I took my time looking around the shop that felt welcoming and bright and so utterly feminine. I just knew my designs belonged here. I only hoped Mikki agreed. By the time she finished, I had two dresses and a pair of shorts draped over my arm. “This place is perfect.”
“I agree,” she said, her sweet twang sounding closer than I realized. I startled when her sparkling green eyes were mere feet from my own. “Looks like we have a mutual admiration society going on here.” Her words sounded right but I was in a daze or maybe I was just too damn tired. “Because you like my shop and I love your designs.”
“Oh. Right. Thanks … wait, you do?”
Mikki laughed and I bet its feminine sound had all the men clamoring for her attention. “I do. I can’t promise you any sales other than what I plan to buy for myself, but we can do a consignment contract that I have with my other designers.”
I nodded like I was well-versed in business, which I wasn’t—unless we were talking about the restaurant business and, even then, my skills were sadly limited. “I read something about that. How does it work?”
Mikki sucked in a breath and began explaining, motioning for me to follow her. “It’s a standard contract stating the percentage I’ll get for selling your items at a price determined by me. There are protections for us both, so I’ll get you a copy to read. Have your lawyer go over it before we sign anything.”
That all sounded good but there was some hesitation I sensed on Mikki’s part. “What’s wrong?” Maybe she was just being nice. Maybe my designs weren’t all that incredible and I was fooling myself. “Be honest. Please.”
“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just if you want to sell your lingerie in a store, you need to focus on branding.” She held up the black and off-white silk-and-lace French knickers with the matching bra. “Take this for example. It’s gorgeous. Well made and designed, but not necessarily for everyone.”
I had the same thought and nodded. “So more … basic?”
“No. Absolutely not.” Her words were firm and she shook her head, shiny curls spilling over her shoulder. “What I’m saying is, if I looked at this and thought it was too daring for me, I’d move on to another design or style from the same designer.” Then she held up the knickers and flipped them inside out. “No tag so I have no idea who made this.”
I am such an idiot. I tried to snatch the garment from her hands but Mikki was faster than she looked. “I’m not ready for this.”
“Of course you are, sugar. All that’s missing is a tag. Work on your logo. Something that embodies your designs. When you have that, you’ll be ready for the marketplace.”
I didn’t know Mikki but she had no reason to lie so I took her at her word. Mostly. “You sure?”
“Heck yes, honey. I love sexy lingerie and I would love nothing more than to have a lingerie designer on my roster. You just get your stuff together and—” She turned in a full circle before finding what she was looking for. “Here. If you have any questions, just give me a call or stop by the shop. I haven’t met many people since I got here. I’ve been too busy getting Pretty Feathers up and runnin’.”
I smiled at her unspoken words and nodded. “The people of Tulip are friendly—very friendly—so you won’t have any trouble meeting new people. Mostly because they’ll be scrambling to find out every detail of your life. Soon.”
She laughed and put a hand to her chest. “Should I be worried?”
“Terrified,” I told her with a laugh. “But only in that overbearing way that family has, except the whole dang town is family.”
“Oh, I can handle that. I have a big Italian family back home in Mississippi and they’re as overbearing as they come.” Her smile was wistful and I wondered what made her move all the way to Tulip, Texas.
“That’s a story I’d love to hear but apparently I have a logo to design.” We said our goodbyes and I made my way towards the door before I stopped and turned back to her. “You know Texican’s?”
“That adorable Tex-Mex place?”
“That’s the one. Dinner tonight at seven. You, me, and my friend Audrey.”
“Are you sure?” It was the first time she seemed uncertain since I met her and I felt compelled to comfort her.
“Positive. If you don’t show, I’ll come find you and I’ll bring the biggest gossips in town with me.”
“Seven you said? I’ll be there.” She flashed an innocent smile and gave me a small finger wave.
