Four Weddings and a Werewolf

Chapter Twenty

Veronica held her hand out over the manicurist’s table and watched the woman paint her nails a shimmering shade of red. Each of the bridesmaids had their turn to get pedicures and manicures, and Veronica had volunteered to go last. As the manicurist started on the topcoat, Veronica craned her neck around and peered at her sister, who was busy getting her hair pinned up into tons of tiny twists.

“How was the tour?” Veronica asked, glancing out the window at the Wolf Pack bodyguards Logan had assigned to watch over her. He had to perform typical best man duties and couldn’t escort Veronica around himself, so it appeared that he’d called in the largest, most lethal packmates they had on staff. “You haven’t talked about it much.”

“It was good. Long. Tiring.” Leah stared at herself in the mirror and slowly turned her neck this way and that to peek at what the stylist was doing. “Make sure there are enough pins,” she said. “I don’t want those twists falling out.”

“Don’t worry.” The hairstylist put in two more pins and shoved another two in her mouth to ready them for the next twist. “Your hair won’t go anywhere.”

“Good.” Leah turned her dark eyes on Veronica. They looked so much like their mother’s: droopy, hooded eyes with naturally thick fans of inky-black lashes. “I don’t want to talk about my tour. I want to talk about you and Logan. What’s going on between the two of you?”

Taking her gaze off the guards pacing out front, Veronica swiveled her chair around and kept her hands in position. “I’m not sure.”

“You’re a sucky liar.” Leah squinted her eyes and pursed her mouth. “Spill it.”

“I like him,” Veronica blurted, “even though I shouldn’t.”

“Holy shit, V! How’d that happen? You hate his…relatives.”

“I know, I know. I tried not to like him, but he was like a fungus that came out of nowhere, wouldn’t go away, and the next thing I know, he grew on me.”

Leah laughed from her belly, making the plastic leopard-print apron covering her body shake. “You’re not supposed to compare the guy you like to a fungus. It’s a good thing you’re not a writer.”

“You know what I mean,” Veronica said. “I tried not to like him, I really tried. If I knew what was good for me, I’d forget I ever met him.”

“Here’s some advice.” Leah leaned forward, taking the hairstylist’s fingers with her. “If you have to try not to like someone, and it still doesn’t work, that’s a pretty clear sign that you more than like him. You’re in love.”

“I’m not…”

But Veronica couldn’t finish her sentence. Did she love Logan? She couldn’t stop thinking of those light-gray eyes. That chiseled body. Those broad shoulders and strong arms that could swoop her up and protect her. At first, when he’d shadowed her to every appointment, she’d been seriously annoyed. Somehow, along the way, she’d started to like him being there with her. She’d had fun and loosened up with him, even when she was making his life hell. When he said he wanted to protect her, all she could think about was how she’d wanted to take care of him.

But he didn’t want to be with her. Not in the same way.

Even if he did, how would they blend their lives together? They were from two completely different worlds.

“Leah, can I ask you something personal, without you giving your opinion on what you think I should do?”

She smiled, her thin lips pulling back wide. “Sure.”

Totally not happening.

“Every month, when you take that trip with Jake’s family to the mountains…” Damn, she had to be really careful how she worded this. The bridesmaids weren’t listening to their conversation, but the lounge area wasn’t far away and voices echoed in the salon. She still had to worry about the stylist though, who looked as though she was hanging on every word. “Do you feel like yourself? Or do you feel…different? Sick and stuff,” she threw in for listening ears.

Leah sighed. “You guys have progressed that far already?”

“No, but isn’t that something you had to think about before you stepped into a relationship with Jake?”

“It’s something you should think about, yes, but our situation was different.”

As the manicurist lifted Veronica’s hands and placed them beneath the drying light, Leah spoke up. “Ladies, would you mind giving us some privacy? Just a few minutes?”

The stylist and manicurist collected a few of their things and left the room quietly, securing the door behind them.

