then when it felt like Janica was growing up and getting further and further away from her, Lily pulled the soft red-and-white-gingham sundress out from the dusty box underneath her bed and rubbed the fabric against her cheek.
You are going to have to suck it up and pull yourself together, Lily told herself in a firm voice, when a size-zero model skipped by, all long legs and pouty lips.
Lily promptly lost hold of her false confidence. Her legs trembled, and the dress fluttered around her knees, mimicking the quivering in her stomach.
“Would it help if Luke was here to cheer you on?” Janica asked with concern.
Lily stopped chewing on her lip. No question about it, her best friend Luke was exactly the right person to see her through this terrible ordeal. He would make some silly joke about the whole thing, and she’d forget about how big and jiggly and stupid she felt wrapped up in high fashion, like Jell-O in cellophane.
Maybe they could go see that new Queen Latifah movie when the whole thing was over. Lily loved any actress who had a full figure, even if it meant she was a size eight instead of a zero. At least it proved that other women had curves, too.
Feeling slightly calmer, Lily nodded and pinned a falsely bright smile on her face as she grabbed Janica’s cell phone and dialed Luke’s number. She quickly explained the situation to him and felt a thousand times better after she hung up.
Thank God for her best friend. He would never let her down.
Luke Carson closed his cell phone with a snap, stood up, and threw down a twenty. “Sorry to drink and run, bro, but I’ve got more important things to do right now.”
“Gotta get on your white horse again?” Travis Carson asked, his full mouth twisting at the corners.
Luke ignored Travis, like he had ignored him for the past thirty years whenever he was being a total jerk.
So, as he had for the past three decades, Travis kept digging away at his younger-by-sixty-seconds brother.
“You never should have rescued her cat from up in the tree in first grade,” Travis drawled. “It set a bad precedent. A really bad precedent.”
Travis took a slug of his beer but kept his eye on his twin brother to gauge his reaction to the ribbing.
Luke had been best friends with Lily for nearly twenty-five years. Travis wondered why they weren’t married yet.
Or at least doing the nasty on a regular basis.
Because even though they almost never talked about Lily, and Travis made it a point to avoid her whenever possible, more often than not Luke couldn’t hang out with the guys because he already had plans with Lily.
“You might as well admit that she’s your girlfriend, already.”
“I would if she was,” Luke said, not the least bit bothered by Travis’s jibes. “I’ll see you for some one-on-one basketball tomorrow,” Luke added, but before he walked away from the table he was interrupted by the insistent ring of his cell phone.
Luke flipped open the cover. “Now? You’re kidding? No, don’t worry, I’ll be there in ten.” He turned his bright green eyes to Travis.
Travis put down his empty beer bottle and shook his head. “You know I hate it when you look at me like that. And the answer is no.”
Luke gave Travis a conciliatory smile. “She needs me, Travis. And since I’ve got to be in the ER, you need to be me.” At Travis’s skeptical glance, Luke said, “Remember how often we pulled this off when we were kids? Besides, I’m sure it’ll be dark in there. Sit close enough that she’ll be able to see you.”
“But not close enough that she gets a good look at me,” Travis finished for him. “I still know the drill.”
“And be sure to wave when she looks over. Hopefully, it’ll be dark enough in the audience that she won’t realize that I’m you until the show’s over.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Travis said, then shook his head. “But I’ve got a date.”
“I’ll personally call Bimbos Are Us and cancel for you,” Luke said. “And to sweeten the deal, tomorrow afternoon I’ll let you beat me at hoops.”
Travis thought about what being stuck with Lily all night would be like. Definitely boring. Especially compared to what he had been planning to do with the stacked brunette bartender who had already given him her number. Now there was a woman who a guy could have a good time with.