I spent the rest of the afternoon holed up inside the little guest house I rented from Scott the veterinarian, working on the logo for my label. I loved this little house even though it was completely isolated for at least a mile on all sides. It meant maximum privacy and quiet. Plus, the one-story structure had everything I needed, including a guest room that would soon become my work room.
By the time I took a break, I had only fifteen minutes to shower, dress, and meet Audrey and Mikki at the restaurant.
* * *
“Sorry I’m late! I see you two have already met.” Shrugging out of the cardigan I had no business wearing when it was still in the upper sixties, I balled it up and tossed it onto the booth, leaving it between me and Mikki. “Everything good?”
Audrey arched a brow and even though I knew she was screwing with me, I cast a quick look at Mikki to make sure things were okay. Audrey could be a tad acerbic when she wanted to. Or sometimes just for fun. “You mean other than the beautiful stranger sitting at our table?” She winked at Mikki and laughed. “We’re good. Mikki here was trying to convince me to drop by her shop to update my wardrobe.”
For her part, Mikki shrugged, smiling coyly. “I merely mentioned I have some things right up your alley, if you were interested. Which you are, honey.” That smooth way she said “honey” was a skill I wished I possessed. It seemed to be the perfect mixture of “grew screw yourself” and “bless your heart.”
“Have you two been getting to know each other without me?”
“Maybe if you hadn’t been doing … whatever it is you were doing, you would have gotten here on time.” I knew Audrey was teasing but that didn’t stop the way my body tensed at her insinuation. At the memory.
“I was actually working on a logo for my lingerie business.”
“You were? That’s so great, Hope,” Mikki said. “Do you have mockups with you?” Dark eyebrows rose and green eyes lit with excitement as she leaned in eagerly.
“Wait, what? I go to California for one lousy week and you’ve got your lingerie business up and running? Spill.”
“Oh crap. I totally forgot! How did the meetings go in California? Are they going to turn your graphic novel into a movie?”
She flashed a satisfied smile. “Looks that way. It was amazing. They treated me like a superstar which was really fucking cool, especially when I was all baby sick.” She refused to call it morning sickness since it lasted all day. “But my agent is doing what he does and said he would let me know. Now—” she smacked both palms on the table and flashed a knowing grin. “Talk.”
Mikki and I ordered a pitcher of margaritas to split and Audrey got a virgin, then I gave her the lowdown on my earlier talk with Mikki. “I’ve got a few designs that are basic and starting to look like something that might make it to the final draft, but it’s literally been just a few hours.” I turned to Mikki. “I don’t have any photos of the mockups and that’s because they’re just so basic.” It was a work in progress and I gave myself a hard deadline of one week to narrow it down to three finalists.
“Don’t forget to work on your business license and tax stuff,” Audrey added absently, taking several gulps the moment the waitress set our drinks down. “Goodness, I needed that.” Then, with her steely gaze focused on me, she said, “Tell me about Trivia Night.”
I should have known she’d find out before I had a chance to tell her. I snuck a gaze at Mikki who looked intrigued but not maliciously so. “Sounds like you already know.”
“What I know is that my idiot brother sh
owed up with a supermodel on his arm. Again. What I’m trying to figure out though, is why this time was different than all the others.”
My shoulders slumped forward and I dropped my head to my straw, sucking down enough margarita to cause a brain freeze. Too bad it didn’t because I really could have used another moment or two to gather my thoughts, but this was more of a rip the band-aid off kind of situation. “Because we’ve been sleeping together. Since Spring Fling.”
Audrey was silent and I waited for her to say something—anything. I knew she might be a little angry. Probably a bit snarky about it too, but I didn’t know for sure, so I held my breath and locked my gaze with hers. “I see.”
I turned to Mikki to give an abbreviated version. “Will is her brother and I’ve basically been in love with him forever, except he has never seen me. Not ever. Not even now,” I said and swung my gaze back to Audrey so she could see the truth of my words. “Trivia night made me realize you were right and I was just fooling myself. Will’s never gonna see me any differently so I’m moving on. Getting over a lifelong crush and moving on. Easy peasy.”
