Rachel Dyken: The Wager

Once it was off, it dropped to the floor. Char stepped out of it and squinted. The dress was white, her lingerie was black.

“Oh, almost forgot.” Grandma held up her hand and went to a Nordstrom bag on the floor, pulling out a white corset, matching thong, and thigh highs. Good Lord, how did she even know Char’s size?

“Asked Jake.” Grandma offered. “He seemed to know the exact size of your hips, imagine that? And your breasts—well, let’s just say I had to blow my whistle several times before he was able to focus again. That boy is truly distracted too easily. It’s my fault. His grandfather was always a breast man.” Grandma thrust her chest forward a bit. “At any rate, go ahead and put this on and I’ll help you with your dress.”

Char paused. Did Grandma really want her to get naked?

“If you go any slower I may be dead before I see my grandchildren. Believe me, you don’t possess anything I’ve never seen before. Well, maybe I haven’t seen it in a while; my mirror points south a bit these days.”

Laughing, Char took the lingerie from Grandma and put it on the bed, then stripped down to what God gave her.

Grandma sighed.

“What?” Char paused as she grabbed the corset.

“Nothing.” Grandma waved. “It’s just that, I don’t believe Jake will make it through the ceremony. Don’t you dare allow him to ravish you early, Char! You hear me? God frowns on those things.”

“Uh.” Char put on the corset. “What? Married people ravishing each other?”

“ ’Course not.” Grandma gave her a scolding look. “God just don’t like to see pretty things go to waste is all, and you my dear, will be spectacular. So, let him take his fill, before you give him his drink, you understand?”

Char’s grin was huge. “Completely.”

Grandma grunted.

Ten minutes later, Char was dressed in the most beautiful silk gown she’d ever seen in her entire life. Grandma hadn’t stopped at the lingerie. Nope, she’d also bought Char tall crystal heels that made Char look like a supermodel. Bless Grandma’s manipulative little heart.

Char turned and examined herself in the mirror.

Grandma stood behind her beaming. “Give him hell.”

Jake took a long sip of his whiskey on the rocks and winced as the liquid poured down his throat. The heat was intense; it didn’t help that he was wearing a black suit, with suspenders. At least his suit wasn’t as bad as Char’s dress. The poor thing had looked miserable when she went off to get dressed with Kacey and the rest of the girls.

He took another slow swallow and grimaced when Jace made his way toward him.

“So.” Jace ordered a tequila shot and downed it with a wince. “How are things?”

“Ah, small talk.” Jake laughed. “Great. How’s your eye?”

“It feels like hell, thanks.” Jace shook his head.

Jake looked beyond him for Char. Where was she? They were supposed to meet a half hour ago. He grabbed Travis’s arm as he walked by. “Have you seen my wife?”

“Nope.” Travis shrugged and then laughed. “Wife, Shit, I never thought I’d see the day.”

Petunia walked by just as Travis cursed, earning him a smack in the back of the head and a scolding. He put his arm around Petunia, apologized, and ordered two shots of whiskey behind her back. Ah, it seemed all the apples from Grandma’s tree were firmly planted side by side.

“Wife?” Jace said. “You have a wife? What about Char?”

Jake couldn’t hide his smile. “Long story, but Grandma accidentally married us.” He held up fake quotations.

“Lucky bastard.”

Jake grinned wider. “Guilty.” His eyes scanned the outdoor patio one last time and then fell on a girl in a white dress. He kept scanning, and then looked back at the girl.

It was his wife.

It was Char.

She was wearing the dress from the store. He couldn’t pull his eyes away; heat seared every part of his body.

“Fight you for her?” Jace whispered.

“Already won.” Jake moved past him and stalked toward his bride—his wife. He wanted to kiss her so bad, but it would ruin the perfect picture he was staring at. Her hair was pulled back into a low bun with pieces falling around her face. And she was taller, somehow, maybe high heels; he couldn’t really think at the moment. With a bright smile, she only had eyes for him.

Thank God.

“I can’t kiss you.” He said once he reached her. “It will ruin your makeup.”

“It’s okay.” Char leaned in closer, allowing him access to her hips as his hands slid over the slick silk of the dress. “A wise woman once told me that you needed a good ruin… maybe it can be me.”

Jake could have sworn he heard Grandma chuckling somewhere; instead, he kissed his wife, his bride and lifted her into the air, twirling her around.

“You’re married!” Someone screamed.

Jake placed Char back onto her feet and turned. A young woman with curly blond hair was running toward them, arms flailing. It was Beth, Char’s sister.

Char squealed and clapped her hands as Beth flung herself into Char’s arms and cried. “I can’t believe it! I can’t believe you’re married. When Grandma called me a few days ago—”

“A few days ago?” Jake asked, and then turned to his guilty grandmother. “That confident, huh?”

She merely lifted her shoulder. “What can I say? I know my boys.”

“Good guess.”

Beth pinched Char in the arm. “How dare you not invite me!”

“It was…” Char looked to Jake for help.

“Sudden.” He put his arm around Char. “Very, very sudden, you could almost say we didn’t even know it was going to happen.”

At that point Grandma had meandered closer and was now looping her arm with Beth’s. “Now dear, let’s get you a drink. I heard you’re single…”

Beth threw back her head and laughed. “I’m married to my job.”

“Oh dear, your job can’t do what a man can, believe me.” She steered Beth closer to the bar, where Jace was sitting, and held up two fingers to the bartender.

“Is she—” Char folded her arms.

“She’s not happy unless she’s meddling.” Jake held Char closer. “Case in point.” He nodded in Grandma’s direction as she left both Jace and Beth alone with their drinks. Hopefully they were both Benadryl-free. But it was hard to tell with Grandma. She did favor over the counter drugs.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” Jake whispered in Char’s ear. “What do you say we go back upstairs and—”

Char stepped out of his reach. “I’m under strict instructions to make you suffer until after the wedding. So there.”

“By who?”

“Grandma.” Char giggled. “I think I owe her, all things considered.”

Jake frowned.

“Just think of all the hidden things you can look forward to…” And then Char whispered into his ear exactly what she was wearing, piece by piece, ending the little erotic conversation with a tug on his ear.

Knees week, he almost collapsed.

Damn Grandma, she never was happy unless someone was suffering.

In two hours she was going to be married. Cocktail hour had gone great, but now it was time. Kacey had chosen an eggshell dress with a plunging neck and back. It was a bit racy for her taste, which was exactly why she’d picked it. It made her feel daring and beautiful. Plus she’d worked hard doing that stupid wedding workout; she deserved to wear a sexy dress on her wedding day.

Tiny beaded straps formed a halter around her neck before trailing down the back and connecting to the dress. It was form fitting all the way to her hips and then slowly flowed out in fluffy chiffon layers. The lace and crystal overlay that went from her breasts all the way down the dress was her favorite part. She turned and smiled in the mirror. The three-foot train was perfectly pooled around her. She sighed.