“Okay, how do I say this,” Leah said, keeping her head still so her tower of unpinned hair wouldn’t topple. “At first, I felt really…off. I was depressed and dealing with the effects of the attack. But when I took off to the mountains every month with Jake’s family, and then with him alone, I started to come to grips with my new situation. It was like, once I accepted the hand that I’d been dealt wholeheartedly, everything came easily. I fell in love with Jake, started getting book ideas, and the rest is history.”

“I didn’t know you were depressed.” Veronica spun around, facing Leah’s chair. But Leah still wouldn’t look at her—wedding hair must’ve been serious business. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to bother you. You were already dealing with a lot, coming to grips with what happened.”

“I wasn’t going through nearly as much as you were.”

Leah finally met Veronica’s gaze. “I love you, V, and I wanted you to still love me, too. I didn’t want you worried about my depression or the changes I was going through. I needed you to accept what I came to accept through Jake’s love.”

“I think I needed to accept it on my own.”

With a little help from Logan.

“Does Logan have any leads on the stalker?” Leah asked, as if she knew Veronica’s thoughts had veered back to him.

Veronica shook her head. “He picked up his scent. Said it was unique.” She steeled herself for the hardest question of all. “If you had the choice…if the attack hadn’t happened…would you have chosen…you know?”

Leah’s whole face lit up. Her skin glowed with radiant happiness. “If I met Jake, knew without a doubt that he was the one for me, and he asked me to marry him…yes. I wouldn’t care if he was a wolf, bear, jaguar, vampire, or zombie. I’d love him just the same.”

“A zombie? Bet that’d make the sex sounds interesting.”

They laughed, and the tension released from Veronica’s shoulders. She threw her arms around Leah’s neck, careful not to brush her with her tacky nails.

“Whoa, whoa, watch the hair!” Leah put her hands up as if she could guard it from the attack.

“I love you so much,” Veronica said, squeezing her tightly. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Leah wrapped her arms around Veronica’s back and gave her a loving rub. “I love you, too, but you really have to watch my hair or you’ll make me late to my wedding. I hear this really kick-ass wedding planner set up one hell of a party.”

“We’ll see.”

As the stylist returned to the room, she slid the veil’s comb into place, cementing Leah as the most stunning bride in history.

The bridal party left the shop and slid into the limo ahead of schedule. Veronica glanced back at the men following them and repressed a sigh. The Seattle Wolf Pack dynamic was very appealing, she couldn’t deny it. For a short time, she’d felt like part of a family. Special. Someone cared enough to make sure she was all right, even when she went to the salon. They really did fight—and care—for one another.

It was too bad she’d always be on the outside looking in.

Their limo pulled into the underground parking of the Starlight Tower Club. The girls practically ran to the elevators, and when they entered the bridal suite, laughing and giddy from excitement, Leah gasped.

“What’s this?” she asked, pointing at her wedding dress hanging from the bathroom doorjamb. “Tell me it’s not—”

“Your dress.” Veronica jumped into action, taking the dress off the door and examining every inch of it. It was gorgeous. Pristine. Exactly how it’d been in the store. “What are you seeing? What’s wrong with it?”

“Oh yeah, it’s beautiful.” Leah folded arms and tapped her foot. “But it’s not my dress.”

Veronica froze, mortified. “What are you talking about? This is the dress they had under your name at Bridal Beat.”

“Nope. Not mine. I think I’d remember.” Her normally sweet voice went shrill. “Someone call Bridal Beat and get the right dress here now.”

All six bridesmaids swept out of the suite. They could probably feel the storm brewing.

“Calm down, Leah, I can fix this.”

“Fix this, how? I tried on mermaid styles and they made my hips look enormous. I’m going to be a cow at my wedding!” She plopped on the edge of the bed and threw herself back. “I knew something was going to happen, I knew it. Nothing could be this perfect for this long.” She took three deep breaths, then laughed nervously. Like a serial killer about to snap. “You’re always so good at taking care of everything! How could this happen?”

Veronica eyed the dream dress she’d tried on in the store. “Maybe there are two Leah Vales. Maybe the lady working the front was new. I have no idea. But if they can’t get your dress in before the wedding, you can get married in this one. I’m sure it’s just as pretty.”