Mikki and Audrey both snorted and I blocked out the sound because I refused to argue about this. Forgetting Will had to be easy because I needed it to be, dang it. Not once had the universe ever come through for me, but this time, it had to. “So that’s what the new hair is about?”
I gave a short nod. “Some but mostly it’s about me. I needed a change. I can’t expect people to see me as anything more than Big Mama’s granddaughter and diner waitress if I don’t show them more.”
“Amen,” Mikki said and tapped her glass to mine. “I think it’s darling, but I don’t know what you looked like before.”
“The same,” I told her with an exaggerated roll of my eyes. “Only blonde.” The difference wasn’t all that big but it was a start.
Audrey nodded. “The pink is very sexy, like a hot punk rock chick with your pale skin. What that color does to your eyes is just unfair. The best part is the bits of blonde still in your bangs.”
I ran my fingers through my bangs nervously, feeling uncomfortable with so much praise, or maybe I just wasn’t used to it. “Thanks.”
“I hope my dumbass brother is sorry to see you go.”
I smiled but it felt sad even from my side, because I was. Letting go of my crush on Will was like letting go of a security blanket or saying goodbye to a very old friend. “He won’t be and that’s okay. I’m learning to accept it.”
“No offense, sugar, but he sounds dumb as a box of rocks. I’ve just met you and I think you are just divine.” Mikki smiled and finished off her first glass. “You too, Audrey. Though you kind of scare me.”
Audrey huffed out a laugh. “Ditto.”
We placed our food orders and the topic thankfully switched from Will to the Hometown Heroes and regular Tulip gossip. Audrey turned a laser stare to Mikki. “So, Mikki, what brings you to Tulip?”
She sighed and stared at both of us for a long time before she spoke. “My ex-fiancé is getting ready to marry my ex-best friend and I figured now was as good a time as any to start over somewhere new.”
I raised my glass, grinning. “To new friends and starting over.”
“Hear, hear! Now, tell me all about this calendar. It sounds delicious!” As a newcomer, she had no idea the craziness in store for her. And the town.
Audrey and I took turns explaining the statue of Tulip. “She’s the town founder and a wicked tornado passed through last year, obliterating it. The calendar started as way to fundraise and now it’s kind of out of control.”
“Kind of?” My words were louder than I meant them to be but I continued on. “Four, Mikki. Count them,” I told her and held up a finger with every count. “One, two, three, four. Four Hometown Heroes have fallen in love and now the whole town is some kind of matchmaking spree.”
Audrey laughed. “Sprees are for shopping and murder, not matchmaking.”
Mikki laughed. “Sounds amazing and kind of weird.”
“It’s both and that pretty much sums up our little town. Welcome.” Having another friend would certainly go a long way in providing another distraction so I didn’t succumb to the temptation that was Will Landon.
“Don’t look now, sugar, but I think that man over there is trying to get your attention.” I followed the line of Mikki’s red-painted nail to a too-good-looking man with golden hair that was perfectly coiffed. His blue shirtsleeves were rolled up, exposing toned forearms.
I flashed a smile and the guy picked up his drink and started the journey to our table. I stood and smoothed the sides of my shirt with a grin. “Here goes nothing. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” Mikki offered with a cheerful tone.
“Be careful,” Audrey’s more measured voice added.
Will
Where in the hell is Hope? I’d stopped at the diner, but she wasn’t there and according to the other waitress, she wasn’t even on the schedule tonight. I’d come here, hoping to find her but instead found my sister and best friend offering a free hot meal. I decided to stay. Maybe I had ulterior motives.
Maybe.
“Where’s your little sidekick tonight?” Goading Audrey into an argument was the best way to get information out of her. When she was calm, she guarded information like she was a human Fort Knox, but all riled up, I’d get everything I needed. Quickly.
Her bored violet gaze turned to me and one black brow arched as if to say, are you seriously asking me that? But she couldn’t possibly know what Hope and I got up to; it wasn’t something Hope would share. I thought. I hoped. “He’s right here.” She nodded towards Walker with a smile. “Where he belongs.”
