Read Online The Best Man in Texas by Tanya Michaels - Free Book Online Page B

getting sore, but it did seem as though she’d stumbled into just the right dress pretty easily. Given the way all the details were falling into place with her and Giff’s engagement, it was obviously meant to be.
    Grace laughed. “It’s a good thing it didn’t take longer.Now that you and Giff have set the date for mid-July, you don’t have much time.”
    “July?” the sales lady echoed. “Not a second to lose, then!”
    Still… “If I want to take a couple of days to think about it, maybe bring back my mom and sister for their input, can you put this on hold?” Brooke asked.
    “We’ll hold it for forty-eight hours, with a twenty-five dollar deposit.”
    The bell over the door rang, and the woman excused herself again. Grace snapped a couple of shots from different angles on Brooke’s cell phone, so that she could send the images to Kresley. Afterward, Brooke meant to go put on her own clothes but instead found herself simply staring into the mirror.
    “Brooke? Is everything all right, dear?”
    “Yeah, I…” She trailed off because what she was thinking made no sense. If she said it aloud, Grace would need an explanation Brooke didn’t think she could articulate. I cannot picture myself in this dress. Which, considering she was staring at that exact reflection, made her a candidate for the loony bin.
    Well, the Nichols genes were bound to kick in sooner or later.
    The dress was undoubtedly lovely. It was elegant enough for a bride marrying into the Baker family, casual enough for a small wedding and better suited to the summer heat than gowns with heavier beading or sleeves. But when she tried to envision it—her on her wedding day, wearing this, walking toward Giff and her future… Her mind remained frustratingly blank.
    “Thanks for taking the pictures,” Brooke finally said, “I should go get changed.”
    Taking a closer look at herself in the dressing room mirror, Brooke couldn’t help but notice the circles under her eyes. Maybe that’s why her thoughts weren’t making much sense today—she’d been restless last night, tossing and turning, with songs from the concert stuck in her head. And Jake McBride in her thoughts.
    Guilt immediately slammed into her conscience with the same tingling pain of an elbow against a wall. She tried to shake off the sensation. It wasn’t that her thoughts had been disloyal to Giff; she hadn’t been fantasizing about what it would be like to be with a man like Jake. She’d simply found herself recounting parts of their conversation and wondering about other aspects of his life. Taking an interest in a new acquaintance was not disloyal.
    So why did she find it difficult to meet Grace’s eyes when she stepped out of the fitting room?
    “I don’t know about you,” Grace said, “but I could use a pick-me-up. I noticed a bakery on the corner when we came in. Want to go for a brownie or some cookies?”
    “I’m not hungry, but I could use a hit of caffeine.”
    Inside, the little bakery was crowded to capacity. Grace and Brooke found seats out on the patio, beneath the shade of an oversize umbrella.
    “You’re sure you don’t want half?” Grace asked, gesturing to her cheesecake brownie.
    “Can’t. I’m doing penance for a two-ton calzone from last night. But I promise to arrive for supper tomorrowready to eat,” Brooke said with a smile. “Giff tells me you’re quite a cook.”
    Grace’s already pleasant expression warmed even further at the mention of her only child. “He’s such a good boy. A good man now. I’m ridiculously proud of him, you know.”
    “You have every right to be.”
    “And I’ll be equally proud to call you my daughter-in-law. Brooke, there’s something I want to do for you and Giff. Let me throw you an engagement party!”
    “That’s so generous. You’re already letting us use the house for the wedding!” Brooke knew that Giff had approached his mom with the idea before heading to Corpus, wanting to give her a