“You’re wearing the same clothes as yesterday,” Tess said the second she stepped inside the store, pointing at me.
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“I know. I’m doing the walk of shame, right? Except I feel absolutely zero shame.”
She laughed. “You’re happy. Just saying, but it’s a good look on you.”
“Thanks, sis.”
“Any particular reason?”
“Rob and I agreed yesterday that we’re exclusive.”
“Oh, that’s lovely.”
“And I’m just... I feel like I’m going to burst with all this joy. Is that weird?”
We’d also talked this morning about not using condoms anymore. I’d been on the pill for years but didn’t share it with him before, out of instinct, I guess. Now that we were exclusive, I was ready for the next step.
Tess grinned. “Not at all, sis. Just enjoy this moment, bask in your happiness.”
I nodded, my usual cautious nature somehow forgotten. Rob had awoken something in me I hadn’t been aware of before, and I was powerless to fight it. In fact, I didn’t want to, and that really was a first for me. I was grinning from ear to ear as we opened the door to customers.
In the afternoon, Mom stopped by with Ryker’s fiancée, Heather. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she was wearing gorgeous silver earrings in the shape of butterflies.
“Hey, why didn’t you tell us you were coming?” I asked, kissing each of their cheeks.
“We were just in the neighborhood,” Heather said. “We looked at some wedding decorations.”
“Oooh, show me,” Tess said. My sister was a little sad that she didn’t have time to involve herself in the wedding planning in the same way she’d done for Josie and Hunter, but it was impossible to make time for it with how busy we were. They were getting married in December, so the theme was winter wonderland. It was going to be epic, I was sure of it.
Heather pulled out her phone, showing Tess several types of twinkle lights for the bride and groom table. They looked identical to me, but the two of them immediately started discussing the pros and cons of each.
“I think my wedding planner is going to have a heart attack if I ask for more changes,” Heather murmured.
“Hey, it’s your big day,” Tess said. “Don’t let her intimidate you.”
Mom pulled me to one side. “Do you want me to help with anything?”
“No, you can just relax, okay?”
“I can’t. I get anxious if I don’t do anything.”
That was true. Mom was one of those people who just couldn’t sit down and do nothing, even for a few minutes.
“Oh, by the way, I have an announcement to make,” Mom went on.
Tess and Heather looked at her immediately.
“I’ve decided to finally have laser surgery on my eyes. It’s so damn hard to read that small print, even with glasses. And the prescriptions they’re giving me for new lenses are so thick they’re just awful. Anyway, I’m just done with them. I’m going to do it in three weeks. I’ll be good as new by the time school starts,” Mom said.
“Good for you,” I replied. She’d wanted to do it for years. “Do you need us to help you with anything?”
“No, Mick is going to be with me that day. It’s just an outpatient surgery, and the recovery time is minimal. I’ll be fine.”
“But you’ll let us know if something comes up?” Tess pressed.
Mom nodded, and my sister and I exchanged a glance. We’d just have to spam Mick with messages, because Mom wasn’t exactly in a sharing mood when she was sick.