Ask Me Something (The Something Series Book 2) by Aubrey Bondurant Page A

time, and eight years isn’t all that
much. Look at Josh and Haylee. She’s only a year older than I am, and their gap
is larger.”
    She had a point.
“True, however that’s not the norm.”
    “I know. But you
should have seen them at the Christmas Eve party together. You could feel the
love between them, you know. And with the exception of my awful sister-in-law,
Rebecca, there wasn’t one person there who thought about their age difference.”
    I wouldn’t
disagree. Haylee and Josh complemented one another fully. “Wait, back up. What
did your sister-in-law say?”
    She proceeded to
try on a lavender dress which suited her coloring very nicely. “She’s a bitch
and trash talks her behind her back, saying Haylee is a gold digger and that
she trapped Josh.”
    “I see. Is she
coming to the wedding?”
    “Unfortunately
she is. Anyhow, she’s jealous because she’s miserable with my oldest brother.
What do you think of this one?” She looked at herself in the mirror.
    I walked over
behind her and held up the back of her hair. We both looked in the mirror at
the image. “Perfect for a beach wedding. It’s subtle sexy, which is what you
want.”
    “Will you give
me some advice on what to do to get his attention, pretty please?”
    Now I knew why
Brian was hard pressed ever to say no to his sister. I might not be able to
ever offer relationship advice, but over the years I had inadvertently mastered
the technique of getting a man’s attention.
    “All right. Come
on, then. We have some more shopping to do.”
    She hugged me
exuberantly, practically squealing in delight.
    ***
    An hour later, McKenzie
had new underwear, bras, and a couple cute outfits that she could wear both to school
or out in the evening. And the most important thing: shoes. I talked her into
two pair and told her to practice walking in them that night.
    “Thank you for
doing this. I know I kind of put you on the spot to take me shopping today,”
she said when we got to Sephora in search of makeup.
    “I love
shopping, and I’m having a good time, Kenzie.” I was enjoying myself. It was
like having a younger sister. One who wanted to spend time with me. A pang of
regret hit me over the current tension with Addison. I checked my phone, but
she’d stopped calling after several unanswered attempts.
    “When do I get
the actual seduction advice? I mean, all of these clothes are great, but if I
flounder like an idiot, none of it is going to matter.”
    I swiped my
card, opting to pay for her makeup myself as a gift instead of having Brian
pick up that, too. Considering he’d already been generous with the clothes and
shoes, I didn’t want to push it. “I’ll tell you on the car ride home.”
    She nodded,
eager to leave with her bags in hand. “Thank you for the makeup. It was very
generous. But, um, you’ll teach me how to put this crap on my face, right?” She
eyed the cosmetics dubiously.
    “Yes, of course.
And you’re welcome,” I smiled.
    We got into the
car, and I turned towards the younger woman. “Okay, you ready for the one thing
you need to know about seduction?”
    She nodded, enthusiastic
to hear whatever I was about to say.
    “It’s simple.
You need to stop trying.” I’d learned this unintentionally due to my social
anxiety. Ironically, my inability to be charming came across as playing hard to
get. This made most men more interested than ever.
    She frowned.
“What?”
    “You have to
stop trying. Tell me the truth. Does he know he’s your crush?”
    “Probably. He
used to tease me about it when I was younger. I’m sure he still knows I’ve got
feelings.” She sighed, obviously not liking that fact.
    “That’s the
first obstacle. You’ve got him up on this pedestal, Kenzie, and I have news for
you. If you keep him up there as your crush, he’s not incentivized to get down
and be part of the real world. Relationships aren’t easy.” From what little I
knew about them. “What could be better for a man’s