Dante's Angel by Laurie Roma

a light?” When Sam muttered something
obscene, Francesca just laughed.
    GT left to
fill their order, and Zoe looked around the room, glad she wasn’t working. It
had been a long and emotional afternoon, and even though she didn’t want to go
home when they made it back to Breakers, she didn’t have the energy to work a
shift at the moment.
    When they’d
left the bridal shop, the women had all wished Kali luck telling her fiancé the
wonderful news about the baby. Evie and Madeline had also gone home to their
men, and Becca had opted to head back to her apartment since she had to be up
early to open the bakery. Sam, Francesca and Zoe had decided to go to The Fox
Hole, wanting a drink after the pains of trying on countless dresses. They had
found one they all agreed on, but it really hadn’t mattered. As long as Kali
had liked it, the group would have worn anything she chose.
    “I’ve decided
I need to kill off a clothing designer in my next book,” Francesca announced.
    Sam snickered.
“That’s not very romantic.”
    As an erotic
romance author, Francesca’s books were filled with love and happily ever
afters, not murder. “I don’t care. Whoever made some of those dresses we tried
on today needs to be punished. Seriously, it’s like they are trying to mock people
with hips, and that’s just mean.”
    Zoe chuckled
and shook her head. “At least you have hips.”
    “But you’re so
slim, and you—” Francesca wagged a finger at Sam, “—I don’t even know where to
begin.”
    “What the hell
does that mean?”
    “All I’m
saying is that I love you guys, but there is no way I’m getting stuck standing
between you and Nikita for the wedding. Nope. Being the cream filling between
Combat Barbie and Fitness Barbie is too much to ask of anyone.”
    “I’m really
going to have to hurt you if you don't stop calling me that,” Sam warned.
    Francesca fluttered
her lashes and smiled. “You love me too much to do any real damage.”
    “Fucking female
bonding,” Sam groused again. Gratefully, she picked up the glass that GT placed
in front of her and drained half of it in just a few swallows.
    “That sounds
awful,” GT said in sympathy.
    “It was,” Sam
insisted. “We were stuck trying on dresses for hours today. Hours.”
    GT shook her
head sadly. “That sounds like my idea of hell. Why couldn’t Kali just pick out
a dress she liked and make you guys wear it? Isn’t that how it normally goes?”
    “That’s what I
said!”
    “It wasn’t as
bad as Sam is making it sound,” Francesca countered. “She had just as much fun
today as we did. I really like the dress we picked, even though my hips look
huge in it.”
    “I would kill
for your curves, Frannie,” Zoe said with a sigh.
    “You say that
because you’ve never had to fit this ass in these jeans.”
    “No one in
their right mind would wear those jeans. You have rhinestones on the pockets
for Christ’s sake,” Sam muttered.
    “Don’t hate.”
Francesca’s eyes were alight with mischief when she added, “Besides, weren’t
you the one to pick the winning bridesmaid dress today? You know, the one with all
those pretty little sparkles on the strap and the waist?”
    GT choked.
“You…what?”
    “And did I
forget to mention it was a pink dress?” Francesca asked.
    “Oh, wow,” GT
said, straight-faced. “This is a whole new side of you I never knew about.”
    “Don’t make me
kill you.”
    “Stop teasing
Sam,” Zoe admonished even as she tried to hold in her laughter. “Wait until
she’s had a few more drinks at least.”
    “Fine. I’ll
behave,” Francesca promised. “It’s just so fun to rile her up.”
    “Gee, aren’t I
lucky.”
    GT leaned on
the bar in front of them, completely ignoring customers trying to get her
attention. “Speaking of being riled, maybe you could spare a minute to talk to
the boss, Zoe. He’s been on a real tear tonight.”
    Zoe frowned.
“What happened?”
    “He knocked
out some asshole