charts and food orders. Absolutely not.”
Kate stabbed a finger in the air. “I’m the bride, and I want him there. This will give us an opportunity to meet with him. I won’t let you go down that road again, A. No more secretive affairs that only end up hurting you. This guy is gonna have to deal with your friends or he’s toast.”
Kennedy jumped in. “Agreed. It’ll be a good test. A guy who goes to a friend’s wedding is brave. Confident. He’s not afraid because he has nothing to hide.”
A rush of emotions flooded her body. The idea of having a real date to accompany her in public thrilled her. She’d gotten so used to being alone while her friends brought their partners. How would it feel to finally belong? To be happy with the man by her side and show him off?
But they weren’t serious. Not like that. They’d have sex, and date, but when things got too complicated, he’d check out. Funny, she’d always believed Jacob was honest about his limitations and that made him a better person. Now she realized it was just a convenient excuse. How much better to claim she had been warned when he eventually hurt her?
Was Stone the same? Was his honesty and up-front deal to her all disguised to make his exit clean and stress free?
Maybe inviting him to the wedding would be a good test. If he declined, she’d know he’d never intended to be anything more than a roll in the hay. If he accepted?
Well, she didn’t know.
Arilyn pressed on the energy points on her wrist to open up the chakras. Stress was beginning to block up her channels, and that wouldn’t be a good start to her day. “I don’t know, Kate. Why is dating so damn confusing?”
“Because we’re dating men,” Kennedy offered. “Invite him. You’re at the bridal table anyway, we’ll all have dates, and there’s room to squeeze one more in.”
“But it’s in a few days!”
“Even better. Spring it on him before he has too much time to analyze.”
“Please, A,” Kate urged. “Just ask him.”
Arilyn nibbled on her lip. “Okay. I’ll try.”
“Good.” Kate jumped up from the chair. “I can’t believe on Saturday I’ll be married. You’re all set to take Robert Friday?”
Arilyn nodded. “I have the house all set up for him. Poppy’s going to walk him in the afternoon. I have the vet on call, and I promise to text you twice a day with updates. You just need to enjoy St. Lucia.”
Kate smiled. “Thanks. You guys are the best.” She began to tear up, and Kennedy groaned, tugging her hand toward the door.
“No more crying, I can’t take it anymore. We need to save ourselves for the ultimate breakdown on the wedding day or we’ll have nothing left.”
Kate sniffed. “You’re right. Thanks for being the bitch in the relationship, Ken.”
“Welcome.”
Arilyn laughed as her friends disappeared. Now all she had to do was take their advice and ask Stone Petty to the wedding.
Her heart beat so hard it almost exploded out of her chest. Half of her prayed he’d just beg off with a polite excuse and they’d never mention it again.
But it was the other half that hoped he’d say yes that disturbed her the most.
LATER THAT DAY, SHE was still trying to get the courage up to ask him after anger management class. Ugh. Like a prom date after the bell rang. She was humiliated.
She walked through Animals Alive and checked on her crew. They came to the shelter for a session once a week to walk and socialize the dogs. Luther and Eli seemed enthusiastic about returning, but Stone seemed stressed. She wondered if he was still leery about being around the dogs, even though he had done well with Pinky last week.
Anthony was giving them a lecture on the horses, so she decided to allow Stone to move to the carriage house. It was hard dealing with a dog bite from childhood and not fair for her to push him. She paused at the door and studied them. They worked hard, and she’d seen some huge leaps with Luther and Eli regarding their anger. With half the course behind them, the next three weeks would consist of drilling in the proper techniques they’d been learning.
Her gaze greedily took in Stone. The familiar Yankees cap was perched on his head. Today, his wardrobe consisted of a long-sleeved blue T-shirt proclaiming I GOT YOUR BACK. The kicker was the stick figure sketched