the pair of them on their honeymoon like a normal couple?
“Sure. You’re in town, I’m in town. Why wouldn’t I go?”
“Because you’re on your honeymoon,” he reminded her.
“That’s silly. Harrison loves racing. We’re all from the same town. We should support each other.”
Oh, like that was going to happen.
“Let me talk to her, Dylan.”
“The shower’s still running. I should warn you that she’s a bit of a clean freak. Once she gets in that shower, I swear she shampoos her toenails. She’ll be a good few minutes yet.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you until she comes out.” She sighed. “Wasn’t that a beautiful wedding?”
In Dylan’s top ten things he hated discussing, “beautiful wedding” would make the top three. “Sure was. Where’s Harrison? Shouldn’t you two be makin’ babies or something?”
“I sent him off to the jewelry store to get my wedding ring made smaller.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?”
“Because I wanted to talk to you and Kendall without him listening in, that’s why. He thinks I’m having a facial.”
“You’re a spoiled brat, you know that?”
“Of course I know it, and so does Harrison. He’d do anything for me.”
“He’s a fool.”
There was a short pause. “You’re not going to make me mad enough to hang up on you so quit trying. Is Kendall out of the shower yet?”
He grabbed his room card and stuck it in his pocket before slipping out of his hotel room and into the hall.
“She’s singing the ‘Hallelujah Chorus,’ so that means she’s shaving her legs. She’s almost done.”
“Good. So, did you think the ceremony was too short? I didn’t want to make too big a deal of it, being it was my fourth wedding and all.”
Two hundred guests and enough candles to light up outer space wasn’t a big deal? “No,” he said. “I thought it was perfect.”
From long experience, he knew he could make mmm-hmm noises periodically and Ashlee would keep talking. Right now she was going on about twinkle lights. Twinkle lights! “Mmm-hmm.”
He banged on Kendall’s door, hoping she’d still be there.
“Who is it?” he heard a minute later, in a tone that sounded as though she were expecting a firing squad.
“Honey,” he said, loud enough for her to hear him through the hotel door, “Ashlee is on the phone. She wants to talk to you.”
A beat passed.
“Honey?”
The door opened.
He blinked. “Kendall?” He’d barely have recognized the woman standing in front of him. She was dressed in a dirt-colored suit with a turtleneck the color of mould underneath. Her shoes were the flat kind favored by old women with bad knees. Her hair was neat and her posture stiff. What had happened to last night’s wild woman?
Even her eyes had changed. Last night, they’d been sparkly and daring; this morning, they looked far too old for a young woman.
“What is it?” he asked, forgetting for the moment why he was there. He felt an impulse to wrap her in his arms. If anyone had ever needed a hug, it was Kendall.
She shook her head. “Is there something I can do for you?”
Right. The phone. “Ashlee wants to speak to you.”
“She does?”
He nodded. He didn’t have the heart to tell this modelof propriety that Ashlee was about to apologize for calling her slutty. He simply handed over the phone.
She hesitated and he mouthed, “Please?”
“Hello?”
After that there was a pretty long silence from Kendall’s end. A simple “I’m sorry” from Ashlee was going to take at least fifteen minutes. Since he didn’t feel like waiting out in the hallway, he nudged past Kendall and went to sit on the armchair in the corner of her room.
She followed him in, the phone still held to her ear. There was an open suitcase on the bed with a lot of suit-type clothes neatly folded. He’d never seen so many colors inspired by mud.
“That’s all right. Really. I quite understand. No offense taken.”
Then her gaze flew to his and she
“Sure. You’re in town, I’m in town. Why wouldn’t I go?”
“Because you’re on your honeymoon,” he reminded her.
“That’s silly. Harrison loves racing. We’re all from the same town. We should support each other.”
Oh, like that was going to happen.
“Let me talk to her, Dylan.”
“The shower’s still running. I should warn you that she’s a bit of a clean freak. Once she gets in that shower, I swear she shampoos her toenails. She’ll be a good few minutes yet.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you until she comes out.” She sighed. “Wasn’t that a beautiful wedding?”
In Dylan’s top ten things he hated discussing, “beautiful wedding” would make the top three. “Sure was. Where’s Harrison? Shouldn’t you two be makin’ babies or something?”
“I sent him off to the jewelry store to get my wedding ring made smaller.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?”
“Because I wanted to talk to you and Kendall without him listening in, that’s why. He thinks I’m having a facial.”
“You’re a spoiled brat, you know that?”
“Of course I know it, and so does Harrison. He’d do anything for me.”
“He’s a fool.”
There was a short pause. “You’re not going to make me mad enough to hang up on you so quit trying. Is Kendall out of the shower yet?”
He grabbed his room card and stuck it in his pocket before slipping out of his hotel room and into the hall.
“She’s singing the ‘Hallelujah Chorus,’ so that means she’s shaving her legs. She’s almost done.”
“Good. So, did you think the ceremony was too short? I didn’t want to make too big a deal of it, being it was my fourth wedding and all.”
Two hundred guests and enough candles to light up outer space wasn’t a big deal? “No,” he said. “I thought it was perfect.”
From long experience, he knew he could make mmm-hmm noises periodically and Ashlee would keep talking. Right now she was going on about twinkle lights. Twinkle lights! “Mmm-hmm.”
He banged on Kendall’s door, hoping she’d still be there.
“Who is it?” he heard a minute later, in a tone that sounded as though she were expecting a firing squad.
“Honey,” he said, loud enough for her to hear him through the hotel door, “Ashlee is on the phone. She wants to talk to you.”
A beat passed.
“Honey?”
The door opened.
He blinked. “Kendall?” He’d barely have recognized the woman standing in front of him. She was dressed in a dirt-colored suit with a turtleneck the color of mould underneath. Her shoes were the flat kind favored by old women with bad knees. Her hair was neat and her posture stiff. What had happened to last night’s wild woman?
Even her eyes had changed. Last night, they’d been sparkly and daring; this morning, they looked far too old for a young woman.
“What is it?” he asked, forgetting for the moment why he was there. He felt an impulse to wrap her in his arms. If anyone had ever needed a hug, it was Kendall.
She shook her head. “Is there something I can do for you?”
Right. The phone. “Ashlee wants to speak to you.”
“She does?”
He nodded. He didn’t have the heart to tell this modelof propriety that Ashlee was about to apologize for calling her slutty. He simply handed over the phone.
She hesitated and he mouthed, “Please?”
“Hello?”
After that there was a pretty long silence from Kendall’s end. A simple “I’m sorry” from Ashlee was going to take at least fifteen minutes. Since he didn’t feel like waiting out in the hallway, he nudged past Kendall and went to sit on the armchair in the corner of her room.
She followed him in, the phone still held to her ear. There was an open suitcase on the bed with a lot of suit-type clothes neatly folded. He’d never seen so many colors inspired by mud.
“That’s all right. Really. I quite understand. No offense taken.”
Then her gaze flew to his and she
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