The Engagement Arrangement (Boots and Bouquets #2) - Jaci Burton Page 0,79

table at the bar and announced it to everyone.

As bachelorette parties went, this one was fairly tame. It was Brenna, Honor, Alice and Erin, along with Laurel and Mirai, Erin’s college friends who lived locally. It was a bonus that those two were both loads of fun, and likely why Erin was hammered right now.

Mom had begged off, saying she was busy with other things, but Brenna figured that their mother didn’t want to interfere with what she had called “the wild girl party.”

Brenna had laughed, figuring they’d have dinner, go out for a couple of drinks, and Erin would want to go home.

She’d been so wrong.

The dinner part had gone well. But when they got to the bar, Erin had really let loose. Laurel and Mirai had bought the first round, toasted the bride, wished her well, then asked her if she was really going through with it “this time.” From the look on Erin’s face, Brenna figured that was when Erin got pissed off and was determined she was going to show her friends that not only was she actually going to get married, she was going to party her ass off tonight in celebration of the marriage she was going to go through with.

Brenna and Honor stood by and surveyed the wreckage.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen her drink that much,” Honor said, wincing as Erin let out a shrill whoop.

“I do. Her twenty-first birthday party. We went out for drinks that night and she overindulged.”

Honor pursed her lips. “I don’t remember that.”

“Because you didn’t go with us. You weren’t twenty-one yet.”

“Oh, right. Now I remember. We all went out to eat, then came home and you all went out after that without me. If it was like this, I’m sad I missed it.”

“She danced on top of the bar at the dive we went to.”

Alice turned her shocked face to Brenna. “She did not.”

“Oh, she did. She had her cowgirl boots on that night, so at least I didn’t have to worry about her doing a header off the bar because she was weaving in high heels. But she was seriously toasted. I’m surprised everyone in the house didn’t hear her barfing all night long.”

Alice let out a short laugh, then said, “Oh, poor Erin.”

“Grateful that I missed that part,” Honor said, taking a sip of her cocktail.

“Yeah, well, I was the one who had to hold her hair and listen to her drunken ramblings in between puke fests.”

Honor rubbed her arm. “You’re a good sister. I’ll keep that in mind so I know who to call next time I throw up.”

Brenna laughed.

Erin had gone to the restroom with Laurel and Mirai, and on the way back she weaved her way over to their table. “Gonna sing now. Wanna come?”

“Uh, no thanks,” Brenna said. “But you go do that.”

“Okay. I love you, Brenna.”

“Love you, too, Erin.”

Mirai and Laurel propped her up as the three of them made their way to the stage.

“Are you really going to let her do that?” Honor asked.

Brenna shrugged. “Why not?”

“Should she not sing?” Alice asked.

“She should never sing. Erin couldn’t sing a note in tune if her life depended on it,” Brenna said.

Honor nodded, a grim expression on her face. “Yeah, she’s pretty awful.”

Alice’s eyes widened. “Oh, no.”

The music started and Brenna cringed.

“Oh, I love this song,” Alice said.

Of all things, an Adele song. And not only couldn’t Erin sing, she did not have the range that song required.

Fortunately, Mirai had an incredible voice, Laurel could hold a tune and between the two of them, even drunk they managed to drown out Erin’s awful tones.

They even got applause from the rather boisterous crowd.

“Okay, that wasn’t the disaster I expected it to be,” Honor said.

Brenna agreed. Not that her sister would have even noticed if she’d been booed given the state she was in. Okay, she might have noticed that, so she was grateful. “Yeah, Mirai and Laurel saved her butt on that one.”

“I didn’t even hear her over the other two,” Alice said. “Next time we’re together I’m busting out the tunes and making her sing.”

“You’re a mean friend, Alice Weatherford,” Brenna said.

Alice laughed. “Hey, I can’t sing, either. I need my friend to be terrible with me.”

And that was friendship in a nutshell.

Brenna gave it another hour, gradually slipping glasses of water to Erin in between her cocktails, then decided at around twelve thirty that her sister had had enough. They all walked outside together and waited until Mirai