“Okay, now. Don’t make me cry. I’m having a hard enough time with that as it is,” Becca said. Everyone laughed. Becca gave herself one last look in the mirror. “Yeah, this is the one.” She turned to see the back of it, all clean, soft lines of satin. On her shoulder, the healing tattoo peeked out through her hair. The design was as beautiful as the words were appropriate, so she had no qualms about the ink showing. She was proud of the gift Nick had given her.
“Well, then,” Diana said. “Let’s get the tailor to take a look at you, and then we’ll get the ladies started on bridesmaid dresses. Any idea what color you’d like?”
“Yes,” Becca said. “Kat, can you grab the picture from my purse?” Kat handed Diana the picture of the bridesmaids’ bouquets Becca had chosen. “I figured it might be hard to get one bridesmaid dress that works for everyone in the short time we have,” Becca continued. “So as long as the gown is a shade of purple that matches these flowers, I don’t care what style or length it is. Whatever you guys like.”
Diana studied the picture, which showed a bouquet with mauve roses, purple hydrangeas, dark purple irises, berry-colored orchids, burgundy dahlias, and light purple mini carnations. “Oh, yes, we can make this work. I’ll grab the tailor for you and show the girls where to look.”
In the time it took for Becca to get fitted, everyone found things to try on. And it didn’t take long until all four friends decided on dresses that suited their taste and matched Becca’s color scheme. Kat chose a sleek, sleeveless dark-purple gown that looked gorgeous with her long brown hair. Emilie picked a mauve V-neck gown with a satin belt at the waist. Sara chose a satin berry-colored sheath with cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, while Jenna went with a flirty lavender gown with a drop waist and a fuller skirt that accentuated her curves beautifully.
“You all look stunning,” Becca said when they stood before her. “The guys aren’t going to know what to do with themselves.”
“Shane’s never seen me in a dress like this before,” Sara said, staring at herself in the mirror. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever owned a dress like this before.”
Jenna grasped her sister’s hand. Despite being the youngest of the five of them, the Dean sisters had been through hell the past few years, especially Sara, who’d borne the burden of repaying her criminal father’s debts after he’d died, sometimes in ways too horrible to imagine. “Well, it won’t be the last one,” Jenna said, smiling. “But, yeah, it’s gonna be fun seeing their reactions.”
“I think we’re all pretty guaranteed to get laid at Becca’s wedding,” Kat said with a mischievous grin.
They all burst into laughter. “When do you not get laid, Kat?” Emilie asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Aw, don’t even talk to me, Miss Garza, because you and Marz are loud as hell. Not that I mind, because, dude, does he have a mouth on him,” Kat said with a big grin.
“Oh, my God,” Sara said, her cheeks turning bright pink but her smile saying she was enjoying the teasing.
“He really does.” Grinning, Emilie shrugged. “The hazards of sharing an unfinished apartment. Can’t be helped.” Kat and Beckett had been staying in the room Nick and Jeremy reserved for her in their apartment until one particularly loud session of lovemaking had apparently caught Jer’s ear. His teasing had been relentless. Finally, Kat and Beckett relocated to an empty room upstairs. As much as they all enjoyed each other’s company, everyone was going to be thrilled when the new building was done, that was for sure.
Becca could only laugh as the good-natured ribbing went on. “Well, I know I’m getting laid. The rest of you are on your own.” By the time they’d all been fitted and had paid for their gowns, Becca was pretty sure they were on the verge of getting thrown out of the store.
They spilled out onto the street, laughing and hungry for lunch. Becca fell behind while she fished for her cell phone in her purse and paused to shoot off a quick text to Nick.
All done dress shopping! I’m gonna knock your socks off! ;)
Nick responded immediately. Sunshine, you already do.
Grinning, she glanced down the block—and nearly gasped out loud. Tyrell Woodson stood at the corner, glaring at her.
“Hey, Becca, come on,” Kat called. Becca blinked and the man was gone. Vanished. A figment of her imagination. Not that her body seemed to know the difference. Heart racing, she caught up with the group as they made their way to an Italian place they’d agreed on earlier. “You okay?” Kat asked.
“Yeah. Great.” Her voice sounded flat to her own ears. She glanced back over her shoulder. Woodson wasn’t there. Of course. She let out a long breath. She’d gotten through the whole workweek without another incident like the one she’d had with Ben at the end of her first shift back. Clearly, her subconscious wasn’t done worrying about Woodson, though, however unnecessary—and unfounded—that worrying was.
Why was she freaking out about what’d happened to her now? For months, she’d been fine, just an occasional nightmare of being grabbed, being dragged away, being lost and never found. Then again, for most of that time she’d been shut up at Hard Ink with Nick.
They arrived at the restaurant, and Kat paused before she followed the others inside. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked. “Because you know my brother will kill me if anything happens to you on my watch.” Kat arched an eyebrow. Though Becca knew she was joking, there’d been a time not too long before when Kat had in fact been Becca’s bodyguard, during a meeting with the man who’d turned out to be responsible for the death of Becca’s dad. Nick had gotten angry at both of them when they’d had to deviate from the original plan to get Becca home safely.
“You just survived heart surgery, Kat,” Becca said. Kat had gotten shot at the same funeral where Jeremy had been hurt. Watching Nick deal with both of his siblings fighting for their lives was one of the hardest things Becca had ever done. But they’d both pulled through. And now they all deserved a celebration. “Nick is so grateful you’re okay that I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to get away with absolutely anything for the rest of your life,” Becca said with a smile. “And I’m fine, I promise.”
“Good,” Kat said, giving her a last look. “Then let’s eat, because I’m starving.”
CHAPTER 6
It happened again the next week. More than once. Most recently, it occurred on her way back to the hospital after grabbing something for lunch. Becca saw Woodson lurking in a doorway farther down the street, but when she looked again, no one was there.
That night, as she and Nick lay in bed, Becca gave voice to the question whose answer she thought might best give her some peace of mind. “Do you know what happened to Tyrell Woodson after you interrogated him?”