True to You in Good Hope (Good Hope #14) - Cindy Kirk
Chapter One
The second Piper Ambrose’s sister excused herself from their videoconference to grab a water, Piper did what she’d been wanting to do since the session started. She scooped up a handful of peanut M&M’s and munched. Washing the last of them down with a gulp of cola—also kept out of sight of the camera—Piper wondered how long until Sasha had a meltdown.
Though her sister had been pleasant for twenty minutes, Piper had been on the receiving end of Sasha’s sharp tongue and histrionics one too many times to relax.
Piper reached for more candy, but jerked her hand back when her sister’s face popped onto the screen. Sasha held a bottle of water, and her lips boasted a freshly applied cherry sheen.
In a red shirt with white piping, her sister looked as fresh and pretty as a strawberry parfait. Silvery-blond hair hung past her shoulders, and her bright blue eyes sparkled. Tall with a slim frame and delicate bone structure, Sasha was the spitting image of their mother.
Piper on the other hand, with bark-colored hair and brown eyes, took after their father’s side of the family.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Pips.” Flashing a bright smile, Sasha relaxed against the back of the love seat in her Johns Creek, Georgia, condo. “I got a text from Mom. She asked if we were still online. I told her we were. She’s on her way.”
Piper barely managed to hide a grimace. As the owner of her own boutique and wedding salon, Piper normally loved helping brides find the wedding dress of their dreams. But if history was any lesson, the tag team of Piper’s mother and sister would turn this dream into a nightmare.
She wished—oh, how she wished—she could embrace being her sister’s maid of honor and find joy in helping Sasha choose just the right gown. That wasn’t going to happen. Not with Sasha marrying Heath Hamlin.
Anyone but Heath, she thought.
The fact that today Piper would be forced to deal with her mother, well, that was a shriveled cherry atop a rapidly melting sundae.
“We need to speed this up.” Sasha’s full lips pulled into a pout. “Heath and I are meeting with several friends from Stewart Holmes this evening. I want to look perfect.”
Stewart Holmes was the advertising agency where Heath was working when Piper had first met him.
Her thoughts fought to travel down that road, but Piper was having none of it. With experience born of long practice, she shifted the direction of the conversation.
“You look pretty perfect the way you’re dressed already,” Piper commented. “Unless it’s a fancy affair.”
“Just a football party.” Sasha waved a dismissive hand. “The Bulldogs are playing.”
Piper cocked her head. “A college game on a Thursday night?”
“Don’t ask me.” Sasha lifted an unconcerned shoulder in a slight shrug. “You know how I feel about football.”
Remembering how much Heath loved the sport, Piper suspected he didn’t appreciate Sasha’s indifference. Then again, perhaps he was more understanding, more accepting, with her sister than he’d been with her.
For Sasha’s sake, Piper hoped so.
“I don’t like this style at all.” Sasha’s brows pulled together as she studied the photo of an elegant sheath. “I don’t know why you even included it.”
When Sasha had begged her to look at wedding dresses with her, Piper had reluctantly obliged. Instead of making the trek to Georgia, she’d put together a slide show of various styles she thought would suit Sasha’s willowy frame.
She could understand not wanting a sheath, but her sister had found fault with every gown she’d shown her so far.
“The lines are classic and made for someone with your slender figure.” Piper wished her sister would at least keep an open mind. “I tell brides who come into my salon that it’s important to choose a dress that flatters your body shape.”
“I agree with Sasha. That one’s a dog.” Jenn Ambrose slid onto the floral love seat beside her daughter. “Hello, Piper.”
Piper glanced longingly at the off-screen M&M’s before smiling at her mother. “I’m surprised you were able to join us. Sasha mentioned something about you having a committee meeting?”
When Sasha had told her that their mother was busy on Thursday morning, Piper had made it sound to Sasha as if this was the only morning that would work for her.
“We finished early.” Jenn’s lips curved. “Everyone was so excited when I told them I’d be looking at wedding dresses with my daughters today.”
The excited look on Jenn’s face gave her mother a youthful glow.