “Maybe you should try talking to him. Let him know you and the kids are feeling neglected.”

She blew a puff of air past her lips and gave her head a shake. “There’s no point, Mar. It’s like talking to a brick wall.”

I wanted so badly to make things better for my big sister, but before I could say another word, she’d slid that mask right back into place, clapping her hands together and declaring, “Enough with this sad sack stuff. You have a date you need to get to. Stand up so I can do one last check.”

I pushed to my feet and moved to stand in front of her, holding my arms out as I did a little spin.

“Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Good. No deodorant streaks, no panty lines, no double boob from your strapless bra sliding out of place. I think you’re good to go, sweetie.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Thanks for the inspection.”

She pushed off the bed and reached for her purse, hooking it on her shoulder. “Go into this with an open mind, would you? Try having a little fun. One of us should, and if it can’t be me, then it’s your job to allow me to live vicariously through you.”

“Wow,” I deadpanned. “No pressure or anything.”

“Go on now,get. You look hot. Knock this accountant guy on his ass.” With that, she smacked me on the butt so I’d get moving toward the door. “Oh,” she called out. “And see if you can finagle a discount out of him come tax time. I’m looking for someone else to do our taxes.”

God, I loved my crazy-ass sister!

5

Marin

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