Page 58 of Wed to the Devil
I make a face and rearrange my wedding dress, flicking it away from my feet and rubbing the skirts around themselves so that they don’t hang on the floor.
“It’s part of my makeover. It’s taken me a few weeks to get used to them. Heels are definitely torture devices more than anything else.”
Olivia chuckles. “I hope you’re not going to change too much for your new husband. I happen to like everything about you. It would be a shame to bow to societal expectations, don’t you think?”
I flush and set my dessert on the cloth napkin. “I’m afraid I didn’t have a choice. It was one of the stipulations of agreeing to marry Dare.”
Aunt Minnie huffs. “I don’t want to speak ill of your new husband. But I can’t say that I’m crazy about all these new changes.”
“But we're still crazy about you, Talia.” Olive is quick to cut in. “And will support you in whatever you decide. Isn’t that right, Aunt Minnie?”
Aunt Minnie rolls her eyes and flaps a hand at Olivia. “You’re right, of course. I’m just cranky because I have been alone at the bookstore for too long. I can’t wait until you come back from your honeymoon. I need your help changing the window display again.”
I scrunch my nose up. “I don’t know when I’m going to be able to do that, Aunt Minnie. I think we're going to have to hire you some outside help. You deserve to have someone at the shop more regularly than I can commit to.”
Aunt Minnie looks a little surprised. “You’re not coming back to work at the bookstore?”
I shake my head very slowly. “I don’t think so. I will help whenever I can, of course. But you deserve somebody that can be at the shop whenever you need them.” I bite my lip for a second. “Now that I am married to Dare, I have more money for things like getting you a shopkeeper. Isn’t that nice?”
Aunt Minnie flushes. She stands up and puts her hand up to her hair. Patting the back of her head, she feigns a need to leave.
“You’ll have to excuse me, dear. I want to use the ladies room and maybe swing by the drink station and grab a glass of Pinot. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Aunt Minnie, wait!” I cry.
She shakes her head, her expression tormented. Before I can protest further, she sweeps out of the room, the back door banging as she exits.
Frustrated, I growl at the closed door. Olivia presses her lips together and picks at an invisible piece of lint on her knee. I swing my head around and stare at her.
“She’s being unreasonable. She had to have known that someday I would get married and start a family.”
“Just give her time. Your whole relationship with Dare and decision to get married really threw her for a loop.”
I give her a funny look. “It’s been months.”
“It doesn’t feel like it.”
“Are you telling me how she feels or are you speaking more from personal experience?” I ask.
Olivia blushes and shrugs, but she doesn’t look away. “Oh, you know. Maybe both.”
“Accepting Dare’s proposal of marriage was your idea.” I cross my arms and give her a stubborn stare. “You can’t be hurt when the whole thing was your idea.”
Her nose twitches. “I know. It's just… Everything changed almost overnight. I went from always having you in my corner to wondering when I would see you next. I didn’t expect that.”
The look of guilt on her face is almost painful and makes my heart ache.
I soften and sit up in my chair, reaching out a hand towards her. “I’m sorry about that. It’s just been so crazy. But I will make a marked effort to be better about communication. I promise.”
She flashes me a sad smile and looks down at her hands folded in her lap. “I’m not complaining. Really I’m not. But it’s like I said. It’s an adjustment.”
“I know. I wrinkle my nose. It’s been hard on everyone, myself and Dare included.”
She laughs. “What do you mean? I thought nothing affected cold hearted Dare.”
My head bobs. “I thought so, too, at first. It made me a little crazy. But now that I know him better, I’m starting to see that the whole coldhearted act is just a front. Don’t tell anybody, but Dare is definitely beginning to thaw out where I am concerned.” I look around the kitchen, checking to make sure that we are still alone. Then I press my hand to my baby bump and smile. “He doesn’t say it out loud, but I think that he’s actually really excited for the baby.”
Olivia’s look of surprise couldn’t be more perfect. I sit back, my thoughts drifting to my husband.