The Dating Dare - Jayci Lee Page 0,2

to either take the damn dress off—she ate way too much to be contained in a corset-tight dress—or maybe throw up a little. Both scenarios required privacy, so she made like a penguin and waddled to the bathroom as fast as she could, shoving the door open with her shoulder.

“Ahhh!” Tara and Aubrey screamed in unison.

“Holy roadkill.” She’d nearly bulldozed her best friend and bride onto the monochromatic tiles of the ladies’ bathroom. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Aubrey lowered the arms she’d flung out in front of her and trained her eyes on Tara. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She eased herself into the restroom, making sure her friend was a safe distance away, and closed the door behind her.

“Purple isn’t your color.”

“What? I can rock purple just fine. Besides, this dress is a deep red.”

“I know, but your face is purple and you aren’t rocking it, babe.”

Tara caught her reflection in the mirror and snorted. “You’re right. I can’t breathe in this damn thing.”

“God, me neither.” Aubrey walked behind Tara and unzipped her partway, and Tara returned the favor. Lusty sighs echoed on the bathroom tiles. “Let’s just hide in here for five minutes.”

“Are you sure Landon won’t come charging in here to claim his bride?” Tara quirked an eyebrow at her.

Her friend rolled her eyes, but a rosy blush blossomed on her cheeks. She looked so beautiful Tara’s breath hitched. She was so happy for Aubrey. The ache in her heart meant nothing.

“He’s putting Morgan to sleep, and he’ll use that as an excuse to hold her for way too long. Our baby girl is barely a hundred days old, but she has her old man wrapped around her teeny tiny pinky.” Aubrey wiggled her pinky with a dreamy smile. “I’m safe from any charging husbands for now. But seriously. What’s going on?”

Tara had thought she’d dodged the question. Damn. Aubrey wasn’t going to settle for another evasive maneuver. “I’m sorry, but your brother-in-law’s an ass.”

“Seth?”

“Does Landon have another obnoxious younger brother?”

“What did he do? It can’t be that bad. He’s so sweet.”

“So sweet he’s been gawking at me for the last two hours?” She adopted his more benign word for ogling for no particular reason.

“Is that all?” Aubrey crinkled her nose. “All the single men, as well as some married ones, have been doing the same thing. Men stare at you all the time. Aren’t you used to it by now?”

“They do not.”

“You just never notice.” A sly grin spread across her face. “So why would you notice Seth’s attention?”

Curse you, hyperintuitive, recently married woman.

“I have to pee. See you outside, Mrs. Kim.” Tara spun Aubrey around, zipped her back up, and pushed her toward the door. She had no desire to find out where the conversation would lead.

“Seth is a really good guy. You should talk to him. Just tell him to quit doing whatever it is that’s bugging you.” Aubrey ignored Tara’s not-so-subtle shoving to help zip up her dress, and pecked her on the cheek. Only then did her best friend turn to leave. “You know where to find me if you need me.”

When the door closed behind Aubrey, Tara sagged against the sink. The good thing was she didn’t feel light-headed anymore. The bad thing was she didn’t know what it was about Seth that annoyed her so much. There was no harm in some light flirting. So why did it bother her in this case? Maybe it was because of her heart-stuttering reaction to him … No. Her heart was not to be trusted. Ever. She blinked rapidly and pulled herself back from the darkness she was tiptoeing around. None of that tonight.

Where the hell was she going with this anyway? All she knew was that she was very bothered. And hot. She just needed to have a firm word with herself. There will be no hookup between the maid of honor and the best man tonight. There.

Tara liked men. She enjoyed sex with men. But she kept her love life completely separate from the rest of her life. The men in her life have never, ever crossed paths with her family. Serious relationships went against the very fiber of her being. There was no point in having her family meet men she had no intention of keeping. It would make her life unnecessarily complicated and messy. And she was so done with complicated and messy.

She liked things light and simple. Like with her traveling lover, Roger Stephens. He used to be Weldon