“Can’t you fix this?” She sat up, her face paler than normal. “I’m going to close my eyes for a few minutes, you’re going to figure this whole dress situation out, and when it’s time, I’ll open my eyes and everything will be fine.”

Magically get her dress here? Sure, she’d snap two fingers and poof! She’d absorb the stress, once again, and Leah would sit back and worry about nothing.

She couldn’t bear to rescue her sister. Not when her own life was shaking apart.

“I love you, Leah, but I’m tired of making everything magically better for you. Maybe you would’ve known your dress was the right one if you would’ve come home from your book tour and taken care of some of the wedding details yourself. I’ve been beating myself senseless trying to make you happy and make things easier for you and it’s driving me nuts.”

Leah covered her eyes with her hands and moaned. “God, I’m so sorry. I feel like I’m having a meltdown. You’re right.” She peeked from behind her fingers. “I’ve been taking advantage of you, haven’t I?”

Veronica sighed into a laugh. “You think?”

“I guess I’ve depended on you for so long, and you’re so good at taking care of these things that I didn’t realize how much stress I was putting on you. It’s just that everything comes easy for you. You’re always put together and are organized and I could never be like that.” Leah dropped her hands to the bed and smiled. “I’m sorry, V.”

“You think these things come easy for me?”

“I don’t know how you do it.” Leah shook her head. “You always look great, with every hair in place, you never make impulsive decisions that you wind up regretting later, and you never make a mess of things. I’m always so terrified that I’m going to do or say the wrong thing that I don’t know where to start or which way to turn.”

“Oh, Leah.” Veronica plopped on the bed beside her sister and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. “We should’ve had this talk a long time ago. We have more in common than you realize. There are times when I believe the same things about you. You have this air of confidence, like you’re so sure of your path in life, and everything magically works out.”

Leah snorted. “I’m far from confident and things don’t fall in my lap like you’d think they do. It took me two hundred rejections before I got an agent and book deal! And Jake didn’t want to date me at first. I had to stick to his side like glue before he gave me a chance.”

Veronica had no idea. She’d assumed everything came effortlessly for her.

“But as far as you and me, I think we’ll be okay,” Leah said. “I can take care of myself from here on out.”

Veronica hugged her sister against her, feeling closer to her than she’d ever been. “I love you more than anyone on this earth. If you need something, anything, I want to be there for you. I just don’t want to be expected to be there.”

“I know what you mean.” Leah dropped her head on Veronica’s shoulder. “I hear the message loud and clear. And, for the record, the feeling is mutual.”

Tears stung Veronica’s eyes, and she pulled away. “Now how about this dress of yours. What does it look like?”

“It’s a halter top ball gown with lots of jewels sparkling in the tulle bottom. It has a huge train that matches the length of the veil. This one is pretty, but it’s not me.”

That was the dress Veronica would’ve picked for Leah. A Cinderella ball gown that she could make an entrance in. Something had struck Veronica about the mermaid-style dress when she’d put it on—it wasn’t Leah’s style. Now she knew why. Leah hadn’t picked it.

“We got it!” One of Leah’s friends said as she burst through the door. “The dress shop mixed Vale with Valen. Your dress was sent to another wedding at city hall.”

“That’s not far from here,” Veronica said. “We can get it here in minutes.”

“Already on the way,” Heather said, striding into the room behind the bridesmaids. “I overhead and made the call. The wedding planner for that wedding is going to meet me downstairs in five.”

“You’re a lifesaver. Here.” Veronica handed Heather the dress. “You’ll need this.”

Disaster number one, Veronica thought. There was always something that went wrong at each wedding she planned. Sometimes it was a cake that melted or a boutonniere that fell off during the ceremony. Other times it was a fight between in-laws or food that went cold as the guests waited hours for the bride and groom to finish pictures.

Maybe the dress mistake would be it and they could make it through relatively unscathed.

Then again, she’d been formally invited to this wedding by her stalker.