Page 28 of The Flight Risk

“Am I exaggerating, Aunt Tess?” Lottie leans in so she’s right in my face. “Am I?”

I lean back and admit, “Okay, there may have been a little lipstick on Oakley’s face…”

“And how did it get there?” Lottie wiggles her eyebrows.

“You know I have full permission from your mother to ground you, right?” I narrow my eyes and attempt to intimidate my one and only niece.

“I know, but you won’t.” Lottie says it with such confidence I can’t help but be proud of my little mini me.

“Um, hello?!” Brooke waves her hands in front of us and says, “Can someone please fill me in?”

I take a deep breath while I shoot daggers at my niece, who I’m about to disown, “Today is about you, Brooke. I don’t want to distract from your day with my guy drama.”

“Oh please. Don’t give me that bullshit, Tess Lewis. Since when do you not want to talk about boys? Yes, today is about me picking out my wedding dress, but your love life is just as important. Plus, I’m the bride. You have to do whatever I say.”

Love life. That’s a strong phrase, but okay. Two sets of eyes are staring me down and I realize I’m not going to get out of this situation without telling Brooke at least some of the details. The rest of the details will be divulged at a later date–a date when my fourteen-year-old niece’s ears aren’t actively listening. “Okay, fine. I was exploring Oakley’s house the other day and I stumbled upon the closet in the guest room…”

“My room,” Lottie interrupts.

“Lottie’s room,” I confirm. “Anyway, long story short, I got a helmet stuck on my head and Oakley helped take it off and one thing led to another and we…made out in the closet.”

Brooke’s jaw drops. “This is need-to-know information in Best Friend Land.”

“I know, I’m sorry. Like I said, I got distracted.”

“Yeah, distracted by Oakley.” Lottie giggles.

I roll my eyes and that’s when I fully take in the gorgeous bride in front of me. The dress is covered with beautifully stitched flowers and the base has a faint blush tint. It’s strapless with a sweetheart neckline and hugs Brooke’s torso, then has a slight flare out at the bottom. “Brooke.”

“What?” she basically snaps at me. I have a clear glimpse of what Brookezilla is going to be like on her wedding day.

“That is the dress.”

Brooke snaps out of her Red Ross persona and looks down at the gorgeous dress. She steps onto the golden platform again and takes a moment to assess everything about the dress. For the first time today, tears fill her hazel eyes and the consultant places a simple, long veil in her hair. She’s a vision and we all know at that moment, this is it.

“Brooke, I know I’ve been saying it for the past two hours, but I think this is really the one,” Lottie says.

“I couldn’t agree more.” I hold onto Lottie’s hand, thankful that the topic pivoted back to the bride-to-be and not the messy Maid of Honor drama. “What do you think, Brooke?”

A couple of tears stream down her cheeks. “This is my dress.”

Joy cascades through my body. Seeing what love can do to a person is a beautiful thing. Although I’ve never allowed romantic love into my life, there is a sliver of hope that maybe one day I will be standing in front of that mirror, crying because I found the right dress and my fiancé is the right man for me.

For now, I will be present in this moment with my best girls, because I know for sure that their love will never falter.

16

“I’m so glad you were able to come out tonight!” Brooke exclaims. “Who would have thought I would be the one to drag you out of your house, or rather Oakley’s house, for a night on the town?” She drags me through an already crowded rooftop bar.

“Well, it’s kind of hard to go out when I have a teenager to look after. But, she assured me that she will be fine at Oakley’s and she has to practice for the homecoming halftime show for the football game next Friday. And she is binge-watching Stranger Things.”

Tristan and Oakley are lagging behind us, talking about their upcoming stretch of games no doubt. Colorado and Vegas are always tough to beat. Those three teams compete for the top spots in the league every season.

“I love how we can do double dates with you both now. We used to do it with Bradley and Jen, but since they had my sweet angel baby niece, we don’t get a chance to do this with them as often.” Brooke is beaming. Her bright pink lipstick matches her short cocktail dress.

“This is not a double date!” I spew back at her. Yes, Oakley and I have had some steamy encounters as of late, what with the hot makeout session in that closet and the accidental walk-in in his shower. Still, we aren’t a couple. Nothing’s official. Not that it matters, since I am not girlfriend material anyway.

“Whatever you say to help you sleep at night.” She taps the bar top and the bartender comes over. “Two espresso martinis and two Deep Ellum IPAs.”