The Wright Brother(39)

“I’m here. I made it. Sorry I’m late,” I said to the girls.

“Em! Just in time,” Heidi said. “Tell Julia that she would look smoking hot in this dress.”

“It’s black. I like it.” That had been my motto since junior high. My closet was filled up with black jeans, black sweaters, black tank tops, and black sneakers. All black everything.

“I knew you would say that,” Heidi said with a grin.

Contemplatively, Julia held the dress at arm’s length. Black was a good choice with her hair that had all the burgundy undertones that she’d highlighted. Plus, it was slimming, which was good for everyone, except for Heidi, who was built like a Barbie doll. And, while Heidi had the enviable prom-queen looks, Julia just had something about her. Between her mahogany hair and studded ears and tattoos peeking out from under her edgy leather-detailed dress, she was the mysterious girl you didn’t bring home to Mom. I liked her for that. Kind of felt like she and I could gang up on Heidi together…and maybe even win. But probably not.

“It’s so not me, but I’ll try it on.”

“Nothing in this store is ever me either,” I told Julia. “But, if you don’t try on everything Heidi wants you to wear, then you won’t make it out of here alive.”

“Damn straight,” Heidi said with a sharp nod of her head. “Now, let me play dress-up!”

We wandered around the store together with Heidi randomly throwing things into our arms. Julia and I exchanged looks full of sympathy for each other. I had something hot pink in my pile. Julia had a pastel. Heidi herself had all the best pieces that only worked on someone who was five foot nine or above.

The manager came over and procured dressing rooms for all of us, offering us assistance if we needed different sizes. I shimmied into the hot-pink dress first just to get it over with, and Heidi hysterically laughed at me until I went back into the dressing room for something else.

“Okay, I know it’s a touchy subject,” Heidi called over the dressing room wall, “but can we talk about Jensen?”

I stepped out of the dressing room and crossed my arms until she came out of her room. “No.”

“What about Jensen?” Julia asked.

She appeared in a stunning olive-green dress that complemented her style perfectly. I was sure it would be a winner.

“Can I tell?” Heidi asked.

“Fine, but I’m not trying on that weird patterned thing you gave me,” I told her.

“Ugh! Fine! I’m just trying to brighten up your wardrobe.”

“You’ve been trying for twenty years. It’s not going to work.”

She laughed and flipped me off. “Anyway, Emery went on a date with Jensen.”

“Oh, wow! Was it hot?” Julia asked.

“So hot,” Heidi said.

“Heidi, can you not?” I demanded.

“Sorry!” she squeaked. “Anyway, he was a total ass to her afterward, and then he was an even bigger ass by asking her to coffee to tell her the whole thing was a mistake.”

“That sucks. Sorry, Emery,” Julia said.

“It’s fine,” I told them. “Really, it was one date. And then…another kiss that meant nothing. He kissed me after telling me how much of a mistake our date was because he doesn’t date in town and how it never should have happened because I moved back home. Oh! And he fucking told Morgan. Now, Landon is totally going to find out.”

“And Landon doesn’t know you went on a date with his brother?” Julia asked.

I shook my head. “I’d like to keep it that way.”

Okay, so I wasn’t fine. I was still frustrated. Even more so because Jensen hadn’t left me alone. He’d messaged me a handful of times to try to talk to me again. I couldn’t figure out why he thought I would see him again. After our last conversation and how it had ended, I didn’t think that was a good idea.

“Yeah, but he’s still messaging you,” Heidi said.

“Then, he must like you,” Julia said. “Maybe he’s just…bad at communication.”

“Just what I want in a guy. A bad communicator.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Julia said. “I mean, what if he is scared of how he feels for you? You said he didn’t date in town. Maybe it freaked him out when he realized that you were going to live here, and he said things all wrong.”

I slid my gaze over to Julia. “Jensen Wright does not say things wrong. He is a businessman. He says what he means and takes what he wants. I feel that I have to take him at face value.”

“That seems fair,” Julia said. “But the real question is it worth always having that what-if with him?”