Page 89 of With This Ring
“How many bedrooms?”
“Two.”
“Bathrooms?”
Shane crossed his arms over his chest. “One and a half.”
“Huh.” Hudson’s expression was stern. “Square footage?”
“A little under eleven hundred.”
Hudson shook his head. “That’s a bit small, don’t you think, Shane?”
Anger flashed in Shane’s eyes. Dakota could almost feel the tension mounting between the men, and she couldn’t stay silent any longer.
“Stop it, Hud.” She rested her hand on his wrist and pulled him toward her. “Don’t grill Shane that way.”
His brow puckered. “What?”
“You sound like a father chastising his son.”
Hudson’s blue eyes smoldered. “He’s marrying my sister. I need to make sure she’s well taken care of. That’s my job.”
“No, it’s not. It’s your job to love her and support her decisions. Stop standing in the way and let her and Shane live their lives.”
“You need to stay out of this,” Hudson told her.
She shook her head. “No,youneed to stay out of Shane and Layla’s business.”
One of the groomsmen grasped Shane’s shoulder. “Listen, I need to get back to work. We can talk about the bachelor party plans later.”
The other two groomsmen agreed.
Shane nodded and cast his eyes toward Dakota. “Thanks, Dakota. I’ll see you later.”
She waved to the men before they disappeared out the door. Then she spun back to Hudson. “Back off of them, Hud, or you’ll lose your sister forever.”
“You don’t know everything I’ve had to deal with over the years with Layla,” he snapped.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“She’s given exes money before, and I’ve had to bail her out again and again. This could end the same way for her. If they get tied up in a house and default on the loan, then I might be the one bailing her out again—only this time I’ll be paying for a divorce too. Her credit will be wrecked to boot.” He studied Dakota before he added, “What do you know about getting married anyway?”
Fury burned through her. “You need to leave, Hud.” She pointed toward the door. “Hang your tux in the changing room, and I’ll take care of it.” Then she marched toward the back of the store, her body vibrating.
***
“We found a house, and it’s so cute,” Layla told Dakota and Kayleigh on Friday night as they sat together in a booth at the rink. “It has two bedrooms and the cutest little kitchen and den. It’s just what we need.” She pulled out her phone and scrolled through photos of the happy little yellow house and its modest backyard.
Kayleigh touched her shoulder. “That’s so exciting, Layla.”
“I agree,” Dakota said, pretending she didn’t already know about the house.
“But the best part is that we made an offer, and they accepted it.”
“Congratulations,” Kayleigh told her. She pointed to a photo of the front of the house. “It looks like the previous owner planted a garden. Look at those pink roses.”
“Shane says they’re Queen Anne roses. My favorite.” Layla beamed.