Rising from the Ashes (18 page)

A few minutes later, Mickey came out wearing the dress we’d all finally agreed on after the fuchsia nightmare. The dress was a pale yellow chiffon that worked perfectly with Stacia’s springtime wedding. It fell about knee length and the halter neckline was my absolute favorite aspect of the dress. It cut down to about mid-cleavage, but considering none of us could be classified as stacked, it looked totally awesome as opposed to trashy. Don’t ask me how a dress that low cut worked for a wedding. It just did.

“Okay,” Mickey stated in a whisper as she looked back over her shoulder. “Before Stacia comes out, can I just say thank you from the bottom of my heart? She showed me a picture of the dress she originally wanted us to wear.” She made a face that looked like she’d just finished sucking on a lemon. “I was two seconds away from disowning her, so I wouldn’t have to be in the wedding and wear that dress.”

“You’re welcome,” we all said at once.

A few seconds later, Stacia came walking out of the dressing room and stepped onto the platform in front of us. The smile plastered across her face was only slightly more beautiful than the amazing dress she was wearing. “So, what do you guys think? Is this the one?”

“Don’t you dare try on another dress,” was Emmy’s response.

The rest of us couldn’t even form a reply. We were too busy taking in how stunning she looked. The ivory dress was a mermaid cut that hugged her curves like it had been made for her. The elegant lace overlay had delicate pearls sewn in throughout the entire dress. It had a sweetheart neckline and tiny lace cap sleeves that pulled across the back to form a gorgeous diamond cutout across her shoulder blades. Stacia had opted out of any type of tiara or anything like that, and instead, she had gone with a beautiful mantilla veil edged with the same lace on her dress. I couldn’t even form words for how much I loved it.

I did something I wasn’t normally known for doing. I went totally girlie. “You look so pretty,” I whisper-sobbed before covering my mouth with both of my hands.

“Holy shit. You made her cry!” Mickey exclaimed. “I thought Savannah Morgan crying was an urban legend. I think we found a winner, cuz.”

I punched Mickey on the arm and looked over to see Emmy and Lizzy were both crying like little bitches as well.

“I’m getting married!” Stacia screamed before doing her goofy-ass happy dance.

Right there in the middle of a crowded bridal salon, the four of us jumped up onto the platform in front of a million mirrors and joined her.

After telling Stacia ten more times that it was, in fact, the perfect dress and she shouldn’t even bother trying on anything else, we all made our way to our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, Mama Maria’s, for lunch and celebratory margaritas.

“So, Mickey, how long are you going to be in town?” I asked.

She took a sip of her margarita. “I’m not really sure. It’s looking indefinite.”

That got all of our attention.

“What happened with you and Dale?” Lizzy asked.

Dale and Mickey had been together on and off for the past four years. None of us really liked him. He was a loser who enjoyed smoking pot, playing Xbox, and mooching off of Mickey. Working wasn’t something that was high on his list of priorities, and there was no doubt that she could do so much better. But he was who she’d chosen, so as long as she was happy, we were happy for her.

Stacia answered for Mickey, “She finally wised up and saw him for the leech he is. She’s gonna be staying with me and Gavin until she finds her own place.”

“What about work?” Emmy asked. “If you’re looking, I need a waitress down at the diner.”

The look Mickey gave Emmy was of sheer disgust. “I love ya, babe, but I’d rather rip my fingernails out with tweezers than serve people food.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, mainly because I totally agreed. I always helped Emmy out when she needed it, but I absolutely despised waiting tables.

“You know, our friend Trevor just opened up a shop in town. I bet he’d hire you on with all your years of tattooing experience,” Lizzy replied.

“Who’s Trevor?” Mickey asked.

“He’s Luke’s friend from the Corps,” Emmy replied. “He moved to Cloverleaf not too long ago.”

I chimed in, “That’s actually a pretty damn good idea. I know he’s looking for good people, and you’re freaking brilliant. He’d hire you in a heartbeat.”

The waitress stopped off with our food, and we all dug in.

“That’s actually perfect,” Mickey responded between bites. “So, what’s this Trevor guy like? Is he hot?”

My eyes instantly cut to Lizzy to see how she would react to Mickey’s question. We were all convinced that something was going on between Lizzy and Trevor, but both had denied it incessantly, insisting they were strictly friends. But every time they were around each other, Trevor tracked every move Lizzy made, like he couldn’t stand not having her in his sight. And she would cater to him like she’d been in a relationship with him for years. She’d do little things like grab him a beer when he needed one, and he wouldn’t even have to ask. Because he was allergic to nuts, she always made sure to bring something he could eat whenever there was a party. The two of them would even finish each other’s sentences. It would have been adorable—if they weren’t so damn ignorant about what was going on.

I thought I might have seen a brief flutter of something flash across Lizzy’s face, but before I could be sure, it was gone and she was her composed, normal self.

“Yeah,” she responded. “He’s actually really good-looking. You definitely need to meet him. You’re totally his type.”

What the hell?

I glanced around the table to see Emmy and Stacia both wearing the same confused as hell expression as I was.

Before any of us could cut in to point out what was obvious to everyone but Lizzy, Mickey spoke up, “Huh…well then, I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

I just picked up my margarita and drank deeply. If Lizzy refused to see what was right in front of her face, that was her prerogative. Who was I to try to dictate other people’s love lives? I barely had my own under control. All I could do was sit back and be her friend. Sometimes you had to let people fall on their own and be there to help them up when the time came.

