ago in the car.
Bridget glanced up at Soren, who must have been thinking the same thing. He gestured toward the children, who were tossing snow at each other between the trees.
“The kids, they wanted Scooter rides,” he said with a nonchalant wave of his hand.
Good save! If she didn’t hate the guy, she’d have thanked him for coming up with that excuse.
Lori cocked her head to the side. “Did they want Birdie rides, too?”
“Um,” she began, because, unlike Soren, she was a terrible liar.
“I need a second with my sister,” Lori said, hooking their arms and guiding her a few paces away from the guys.
“Birdie?” her sister whispered, stretching out the syllables.
“Lori,” she replied, because when she was singsong echoing, she wasn’t lying.
“You did it, didn’t you?” Lori whispered.
Oh no!
“The hotel hottie! I can tell! You seem a little more high-strung than usual but in a good way. Does that make sense?” Lori pressed.
It made more sense than her sister would ever know. But there was no way she was going to tell anyone, let alone Lori, that the asshat of a best man had been the hotel hottie making her toes curl and her body sing with carnal delight all night long.
“Yes, I hooked up with the guy at the bar. It was nice,” she said as placidly as possible.
“I think it was more than nice. You look positively sexed-up, you one-night vixen,” Lori teased.
The sexual acrobatics she and Soren had engaged in last night flashed through her mind. Her sister would want details, and there was no way she was about to allow this line of questioning to continue.
“Enough about me. What about you? All those messages about…” she trailed off, praying Lori wouldn’t catch her purposely changing gears.
“The strippers?” Lori answered with a pinched expression.
“Yeah, it was awful to hear you so upset.”
Lori stared up at the sky. “I was upset, really upset, and I know Tom didn’t want to have a pair of exotic dancers sent to the room. I just want our big day to mirror Mom and Dad’s wedding, which I know didn’t include scantily dressed bimbos.”
Bridget chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t see Grandma Dasher or Mom onboard with that.”
Lori’s expression softened. “They can’t be here physically, but I feel like they are here. And I want this wedding to be for them, too. I have so much going through my head. My emotions are a little amped up. I’m sorry I left you all those messages.”
She rubbed her sister’s arm. It was an emotional time. The last time they’d stepped foot in the town of Kringle, they’d been girls accompanied by their parents and grandmother. Now, it was just the two of them.
Bridget swallowed past the lump in her throat. “That makes sense. And I get it. I feel close to them here, too. And I know they’d want this time to be special for you and Tom.”
Lori glanced at Soren and Tom. “But now that Scooter is here, Tom thinks that he’ll see how great it is having us all together, but I’m still not sure of his intentions.”
Bridget squeezed her sister’s hand. “That’s what I’m here for. I’ll take care of Scooter. Don’t give the guy a second thought.”
Lori leaned in, and the sisters embraced.
“Thank you, Birdie.”
“And you can forget about having to deal with any more strippers, little sis,” she added.
“Did somebody say strippers?”
Bridget looked up as Soren flashed a smug grin.
“I was disappointed I wasn’t able to make it up yesterday for the entertainment,” the jackass replied, his cat-like eyes glittering with mischief as the men joined them.
Tom ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Scooter, I told you, Lori and I don’t want that for our wedding. What were you thinking? Two strippers? Where’d you even find two strippers around here? This place is mostly locals and retirees.”
Soren’s expression grew somber. “I should apologize.”
“I appreciate that,” Lori replied as mischief continued twinkling in the asshat’s eyes.
“It was supposed to be four. Two for me and two for Tom—for old times’ sake,” he added.
Hello, gag reflex! This man was abominable!
Tom shared a stunned look with Lori, then pinned Soren with his gaze. “What the hell are you talking about, Scooter? I’ve never been with a stripper, let alone two.”
Soren nodded. “That’s why I sent them. Think of all the things you and I still have to do.”
“Jesus, Scooter! Luckily, Lori and I saw them come in. What do you think my family would have thought?”
“Russ would have been good with