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I looked down at the charcoal Prada suit I wore, s a hand over the front of the jacket "I like this one" And, I didn’t add, I packed at two in theunder a drunken sex haze

"Blue would have beenwith nerves "This oneto a funeral"

Dad handed her his cocktail and she downed it with a shaking hand before walking away again

"Well, that was fun," I said and Dad laughed

Chloe joined us--clearly a bit exasperated fro with her father--and weeveryone who had co ourselves with old family and friends A little while later,and wearea

I located the place cards with our naht, her dad next to her My dad had apparently taken Frederick’s advice because Chloe’s aunts--Mary and Judith--were seated together nearby, slapping the table and cackling up a stor a seat, shoutinghis can of beer--and requisite cozy--in my direction His eyes moved over Chloe slower than should have been huave me a thumbs-up

I made a mental note to call a friend ofMostly

Dinner consisted of seared salmon and heirloom tomatoes, potato puree, and basil beurre blanc It was perfect, and made it almost possible to tune out the conversations around ?" Bull yelled from across the room at an elderly second-aunt on les fans live their life feeling like they never get the credit they deserve You want attention and praise? Win a goddaulp of beer, sed, and se--you’re old, I bet you know the answer to this: why the fk is Wheel of Fortune still on? Did you know they have a goddamn website where you can dress up Vanna White? Dress her up like she’s so paper doll Not that I know from experience, mind you" He h to be seated at his table, whether they were listening or not "But what the fk is that all about? And I’ll tell you what, she er, but if I could find so to the cars like she does on the TV?" Here he made a dramatic flourish with his hand, the other one cocked on his hip as he oddamn fortune"

"Jesus Christ," Chloe whispered in ht there"

I sed a large pull of reith this guy?’

I nodded, wincing as I downed the rest of ulp

"Has he always been like this?"

I nodded again, sucked in a breath, and wiped lanced around the room, first to my cousin Brian, ould be considered by most to be handsome and who had always been fit Then to ood-looking for their age She turned briefly to Henry and then toback to Bull I could practically hear her evaluating the genetic map in front of her

"And we’re sure there’s not a leak in the Ryan faene pool? Like, is there any way he’s the h that was so loud, almost every head in the restaurant turned inin a way that s

My phone insistently buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out to see a flurry of texts fro the DeLoach Pinot? I thought

we had the Preston carignane set for the table wine

Tell your father to stop introducing Aunt Joan as the Prospector I have no idea why she’s

wearing sorude

I had just escaped to the bar for a shot of Johnny Black and to scope out all easily accessible exits--I lovednuts--when I felt a tap onour Chloe"

"If she doesn’t get wise and escape before the cere to the women behind me In an instant, I kneho they were "You lovely ladies ht nodded, and her entire head of fluffy red hair nodded right along with her "I’m Judith," she said, and then pointed to her sister "This is Mary"

Judith had hair that could only be described as soary confection: overdyed and overteased into what rese froestion, but I swear she even smelled like strawberries Her skin was still relatively se--mid-sixties, if Chloe was correct--and her brown eyes were sharp and clear as she considered me Mary shared many of the same facial features as her sister, but her hair was a h on her head in some sort of bedazzled and bobby-pinned twist And while Judith was tall like Chloe, stopping just belowfive feet, and was probably as wide through the chest area as she was tall

I reached out to shake each of their hands "It’s nice to finallypolitely "Chloe’s toldnone of that and each pulled

"Liar," Mary said with a cheeky ss, but full of false compliments, she is not"

"She’s told me she used to spend summers with you I believe the phrase she’s used most frequently is ‘they’re a hoot’" I left out the phrases cougars and bat-shit crazy

"Now that I’ll believe," Judith said with a snort

"And how are you ladies enjoying San Diego?" I asked leaning back against the bar I could see Chloe out of the corner of my eye, and just as I expected, Bull had taken it upon himself to fill my seat and keep her coht in shining arer part knew better: if there was one wo, it was Chloe

"Oh we’re having the tiful look with her sister "Or at least ill be Did you know this is the first tile in over thirty-five years? This town doesn’t knohat’s about to hit it We’re going to "

I couldn’t help but laugh I was certainly beginning to see that blunt honesty was a Mills faoing to spend so like that," Mary said, winking and doing a little dance to the music overhead

Judith moved to stand next to me at the bar, leaned in, and lowered her voice "Tell us about your fa around the roole?"

I shook ain Frederick had nailed it "Just the one brother and sorry, other than the one currently talking to my fiancée"--they looked over to Bull and deflated a little--"everyone’s spoken for"

"My oh my oh my my my," I heard Judith say, voice suddenly soft and low I followed her gaze to the front door, where Will and Hanna had just arrived There was a lot of giggling in that corner of the room, where Hanna had practically been tackled by Chloe and Sara, leaving Will to stand by and watch, wearing that stupid grin he never seemed to shake anymore I missed his ironic scowl I missed his insistence that ere a bunch of pussies God, he was the biggest fking puy now

He looked up to find iant I TOLD YOU SO in h I knerong and Chloe would kill an to blossom in my mind

I mean really, how could I not do this?

"Who is that?" Judith asked in a breathy rush I wasn’t sure if I’d ever actually heard soured that was as close as I was ever going to get

"That’s Will," I said "He works with Max, the Brit with the pregnant fiancée?"