All I could do was hope that Lizzy didn’t fall as far or as hard as I had.

Days had gone by, and true to his word, Jeremy had been in my bed every night since getting back together. I knew it was only fair that I stay over at his place sometimes, but I wasn’t quite comfortable with that yet. His breakup with Charlotte was still a little too fresh. I didn’t want to rub our relationship in her face, so I thought it would be best not to run the risk of her seeing my car in his driveway. At least my house was a few minutes outside of town. The risk of her driving by and seeing Jeremy’s truck there was pretty slim.

Saturday night Jeremy drove us to Colt’s to watch the guys’ band play, and I was stoked to be wearing my
I’m Banging a Rock Star…Don’t Be Jealous
T-shirt.

I was sitting at the bar with the girls, Luke, and Trevor when Ben walked in and joined us. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to order a drink before Jeremy honed in like he had some sort of freaky sixth sense.

I was just standing to give Ben a friendly hug when an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back. Jeremy had me glued to his side, and when I glanced up at his face, he was giving Ben a look that could have peeled the skin off his face.

I’d officially had enough. I wasn’t a possession, and there was no way I was going to sit by while my boyfriend and my friend needled each other for no good reason.

Pulling out of Jeremy’s hold, I stepped between the two men. “Outside. Now,” I demanded to the both of them.

I didn’t give either of them a chance to speak before stomping off. If they knew what was good for them, they’d make sure to follow.

Luckily, they could both be smart at times. When I spun around, they were standing there, neither one looking too happy to be next to the other.

“We’re going to start over,” I began, talking to them like they were children. “Jeremy, this is my
friend
from work, Ben. Ben, this is my
boyfriend
, Jeremy.” I crossed my arms over my chest, cocked a hip and narrowed my eyes at them. “Now, was there anything lost on either of you just then?”

“No,” they both mumbled, each one looking down at his shoes.

“Do I need to be more specific on where each of you stands?”

Jeremy said, “No,” again and Ben just shook his head.

“Good. I’m tired of you two acting like jackasses.” I turned to Jeremy. “Whether you want to believe it or not, Ben
really
is just a friend, so can you please try to be nice?”

Before Jeremy could answer, Ben cut in, “It’s true, man. There really isn’t anything going on with Savannah and me. You’ve got my word.”

I could see Jeremy’s shoulders relax marginally at Ben’s statement and I was sure Ben saw it too.

“Sorry about that,” Jeremy replied as he held out his hand for Ben to shake. “I’ve just waited a long time to get her back, so I get a little jealous, I guess.”

“Understandable.”

“Yay! Now, you two keep playing nice, or I swear to God, I’ll make you both miserable, and you know I can do it.”

I turned and started back in when I heard Ben tell Jeremy, “Your girlfriend’s kinda scary, man.”

“You’ve got no idea,” Jeremy replied.

When I got back to the bar and grabbed my beer, Trevor and Luke were both smiling at me.

“What?” I asked.

“They still alive out there?” Luke asked with a chuckle.

“For the time being.”

Ben and Jeremy finally made their way back in, and from the looks of it, everything was good between them. Jeremy had to go up on stage to finish setting up, and the rest of us were hanging out when we heard a loud voice cut through the buzz in the bar.

“What’s up, losers? I’m here, so the party can finally start.”

“Hey, babe. Stacia said you found a place. How’s moving going?” I asked as I wrapped Mickey in a tight hug.

“It’s good. I’m just getting myself settled and trying to get everything in order. I figured I’d give myself a little break for a while. You know, so I can see what kind of trouble I can get you ladies into.”

I finally released her from my death grip and turned to introduce her to Trevor and Ben since she already knew everyone else.

“Guys, this is Stacia’s cousin, Mickey. Mickey, this is Trevor. He’s Luke’s friend we were telling you about. He just opened Ink Addictz.” I turned to Trevor. “Mickey’s an amazing tattoo artist. She’s looking for work.”

He gave a slight nod. “Oh yeah?”

Mickey gave him a little grin. “Yeah, I’m pretty decent.”

“Well, stop on in and we’ll see what we can work out.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

I figured Trevor would be all over her since she seemed right up his alley. And the lustful look in Mickey’s eyes wasn’t lost on me, but he just politely shook her hand, never once leaving Lizzy’s side. Why the two of them wouldn’t just hook up was beyond me. The sexual tension was almost thick enough to cut with a damn knife.

Ben, on the other hand, was staring at Mickey like she was a drink of water and he’d been stuck in the desert for a year.

Oooh…interesting.

“Mickey, this is my friend Ben. He works as an attorney at P&C with me.”

Mickey must have noticed his expression as well because I saw a sexy smile spread across her lips. Trevor was obviously completely forgotten in just a matter of seconds. Ben wasn’t going to know what hit him by the time the night was over.

“You gonna sing with the guys tonight?” Emmy asked.

I hated Mickey for her God given musical talent. She had such a low, smoky voice that when she sang, people would be instantly captivated.

“I don’t know. I might,” she said with a shrug.

Ben, in the meantime, looked like he was about to swallow his tongue. For a guy who was always so composed and professional in the courtroom, it was hysterical to see him so flustered around a woman.

“You might want to pick your jaw up off the floor, Ben. It’s kind of dirty in here,” I whispered when Mickey stepped up to the bar to order a drink.