The Virgin’s Guide to Misbehaving (Bluebonnet #4)(40)
Author: Jessica Clare

Elise herself wasn’t in a very good mood. She’d driven out to the ranch, but Brenna had tackled her before she’d been able to go in and sneak a peek at Rome to satisfy her eyes. That had put her in a funk. Combine that with the fact that he hadn’t texted her in hours? Double funk.

Puppy pee on the floorboards? Triple funk.

But Brenna turned and gave her such an excited look, Elise’s spirits lifted just a bit. “Isn’t this fun?”

“It is,” Elise lied, smiling and checking her phone one last time before sliding it into her pocket. “Where’s your dog?”

Brenna winked and pointed at her oversized purse. “He’s in here.”

“Are you sure you’re allowed to bring him in?” Elise glanced at the front door of the thrift store.

Brenna snorted. “Rich ladies do it all the time. Besides, Gollum’s already peed, so he’ll be fine for at least a half hour.”

“Great,” Elise murmured, and followed Brenna inside.

The interior of the shop was small and dirty, and immediately Elise wanted to leave. The smell of dust was overwhelming, and the woman behind the counter barely glanced at them before returning to texting on her phone. “You ladies let me know if you need help with anything,” she called out.

“Oh wow,” exclaimed Brenna, heading for a nearby rack. “Look at all this great stuff!” She pulled out a T-shirt with a panda on it and held it out to Elise. “You should get this.”

Elise took it from her and glanced at it. “It’s not my size.”

“I know, but it’s my size and then I can borrow it.” Brenna gave Elise a beaming smile.

Oh yeah. Grant had warned her about Brenna’s idiosyncrasies. That Brenna didn’t like to actually own things . . . but she loved to borrow. Elise flipped the tag on the shirt and then sighed. It was cheap, at least. “All right. Is there anything else I want to get here?”

Brenna shrugged. “I was thinking about having the wedding colors be orange and pink. What do you think?”

“I think that sounds . . . hideous?”

“Me too.” She grinned. “And it’ll clash with my purple bangs. And then Grant won’t hate on my idea of heading down to the courthouse.”

“It’s not Grant’s idea as much as it is Mom’s,” Elise commented, following Brenna as she wandered through the store. “She’s just really excited to have a new daughter-in-law.”

“Your mom is sweet, but weddings are really a waste of money,” Brenna said, then pulled another T-shirt off the rack and held it up skeptically to Elise. “Do you like this shirt?”

“I . . . guess?” It was cute enough—pink, with a ruffle across the neckline and spaghetti straps for sleeves. She’d never wear it, though. The scar on her back would be totally visible. “It’s the wrong season for a tank top, isn’t it?”

Brenna shrugged. “We could always add an orange skirt to this and voilà, wedding gear.” She checked the tag. “Besides, it’s dirt cheap.” She handed it to Elise, who took it.

She should have guessed when Grant had tried to give her his credit card that she’d be the one buying everything today.

“Oooh, check that out.” Brenna wandered over to a mannequin and fingered a fringed black vest with a deep vee-cut front and what looked like a lace-up corset on the waist. “You should buy that. It’s totally slutty.”

Elise stared at the article of clothing. “Um. What would you wear under that?”

“Nothing,” Brenna said, and gestured at her boobs, pushing them up. “You just jiggle your shit under the nose of every man who comes by.”

And what on earth made Brenna think that sounded a bit like Elise? “Um, I think I’ll pass.”

“You sure? It’d look hot on a date.” And Brenna gave her a knowing look.

Elise felt a flush climbing her face. She tugged her hair over her cheek awkwardly. “Um.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t sit there and tell me you’re not dating anyone. You totally have the ‘I had a good f**k last night’ look on your face.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “What?”

“Yeah. I told Grant it’s pretty clear you’re getting some, and that’s why you’re sticking around Bluebonnet. He blustered and huffed a little, but in the end, he’s happy for you. That’s one reason why we’re out today, you know.” Brenna gave Elise an incredibly obvious wink. “I’m supposed to dig out from you who you’re seeing so Grant can do the whole ‘big brother’ thing.”

“I’m not seeing anyone,” Elise protested, but the argument sounded weak, even to herself.

“Oh please. You are a terrible liar. Look at how red your face is.”

Elise ducked her head in embarrassment.

“And now you’re staring at the floor. Typical avoidance reaction. You know what this means.”

Elise looked up, forcing herself to make eye contact with Brenna even though it was killing her to do so. “What?”

“It means I’m going to have to start guessing.” Brenna waggled her eyebrows at her.

“Please don’t.”

To Elise’s relief, the puppy in Brenna’s purse started whining, immediately distracting her. Brenna pulled him out and gave Elise a quick glance. “I think I’m going to take him outside to piddle. He might have the runs from breakfast.”

It was strange to wish diarrhea on a puppy, but Elise was rather hoping for something like that so Brenna would remain distracted. “I think I’ll just pay for these while you do that.”

They separated and Elise headed to the register. The woman at the counter seemed to take an exceptionally long time with each. Elise paid for the shirts, pressing a hand to her cheeks to try and calm down a bit. Her face felt overheated and flushed. So Brenna knew she was seeing someone. That shouldn’t be embarrassing, right? But Rome didn’t want Grant to know, so she had to keep it a secret somehow.

She just needed to somehow misdirect Brenna. That wouldn’t be easy, given that Elise’s every emotion showed on her face. She thanked the clerk, took the bag, and slowly headed back outside to rejoin Brenna, determined to keep a poker-faced expression.

“All done?” Brenna asked, squatting next to the fat puppy currently toddling on the sidewalk.

“Yes,” Elise said, and handed the bag to Brenna, since they both knew that was who the shirts were really for. “Think you can clean these for me?” She lied. “I don’t have a washing machine at the bed-and-breakfast.”