Read Online Barefoot in Lace (Barefoot Bay Brides Book 2) by Roxanne St. Claire - Free Book Online Page B

“And I didn’t show my cards to him right away.”
    “Tom has a superpower,” Gussie told them with a sly smile. “He gets women to reveal stuff, like secrets and scars and the things that make us vulnerable. That’s how he gets such amazing photos, by taking down his subjects’ barriers.”
    “Is he going to do that to our bride?” Willow asked, horrified.
    Gussie laughed. “I don’t think Hailey’s hiding much.”
    “Except a deep-seated dislike for her mother,” Willow said. “Which I totally understand.”
    Ari was still zeroed in on Gussie. “Can I make a point here?” she asked. “You were dating a guy before we moved here last year, and having to come clean about your scar is what made you break it off with him.”
    “You don’t know that,” Gussie shot back. Even though it was true and, dang it all, sometimes it seemed like Ari knew everything.
    “I bet I do know that.” She held out her hand to shake. “Bit-O-Honey or Necco Wafers? I bet both that you broke up with that guy because you didn’t want to wig out.”
    Gussie lifted her hand to make the bet, then dropped it. “You know I’m not going to lie. Not even for Bit-O-Honey.” She screwed up her face. “You have some?”
    Willow stopped the conversation with a flat hand and determined look. “If you two start discussing the merits of that crap you call food right now, I’ll scream. Ari’s right. You didn’t tell Ryan, and we both thought you would.”
    Gussie frowned, conjuring up an image of…bland. “Ryan, yeah. The tax attorney.” The boring, staid, kissed-like-a-vacuum-cleaner tax attorney. “I remember him.”
    “You remember him?” Ari choked the question. “You dated him for two months.”
    “And he helped us incorporate when we started the Barefoot Brides,” Willow added.
    “He was forgettable, which is why I didn’t want to get into the whole scar thing. It gets so complicated and draining. Why get into the whole history when I knew there was no future?”
    “So there’s a future with this photographer?” Willow asked.
    “No, no. I mean…” What if he did stay on Mimosa Key to take care of his niece? A strange sensation of curiosity and longing wrapped around her. She wouldn’t mind getting to know TJ DeMille better. “The chances of a guy like him settling down are zero to nil. He travels the world and doesn’t really seem to care about much but moving on to his next assignment. Alone.” She sighed. “Always alone is like his personal motto.”
    “And he’s got guardianship of a twelve-year-old girl?” Ari asked, her voice rising with incredulity.
    Gussie nodded. “She’s a sweet kid, too, so it’s really heartbreaking. I feel like taking the poor thing home myself.”
    “Gus.” Ari narrowed her eyes. “She’s not a stray cat.”
    Of course not, and Gussie had three of those at the moment.
    “Get back to your hair,” Willow said. “What made you tell him?”
    She pushed back the straight, black locks she wore today. “I don’t know. It gets to be a burden to cart around sometimes.”
    Willow leaned forward. “You don’t have to cover it, you know.” It wasn’t the first time she’d made the suggestion. “There are ways to wear your hair that it’s barely noticeable.”
    “Easy for you to say, woman with a mane of healthy hair and no scars.”
    “None visible,” Willow corrected with a wry smile.
    Ari was still shaking her head, though. “The burden that it becomes is exactly why I’m so intrigued. This photographer must have something incredibly special.”
    “Many somethings. Head-to-toe somethings, as you will soon see. Trust me, hanging out with him—even hauling gazebos—is not a burden.”
    Ari and Willow shared a look so lightning fast that Gussie almost missed it, but like always, she suspected she could follow the silent exchange pretty well.
    “Look, you two should be thrilled I’m doing this wedding with him,” Gussie said. “It’ll get my dreams of