I threw off the robe, struggled into a new outfit, and added a spot of peach blush to my cheeks. I always tried to look and act more feminine around Mom. I knew she wanted a daughter more like Georgia: pretty and lithe, sociable and distinctly girlish. But that wasn’t me. As much as I would like for it to be, it wasn’t.

I finger-combed my hair and was just about to head out the door for dinner when my cell phone chimed in my bag. I was so ravenous, I almost considered leaving it for later, but I always had to be available for work, being the only one capable of keeping systems online or rerouting servers when they went down.

I dug the phone out of my bag and clicked on the message.

I’m so pissed off; I could kill her!

Sighing, I sent back a quick reply:

You and me both.

Chapter Eight

Rosalee

The bride-to-be

I followed the rich, smoky smells of food down the double-sided staircase of the Leblanc-Landry mansion. I’d packed away my T-shirt from Mara—as much as I appreciated the gesture, I wanted to wear my own clothes now that we were here. I’d pawed through my miniature suitcase, finding the perfect dinner dress: a comfy, cotton sundress that was slightly wrinkled from travel and my recent move, but fit snug on my hips and breasts, accentuating the best parts of my curvy figure.

The others were waiting as I descended the stairs, and I couldn’t help feeling like a blushing bride already. Was this how it would feel on my wedding day? All eyes on me, watchful and engaged?

“I don’t know what’s cooking, but it smells delicious! I don’t deserve all this, guys.”

“Oh, but you do,” Mara said, taking me by the elbow and leading me down a low-lit corridor toward an enormous, grand dining space. Tinsley followed at my heels; I’d had only a few moments to speak with my cousin upon arriving, and I wanted a chance to get her alone so we could catch up like old times.

As much as it hurt thinking about the past, Tinsley was a huge part of mine—an important part that I couldn’t just swallow down and cast aside. We had stayed in touch over the last several years, through college and apartments, through life, but it was different seeing her face to face again. Although my hometown was less than ninety miles from Moon County, we had somehow avoided seeing each other for years. There were always excuses, mostly on my end, work and appointments, too much going on with planning the wedding to have a proper sit down and catch-up with my dear cousin.