Keeping Secrets in Seattle - By Brooke Moss Page 0,60

in the room, Uncle Roy hoisted himself off the couch. “Let’s get this party started.”

“I don’t know.” A young man I recognized as Gabe’s coworker, Max, scoffed. “A girl organizing a bachelor party?”

“Lame,” Gabe’s college friend, Dan, shouted.

The other groomsman, Lyle, snickered. “We better not be scrapbooking.”

I put my hands up defensively. “I realize that having a chick involved in a bachelor party, especially one who’s fully dressed, is a bit unorthodox. However, this is going to be the fulfillment of one of Gabe’s biggest dreams.”

“So then there will be strippers.” Greg whooped.

“Sorry, no strippers.” I hoped they weren’t disappointed that there would be no thongs and clear stilettos present tonight.

“Take your clothes off, then,” Dan yelled.

Gabe stepped up to my side and offered him a steely gaze. “Watch it.”

Every single set of eyes rolled to where Gabe’s hand was resting on the small of my back, so I jumped away from his touch. “Okay, boys. Go line up by the front door. Nora and I have a few things for each of you.”

Nora pulled a large cooler out of the kitchen. “Ready?”

I nodded, laughing. The cooler was the size of a small coffin. The group of men eyeballed the cooler with ravenous expressions. “No peeking.”

My stepfather, Curtis, came up beside me and gave a one-armed hug. “Haven’t seen you around for a while. Your mother misses you.”

“Sorry.” I shrugged. “I’ve been busy.” I didn’t want to add that I’d been avoiding my mother since Christmas because I was dating Landon, and every time I dated someone new, she would drag out her four wedding dresses for me to pick from.

He nodded knowingly. “I’ll tell her hello.”

As soon as they were lined up, Nora began tying strips of thick black fabric over each of their eyes, stopping only to plant a tender kiss on Guthrie’s chin and remind him to have fun. I noticed Gabe staring at me from the end of the line, his gaze nostalgic, so I offered him a wry smile.

“Okay, okay, you two.” Gabe peeled his eyes from me and pushed his dad’s shoulders gently. “You’re holding up the line.”

Once they were all blindfolded, and Nora had them all lined up on the front porch, I started pulling T-shirts out of the box. “Take off your shirts, and put this on instead. But still no peeking. All right, boys?”

Greg shook his head. “What? No way.”

“We don’t know what these look like. You could be putting us in pink.” Dan squeezed the T-shirt.

I walked past him, poking his chest. “You need to trust me. In an hour or so, you’ll be thanking me, I promise.”

“Watch how you talk to Dan,” Gabe warned me, adjusting his blindfold. “He gets the wrong idea from the girls who make his coffee at Starbucks.”

Several of the other guys chuckled, but Dan scoffed. “Hey. Maybe she likes me.”

Gabe’s lips pursed. “All right.”

“Are you hitting on the best man, Dan?” Gabe’s coworker, Jake, asked.

“Well, did you see her?” Dan’s head swiveled blindly in the direction of the last voice.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Gabe’s jaw had tightened.

“We all saw her, dude,” Gabe’s cousin, Trevor, added quietly. Flattered, I bit my lip and shrugged at Nora.

“Enough chitchat. Change your shirts,” Nora demanded.

Grumbling, each of the men peeled their shirts off. “Seriously,” Gabe called from his end of the line. “You do realize that the neighbors must think we’re freaks, right?”

“You shush.” I poked him in the abs. “You’ll thank me soon enough.”

Gabe grabbed my hand and held it against his chest. “Don’t mess with me, Vi. Where are we going?”

I had to catch my breath as a white stretch limo pulled up in front of the house. “I’m not telling.”

I reluctantly tugged my hand back and stalked away from him. “Okay, boys, our ride is here. Everyone stay in line, and Nora and I will help you to the car. Watch your step—we don’t want any injuries…yet.”

Nora’s mouth was hanging open as she watched the driver cross around and open the door into the neon-lit interior. “Violet, a limo?” she hissed, her brown eyes wide.

“I did the hair and makeup for this guy’s commercials last summer. Free of charge.” I winked at the driver. “He owed me a favor.”

She nodded, impressed. “You pulled out all the stops, huh?”

I chewed my lip. “Well, it’s for Gabe.”

His expression said it all. Appreciation, admiration, excitement, and…pity.

Once all the guys had felt their way around and realized that I’d rented a limousine, my