“Gross.” I’ll admit I wasn’t happy at first to hear my best friend had hooked up with my kid sister. It was a damn weird transition to make, but Walker was the best guy I knew. Perfect for Audrey. Not that I wanted to see or hear evidence of that. Ever. “You know what I mean.”
She nodded but said nothing else for a long time, taking her time to eat every bite of food from her plate in a careful, deliberate way I’d never seen her eat in all the years we’d known each other. “I answered your question,” she said, her tone firm.
Walker stood and grabbed his plate and Audrey’s. “I’ll go grab dessert,” he said quietly and left us alone.
As soon as he was gone, my sister turned to me with a dark look. “Hope told me all about you and her getting freaky in the bedroom and I don’t want to hear about it ever again. Ever,” she reiterated and I nearly laughed. “Leave Hope alone.”
At that, I did laugh outright. “Who do you think you are? Hope is a grown woman who knows what she’s doing. Leave her decision making up to her.” I didn’t have to talk her into anything. I’d shown up with a smile and some food, and the rest happened naturally.
“I am. She’s made the decision that your naked fun time is over and I think you should let it stay that way.” I knew Audrey was serious but I couldn’t help screwing with her. It was my right as her brother and I exercised that right. Regularly.
Use it or lose it, right?
I leaned back in the chair and threaded my fingers behind my head, legs crossed at the ankles, and an arrogant smile on my face. “Where’s the fun in that? I reserve the right to try and she can be the one to tell me to back off.” We both knew that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. Hope had nursed a crush on me for years, probably since high school, and I was damned irresistible.
A tiny but menacing growl sounded from across the table. “You’re an asshole, Will, you know that?” She shook her head, not bothering to wait for me to answer. “Fine. You think it’s a fucking game but let me tell you this, brother: hurt her and I will be Team Hope forever.”
“You wouldn’t.” There was a code among foster kids, and Audrey and I had been siblings for more of our lives than we hadn’t. That was better than blood because we chose to be family, to do right by each other. To take care of one another.
&nbs
p; “Try me. You’re being cruel—playing with her emotions because you’re bored.”
Is that what she thought I was doing? “I’m not.”
“You are. You can pretend that you’re a good guy because you tell these girls up front not to fall for you, that you don’t do commitment and long-term anything, but you’re not. You know how Hope feels—how she’s always felt about you—and you’re using it now to fuck her.”
“I never promised her anything,” I shot back with an energy I didn’t really feel. “I don’t ever make promises I can’t keep.”
She shook her head and pushed away from the table just as Walker returned. With tiramisu. “You really are a world-class asshole. Get out.” Hands fisted on her hips, violet eyes nearly black with anger, she pointed to the door. “Get out.”
“You’re not serious, Audrey. You can’t be.”
“You can’t be this cruel, but you are. Continuing to pursue a woman who you know is half in love with you when you refuse to return her feelings makes you a cruel asshole and that’s not someone I want in my house.” She turned to Will and she softened for a fraction of a second, sliding the tiramisu from his hand to hers. “And I’m definitely not sharing my tiramisu with him!”
I stood, dumbfounded, and watched her walk away from me. Angry. At me. “What the hell just happened?”
Walker clapped me on the shoulder and nodded to the kitchen. “I’ll talk to her if you want.” Even his tone said that I shouldn’t hold out hope for reconciliation anytime soon.
“There’s nothing to talk about. Like I said, Hope is a grown woman.” Although those words felt more hollow every time I said them.
“And you’re a grown man responsible for your actions.”
I turned and stared at my friend. There was a firmness to his demeanor but no judgment. “Exactly. My actions.”
He nodded. “And you knew how Hope felt about you when you took her to bed?”
“Of course he did!” Audrey shouted from the other room. “He’s known for years!”
Undesired: A Best Friend’s Brother Romance Page 2