* * *
RJ HELD UP a pink cocktail dress with a plunging neckline. “How about this?” The color wasn’t just bright, it was neon, like back in the nineties electric.
I shook my head. “Maybe something a little more understated.” I returned to the rack, pushing dress after dress aside.
“Whose wedding is this, again?” RJ asked from around two mannequins in coordinating yellow rompers.
“Friend of a friend,” I said vaguely, glad she couldn’t see my face. Though it wasn’t exactly a lie, RJ had a way of lawyering the truth out of me, and I didn’t want her convincing me this was a bad idea. “I’m going with him as a favor. You know how it is.”
“I thought straight men didn’t mind being single at weddings—don’t they usually think they can hook up with a bridesmaid or something?”
I smiled, remembering Wes talking about it. I couldn’t imagine him being the kind of guy to hit on the wedding party. I had a hard time picturing him hitting on anyone, really—he was always so nice. “I guess some people would rather have a date. Plus, you know I love weddings.”
“You do. It’s sort of gross.” Anti-romance RJ held up another dress, this one high necked with capped sleeves.
I scrunched my nose. Between the cap sleeves, the empire waist, and the complete lack of cleavage, the dress looked like it was solidly in mother-of-the-bride territory. “Uh, maybe something younger.”
“So, he’s just a friend? Nothing going on there?” RJ’s tone was casual, but she was fishing.
“Just a friend,” I said, holding up a green wrap dress for her review and hoping she had no more follow-up questions. I had the what-ifs in my head, and that was enough. “What do you think of this?”
“Not bad,” she said after a quick perusal of the garment. “Also, were you going to tell me that Del gets to go with you to Casa de Colby? I’m jealous. Your family is the best.”
RJ had been home with me a ton of times in college and beyond. I knew she’d considered going to visit my parents without me getting in the way, so she could keep all my mom’s cooking to herself.
“I invited you—you’ll still be in North Carolina.”
“Stupid job interview,” she muttered. “Will you bring me home some of Danielle’s brownies?”
I laughed and returned to the rack. “I guarantee my mom will have a container of them waiting for you.”
“So, is Del pretending to be your boyfriend or something?”
“No,” I said, inspecting a red dress with a flouncy skirt. “Nothing like that. Just a buffer to stop my family from going on full tactical find-Britta-love mode.”
RJ laughed. “I won’t be there to drag them into a college football argument.”
“Exactly. Having someone there with me means it’s easier to sidestep things, plus there’s someone who can change the subject when my love life comes up.”
“You know Del is likely to do that by jumping into a lecture about women of color in agriculture and the nexus of sustainable farming and anti-racism, right?”
“Why do you think he’s the perfect choice?” Our eyes met, and we both cracked up, drawing the attention of the other patrons.
I dragged my gaze back to the red dress and slid a finger along the fabric. It would cling a bit, and the color was bold and bright, but I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Not for the wedding, but maybe I’d have a few dates in the future. Real dates where I’d want to look sexy and eye-catching and it wouldn’t be an ethical quagmire to let my date take it off me. I held it up and turned to RJ, who did the same but with a black dress.
My breath caught. It was stunning, with a dipping neckline and a smattering of black beads along the hem. “Oh, I love that,” I said at the same time as her. I imagined the lights catching on the beads, tempting Wes to look at me. Sometimes on chat he said things that sounded flirty, and now and then when we hung out, he’d touch me or smile at me in a way that made me think what if, but normally, he was completely professional. “They’re both so sexy. Too sexy for a wedding with a friend?” I slid a fingertip along the line of beads at the neckline. “I mean, it’s not like I need to impress him.”
“Who cares about him? You’ll be sexy for you in either of these,” RJ said, motioning to the dressing room. “And if this friend is interested in women, I suspect he’ll be impressed.”
36