Tangled Vows(7)

"You look beautiful," Everett told her. He put his hands on her waist  and inspected her from head to toe. "I can't believe you're my little  sister. My little Bug is all grown up."

Bailey glanced toward the glass doors at the front of the small bridal  shop. Keeping her focus on the job was harder than she thought it would  be. Even she was getting caught up in the moment. You're not really his  girlfriend, she repeated to herself for the umpteenth time. It would be  so easy to lose herself in the role. At least right now in this quiet  town with his family. He seemed so … normal. Not the arrogant,  self-assured billionaire she knew he really was.

Even though Bailey didn't think there would be any threats against  Everett in the store, she tried to remain vigilant while Sarah changed  and Everett settled the bill.

Sarah grabbed her elbow and steered her away from the cash register while Everett finished. "So?"

Bailey raised an eyebrow in question. "So what?"

"Tell me about you guys. I want to know everything-are you happy, is he treating you right?"

Bailey stopped her. "Why wouldn't he be treating me right?"

"I know how he is. I grew up with him; I've heard all the stories, and  I've seen a lot of it firsthand." She tossed her hair over one shoulder.  "Everett uses woman. Stays with them until he's tired of their games  and then tosses them out the door. But you-you're different."

"Different? How?"

"In every single way. You have a real job, you're not a stuck-up rich  snob, and you're not dating Everett for his money. Plus, he actually  brought you home with him."

"It's your wedding. Wouldn't he have brought any girlfriend home with him?"

Sarah burst out in a peal of laughter just as Everett rejoined them.  "Ladies, glad to see you're getting along so well. Do I dare ask what's  so funny?"

Sarah caught her breath enough to gasp out, "Bailey thought you'd have  brought any girlfriend to my wedding." She started laughing again, and  Everett too chuckled.

"I don't get it." Bay looked back and forth between the two.

"Hun, this is my home, and I like to keep my private life private. I  don't trust most women to do that." He pulled her to him and ran his  fingertips down her cheek. "You, I trust," he said, his voice low and  rumbling.

Bay felt his warmth seep into her, and she couldn't pull her eyes from  his. His brow wrinkled in thought as they stood there in silence.

"Okay you two. We can't stand here all day while you make eyes at each  other." Sarah opened the shop door and headed out into the sunshine.

Bay stood rooted to the spot as Everett pulled away to follow his  sister. Her pulse pounded through her veins, and her thoughts raced.  What was happening to her? What was she doing here? She had to keep her  head together. She came back to the present when the door dinged as  Everett exited after his sister. Bay reached up to tuck some loose hair  behind her ears and noticed her hands were shaking. How could the man  affect her so much when she hated him? Jerking back to life, she jogged  to catch up with Everett, not believing she'd let him leave her sight  even for a moment.

*

Everett followed a step behind Sarah, ruminating over the expression  he'd seen on Bailey's face. If it had been any other woman, he'd have  sworn that expression showed adoration. Or at least infatuation. But  this was Bailey. She'd made it clear she didn't like him. She only took  the job because he'd guilted and pressured her into it.

Sarah turned around and walked backward. "Bay, you wanted a dress, right?"

"Yes," her breathless voice said from beside him. He glanced over to see her flushed face come into view.

"Let's try here. Marsha always has the best clothes." She gestured to  the next store along the storefronts. Everett caught her glance at him  before dropping her gaze again.

"Sure," she agreed, but Everett could hear the hesitation in her voice in spite of the smile on her face.

As they entered the store, he noticed Bay's eyes widen. He glanced  around at the designer fashion, and it dawned on him that she might not  be able to afford a dress here. He put a reassuring hand on her back  while Sarah spoke excitedly to a saleswoman. Before he could say  anything to Bailey, Sarah had pulled her to the formal dresses and was  handing dresses to the saleswoman.                       
       
