Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 112249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 561(@200wpm)___ 449(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 561(@200wpm)___ 449(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Mimi would be interested to hear every single facet of Gracen’s life, of course. Even when she’d been a teenager, her grandmother never failed to be the safe, judgement-free ear whenever she needed somebody to listen. Then, the next week when Gracen returned for a visit, it would kill her when Mimi couldn’t remember the details of their previous conversation except for perhaps the people involved. Little else.
Keeping things focused on the present was easier.
All at once, Mimi’s scooter stopped a few feet ahead of Gracen, and she peered over her shoulder with a conspiratorial smile. “Do you think I could pull off purple?”
*
Unsatisfied with the tightness of her sneakers, Gracen redid the laces on her left foot while using the second bottom step of the staircase as a ledge. The rustling movement in the far bathroom had her leaning sideways as she bunny-eared the laces, but she couldn’t get a glimpse of Delaney’s newest distraction.
Something in the cupboard, by the sounds of it.
“You were supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago,” Gracen reminded her friend.
“I know, I know!”
“The dinner starts in five.”
“Gracen, I know.”
She didn’t bother to add that everyone was probably already seated because there had been an “arrive by” time on the invitation that didn’t match the starting one. Delaney was aware of what she had done by finding this thing or that to make herself late to the engagement dinner because avoiding something she really didn’t want to do was easier than just getting it over with—not that Gracen blamed her friend.
“Okay, it’s better,” she heard Delaney mumble.
Gracen finished with her right sneaker as Delaney’s pointed toe stilettos clicked against the floors faster than before when she’d went in search for something in the bathroom.
“Sorry, I kind of made a mess digging things out in there, but I’ll fix it later,” Delaney said as she rushed past Gracen at the stairs. “Now, everybody’s going to see me when I arrive.”
“It’ll be fine,” Gracen assured.
Delaney didn’t looked like she particularly believed it while plucking her purse off the wall hook where she left it hanging everyday. “I just had a panic attack while trying to find clear nail polish in case I have a run in these damned pantyhose tonight because I wouldn’t have to give anyone a reason to call me a slut under their breath when I walked by. Fine—you think, really?”
Honestly, Gracen figured people were lucky Delaney put on a pair of hosiery under her dress to begin with considering the garment didn’t have a suggestive neckline, and even the loose skirt—a shimmering champagne that mixed nicely with the ivory long-sleeve bodice—fell below her knees. More than appropriate. She’d likely be one of the few people wearing color in the swath of guests, which would make Delaney stand out even more.
Good.
She hoped her friend’s ungrateful, hurtful family ate their fucking hearts out. It couldn’t be easy to swallow to see a human they didn’t try to nurture and care for still succeed in spite of them. If she cared to see her ex—and Gracen sure as hell did not—then she’d go as Delaney’s plus one with her favorite short and slutty club dress on just to give those uptight assholes something worth talking about.
But it wasn’t Gracen’s night.
And she just wasn’t the type.
“You look great,” Gracen told her friend.
For the tenth time, at least.
Delaney gave Gracen a tight smile over the same shoulder where she’d hung her purse. “Thanks—again.”
“It’s all you need to remember about tonight. You look great, you’re doing fine, and the only reason you’re even there breaking bread with people who have treated you like shit is because you’re the better person.”
“I might not be if somebody makes a comment,” Delaney muttered with the wag of one clenched fist.
Jokingly, mostly.
Delaney could handle herself.
“Don’t fight in heels,” Gracen told Delaney as her friend walked out the door with a slightly wider smile than before. At least now, it looked true. “It never looks pretty!”
“I’ll try to remember it.”
Gracen lingered in the front doorway, holding onto to the door to keep a crack she could hang out of while Delaney unlocked her Jeep. “One more thing?”
Delaney glanced her way, pausing at the back of the vehicle parked alongside Gracen’s Honda. “Did I forget something?”
“No—Malachi.”
The name made Delaney’s whole face brighten.
“Should I pretend like your secret boyfriend doesn’t exist, then?”
Gracen’s gaze narrowed. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“I don’t know ... I think when you start sneaking guys in your room while I’m in the shower, that might constitute a secret something,” Delaney teased.
Ah, yeah.
Delaney hadn’t been impressed with Gracen’s trick of getting Malachi in and out of the house before she even finished her shower the night before. She didn’t hide the fact that he had been there from Delaney, but her friend was not willing to accept that hooking up with Malachi meant nothing to Gracen.