out but never liked it when she was served a dose of her own medicine. Nothing irritated Ashley more than being ignored or not being the center of attention, and Sawyer had managed to do both. Witnessing Sawyer’s terse reaction to Ashley made Paige respect him a bit more and put a question mark on what Sawyer’s feelings for Ashley actually were.
Ashley flipped her hair over her shoulder and exhaled an annoyed huff of breath. “What’s going on between the two of you, anyway?” she asked, looking Paige over with a crinkle of her nose and a distasteful look on her face.
Paige hated the judgment in Ashley’s gaze, the kind of appraisal that sized her up and found her lacking. And compared to Ashley’s outward appearance, Paige always did feel inadequate, because there was no comparison between her stepsister’s flawless beauty, her petite frame and perfect body, and Paige’s wild and wavy auburn hair and much fuller figure. They couldn’t be more polar opposite in their looks, and in personality, thank God for that!
“Nothing that concerns you.” Refusing to give Ashley any kind of information she could use to her advantage, Paige kept herself busy clearing off the spools of thread from the worktable and putting them away in the nearby shelves.
“I’d say there was a lot more than nothing going on when I walked back here,” she persisted. “In fact, it looked like he was going to kiss you.”
A surge of warmth suffused Paige’s entire body. Their interaction had definitely been heading in that direction, so in that regard, she was grateful that Ashley had interrupted them. She’d put that no kissing rule into place for a reason, because Paige knew the moment his mouth touched hers, the last of her defenses against Sawyer would melt away and she’d be stripped bare emotionally. She already felt too vulnerable around him, and giving Sawyer that last bit of power to hurt her again wasn’t an option.
Tired of Ashley’s scrutiny and personal questions that were none of her business , as Sawyer had said, Paige grabbed a pair of shears and dropped them into a drawer before changing the subject. “Is there a reason you stopped by?”
Her abrupt switch in topics momentarily took Ashley aback, but she quickly recovered. “Mom called me today to let me know that our bridesmaid dresses for the wedding will be in next week, and she wanted to know if we could both be at the shop for a fitting next Saturday at three.”
Melissa was getting remarried and had insisted that both girls stand by her side as her only bridesmaids, to represent her family during the ceremony. Paige wasn’t thrilled about being a part of the wedding party, but opting out would have caused more discord than she wanted to deal with. Paige was all about keeping the peace and not making waves. A quintessential good girl who avoided conflict with Melissa and Ashley whenever possible.
Paige folded a yard of pink silk fabric, hating the way Ashley glanced around the back room, her gaze scrutinizing everything. “You could have texted me with the day and time.”
“Yes, I could have, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, and I was in the area.” She gave a one-shoulder shrug. “It really wasn’t a big deal.”
So Paige wasn’t going to make a big deal of it, either. “I’ll let Melissa know I’ll be there.” Now go so I can breathe .
Ashley’s gaze latched on to the folder Kendall had left on the table, and one of the photographs peeking out of the file. Without asking permission, she opened the folder and started perusing the various shots Kendall had taken.
“What are these photos for?”
Ashley’s presumptuous behavior wore on what little patience Paige had left. “They’re my newest designs.” She moved around the table, feeling more than a little protective of her work, even though these were just photographs.
“Well, they’re definitely pretty.” Ashley flipped one of the photos and came to the
Ashley flipped her hair over her shoulder and exhaled an annoyed huff of breath. “What’s going on between the two of you, anyway?” she asked, looking Paige over with a crinkle of her nose and a distasteful look on her face.
Paige hated the judgment in Ashley’s gaze, the kind of appraisal that sized her up and found her lacking. And compared to Ashley’s outward appearance, Paige always did feel inadequate, because there was no comparison between her stepsister’s flawless beauty, her petite frame and perfect body, and Paige’s wild and wavy auburn hair and much fuller figure. They couldn’t be more polar opposite in their looks, and in personality, thank God for that!
“Nothing that concerns you.” Refusing to give Ashley any kind of information she could use to her advantage, Paige kept herself busy clearing off the spools of thread from the worktable and putting them away in the nearby shelves.
“I’d say there was a lot more than nothing going on when I walked back here,” she persisted. “In fact, it looked like he was going to kiss you.”
A surge of warmth suffused Paige’s entire body. Their interaction had definitely been heading in that direction, so in that regard, she was grateful that Ashley had interrupted them. She’d put that no kissing rule into place for a reason, because Paige knew the moment his mouth touched hers, the last of her defenses against Sawyer would melt away and she’d be stripped bare emotionally. She already felt too vulnerable around him, and giving Sawyer that last bit of power to hurt her again wasn’t an option.
Tired of Ashley’s scrutiny and personal questions that were none of her business , as Sawyer had said, Paige grabbed a pair of shears and dropped them into a drawer before changing the subject. “Is there a reason you stopped by?”
Her abrupt switch in topics momentarily took Ashley aback, but she quickly recovered. “Mom called me today to let me know that our bridesmaid dresses for the wedding will be in next week, and she wanted to know if we could both be at the shop for a fitting next Saturday at three.”
Melissa was getting remarried and had insisted that both girls stand by her side as her only bridesmaids, to represent her family during the ceremony. Paige wasn’t thrilled about being a part of the wedding party, but opting out would have caused more discord than she wanted to deal with. Paige was all about keeping the peace and not making waves. A quintessential good girl who avoided conflict with Melissa and Ashley whenever possible.
Paige folded a yard of pink silk fabric, hating the way Ashley glanced around the back room, her gaze scrutinizing everything. “You could have texted me with the day and time.”
“Yes, I could have, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, and I was in the area.” She gave a one-shoulder shrug. “It really wasn’t a big deal.”
So Paige wasn’t going to make a big deal of it, either. “I’ll let Melissa know I’ll be there.” Now go so I can breathe .
Ashley’s gaze latched on to the folder Kendall had left on the table, and one of the photographs peeking out of the file. Without asking permission, she opened the folder and started perusing the various shots Kendall had taken.
“What are these photos for?”
Ashley’s presumptuous behavior wore on what little patience Paige had left. “They’re my newest designs.” She moved around the table, feeling more than a little protective of her work, even though these were just photographs.
“Well, they’re definitely pretty.” Ashley flipped one of the photos and came to the
Similar Books