           



       

As the women disappeared into the dressing rooms, Everett lowered  himself into a plush chair near the mirrors. Something was bothering  him, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was. There  was something about Bailey he just couldn't get a handle on. She  intrigued him. Perhaps that was what puzzled him. Why would a woman like  her stay on his mind? She was short, tough, and avoided the spotlight.  Totally not his type. She was nothing like the tall, ultra-feminine,  wannabe celebs who usually graced his arm.

He checked his phone for the fifth time in as many minutes. The women  had been in the back for twenty minutes, although it had felt like  hours. He sighed and was about to stand up to get the circulation moving  in his legs when Sarah's voice came floating out of the dressing room.

"This is definitely the one."

"Are you sure?" Bay's more quiet voice asked. "I feel kind of … exposed."

"I'm positive. C'mon, let's see what Everett thinks."

Everett stilled in the chair. He couldn't imagine the stiff Ms. Lennox  in any kind of formal wear. Hell, he hadn't even been able to imagine  her in a simple skirt until he'd seen it for himself. A vision of blue  exited the dressing room, followed by his little sister.

The woman before him couldn't be Bailey, he thought. There was no  resemblance between the feminine figure draped in some dark blue fabric  and the tough-as-nails ex-soldier Bay. He scanned upwards from her tiny  bare feet. The full skirt stopped right above her knees, and the gentle  folds softened the contours of her muscled calves. The halter-style top  exposed the smooth skin of her shoulders. The contours of the fabric  visually enhanced the look of her bust, and Everett had the sudden urge  to measure their real size with his hands.

"Well? Whaddya think?" Sarah asked. She pursed her lips critically before stepping back to Everett's vantage point.

Everett drew himself out of his shock. "Yes, very nice," he managed to say before clearing his throat.

"Turn around," Sarah instructed, still contemplating something. Bay  turned, and Everett's heart stopped at the expanse of bare flesh  revealed by the backless dress. He could imagine his lips tracing her  spine all the way down to where the material rested low on her ass.  "Something's still not right," Sarah complained. "Let's try this." She  moved back to Bailey and reached to remove the band holding her hair in a  ponytail.

Bay stopped her. "What are you doing?"

Sarah looked exasperated. "The dress is great, but you need something  else to pull it off. I'm just trying to figure out what that is."

"And you think my hair is really going to make a difference?"

She shrugged. "It might. Why do you always wear it up anyway?" she complained.

Reluctantly, Bailey gave in and let Sarah pull her hair loose. "Just a  bad habit from the military," she mumbled. She wasn't completely lying.  She had been required to wear it up while in the Army. But the real  reason went much deeper than that. Her father had wanted a son and had  never gotten one. Bailey had tried all her life to fill that nonexistent  role, to the extent that she'd actively started hiding any signs of her  femininity in order to try to feel closer to her father. Not that any  of it had worked, not even her Army career. Sure, he was obviously proud  of her, but he'd never given her the affection she'd craved.

Her dark brown hair cascaded down past her shoulders as the band came  loose. Sarah put her fingers at Bay's scalp and fluffed the strands  before arranging it to her satisfaction. Stepping back, she tilted her  head in contemplation. "I think that's it. You need to wear your hair  down. You look too stiff with it up. Everett? What do you think?"

"Ah, it's your wedding, Bug. Besides, you spend more of my money on  clothes than I do." He smiled to let her know he was teasing. In his  head though, he couldn't think of anything other than the changed woman  before him. This was the woman sworn to protect him? Had he been crazy?  This woman, with her soft skin, bare feet, and flowing curves, was made  for loving, not fighting.

"All right then. We'll take it." Sarah nodded at the saleswoman who was standing unobtrusively to the side.

Everett couldn't take his eyes off Bailey. Every movement she made  seemed smooth and graceful under the flowing lines of the dress. He  watched as she looked at the price tag and sucked in a breath. Knowing  she couldn't afford the garment, he finally rose to his feet and  approached her. He approached slowly, warily, not sure how to deal with  this new Bay.