Page 95 of Decidedly Off Limits

Lucky me.

When I didn’t see him, I exhaled a relieved breath and allowed Owen to guide me to a group of people on the other side of the room, none of whom I recognized.

“The woman in the dark blue dress is the one I was telling you about,” he said as we drew closer to them. “She’s the one who set the guy up on all those god awful dates.”

I hooked my arm through his. “Oh, Pookie, we can’t have that.” I snickered. God, this was going to be fun. Neither of us did pet names.

“Please tell me you aren’t going to call me that in front of everyone.”

“But, Pookie, how will we ever convince them that we’re madly in love if I don’t call you that?”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Yep. And that’s what you get for not telling everyone the truth.”

And the kettle and the pot live happily ever after, as friends.

“What a beautiful gown,” the gray-haired woman in the navy dress said as we joined the group. A warm smile spread on her face, making me instantly like her. Her dress was modest and elegant, and the perfect backdrop for the large diamonds that adorned her ears, neck, wrist, and fingers. I swear, the woman was a walking ad for Tiffany’s.

“Thank you,” I replied, smiling back at her. Contrary to what Owen had told me, she seemed perfectly harmless.

Stepping closer to me, Owen placed his hand to my lower back. “I’d like to introduce you to my fiancée, Kelsey Quade.” He gave me those adoring eyes that I hadn’t seen in what felt like a hundred years—and my stomach turned into a concrete block.

But not because it was Owen giving me those adoring eyes. It was because they didn’t belong to Trent.

Except Ihadseen them before on Trent—when we were posing for the photos.

He was just acting for the camera, I told myself.

That’s right, because Trent’s a talented model. If the voice in my head could’ve rolled its eyes, it would have.

One man in the group, who must have been in his sixties, held out his hand for me to shake. Only instead of shaking it, he lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it.

The woman laughed, the sound rich like butter. “Watch out my dear. My husband might be old, but he’s still quite the flirt.”

I smiled genuinely at her as her husband released my hand. “Thanks for the warning.”

He laughed deeply and wrapped his arm around her waist. They clearly loved each other. Just like it had been for my parents. Just like it still was for Trent and Erin’s parents.

“So when’s the big day?” she asked.

“We haven’t set a date yet,” I said at the same time Owen replied, “later this year.”

She looked between us, confused at our answers.

“We haven’t set a date yet,” Owen smoothly said, proving why he was a talented lawyer, “but I was thinking fall is a great time for a wedding due to the beautiful fall colors.”

I almost snorted a laugh at that. He must have heard his sister say that when she had been planning her wedding a few years ago.

“Well, you’ll have to let us know once you’ve picked the date,” she said. “But don’t wait too long. The best locations and services book up well in advance.”

We both just nodded, ready to move the topic to an easier one.

Like solving global warming.

A murmur of excited voices near our group captured my attention. I turned to see what had caused it, and was met by the gaze of five college-aged girls, all gorgeous and wearing designer gowns.

A girl in a silver gown, which had been practically painted on, glided in our direction. Her friends followed. “We just want to know if this is you.” She held what looked like a calendar with Trent on the cover.