I don’t know any of these women well. I can’t be a substitute in a wedding where I barely know any of the wedding party.
Oh, hell no. Kristin had led her into so many crazy things in the past, and she’d followed her vivacious friend willingly. But not this time.
“You’re perfect to fill in. I already have my dress, and it will only take a little alteration,” Kristin said excitedly.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Emily seconded.
“Me too,” Randi agreed with an emphatic nod.
“I’d be honored if you’d do it, Mara,” Sarah said, her tone genuine and slightly cajoling. “I know we haven’t had the chance to get to know each other that well because I haven’t lived in Amesport very long, but I’d like to be your friend. Honestly, I don’t really have any other friends here.”
Mara swallowed hard as she met Sarah’s compassionate, understanding look. Since she’d spent most of her adult life taking care of her mom and running the doll shop, she hadn’t had a lot of time to make new friends, or spend time doing anything with her old ones from high school. It was one of the reasons she valued her friendship with Kristin so much. They were tightly connected and hadn’t ever drifted apart, even though Mara rarely had the time or money to do anything except hang out with Kristin. “Okay, I’ll do it.” The words popped out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she shot Kristin an I’ll-get-you-for-this-later expression. Her best friend knew her all too well. Mara could never say no to somebody who needed something or had a problem to solve.
“Thank you. I really am delighted,” Sarah commented with a gentle smile.
“It’s going to be great,” Randi agreed. “Dante hired a wedding planner, and it’s going to be quite a party.”
“Fantastic,” Emily added.
“I think the dress is going to take more than a little alteration,” Mara warned the women bluntly. While Kristin was slightly curvy, Mara was curvier, and Kristin was a good inch taller than Mara’s five-foot-three height.
“It’s not a problem. I’ll have it altered,” Sarah offered.
Kristin laughed merrily. “Mara is an incredible seamstress. She’s just used to sewing very small doll sizes.”
Mara nodded at Sarah. Because of her mother and her gran, there was very little she couldn’t do when it came to sewing. “I can do it.”
The other women all rose to their feet except for Kristin, and Mara got up hastily to accept hugs and expressions of gratitude for filling in for her best friend at the last minute. It felt strange to suddenly be pulled into this circle of friends, but it felt so very good to break her solitude. She liked all of these women, admired all of them, and her heart warmed as they each hugged her kindly.
“I guess I’ll be paired with Jared?” Mara asked curiously.
Randi snorted. “Yep. I don’t think it will be that much of a hardship. Just being paired with Jared Sinclair is worth the trouble. You have to admit, if you’re standing through a wedding ceremony, he’s great eye candy to have across from you.”
Emily smiled knowingly at Randi as she commented, “I don’t think you’ll find Evan difficult to look at, either. Seeing all four brothers together is damn near breathtaking, although Grady is the best-looking Sinclair brother.”
Sarah shot Emily a displeased expression. “Excuse me. I think you meant Dante.”
Randi burst out laughing as she watched Emily and Sarah giving each other belligerent looks. “You two are pathetic. I think we can just leave it at the fact that all of the Sinclair brothers are hot. And I saw Evan at your wedding, Em. He’s gorgeous, but obviously obsessed with his job. He dashed in just as the wedding started, and left right after the toast at the reception. I’ve never actually met him.”
Emily sighed. “I know. Our wedding was planned so fast, and Evan had meetings he couldn’t cancel. I’m glad he’s coming to actually participate in the wedding party this time. Grady’s afraid he’s working himself into an early grave.”
“Dante thinks so, too,” Sarah admitted glumly. “Like Dante can talk about workaholics? He worked nearly every hour of the day when he was a homicide detective in LA. But he swears that Evan is even worse, that he never takes a break and has absolutely no sense of humor. I have to admit I’m a little nervous about meeting him. He sounds more than a little daunting.”
Mara watched and listened as the women continued to banter about the four Sinclair brothers. To be honest, she didn’t know any of them well, although she had to admit that Grady, Dante, and Jared were three of the handsomest men she’d ever seen. She had no doubt that the oldest brother, Evan, was just as hot.
How can any family be blessed with such incredible genetics?
She didn’t know their baby sister, Hope Sinclair—now Hope Sutherland—but Mara was willing to bet she was as gorgeous as her brothers. Since Hope had recently married one of the most eligible and good-looking billionaire bachelors on the planet, she had to be a pretty extraordinary woman.
Mara tried not to think about her strange encounter with Jared Sinclair yesterday. Unfortunately, no matter what she tried to think about to wipe out the memories, it didn’t help. So she was working on convincing herself that he had been kind to her, and that was all. She didn’t want to remember how his damp shirt had clung to his broad shoulders and muscular biceps. Or how, for the first time since she’d met him, his smile had actually reached his incredibly sexy jade-green eyes.