Inked by an Angel by Shauna Allen Page A

flatter her figure. And I’ve already told her she could be your Maid of Honor since she’s about your only female relative. Oh! And I almost forgot to tell you, I spoke with my friend at the club, they’re booked for the entire spring season. No matter what I said they couldn’t fit in your wedding, but they do have availability on June 15 th . If we act fast, we can have that date. If not, we’ll have to wait until August. Then it will be dreadfully hot and that simply won’t do. And we don’t want to push it back into the fall or winter, do we?”
    She studied her mother’s expectant face and processed the fact that her wedding had just been taken hostage. She felt her blood pressure spike as the pulse drummed behind both of her eyes.
    She had a flash of herself as a marionette puppet, being led down the aisle in a frilly white dress, her mother above her with a head as large as the ceiling, pulling the strings. It was creepy.
    “You know, Mother, I would’ve appreciated picking my own bridesmaids. I don’t even like Amanda. I was thinking of my friend Bethany.” Okay, Bethany was really more of an acquaintance that she was still getting to know than a good friend. She didn’t have a best friend. But it wasn’t for her mother to decide and she wanted her to know it.
    “Oh. Well. I’m sorry. I just thought—”
    “I know what you thought.” She closed the magazine with a decided thud.
    “It’s too late to undo it now.” Her mother looked chagrined.
    “Really?” Kyle stood and took her mug to the sink to dump the coffee she didn’t want anyway. “How ‘bout if we scale down and not do the big country club thing like I originally suggested? Remember that, Mom?” She turned around. “ Beaches ringing any bells?”
    Her mother paled but remained silent.
    “Bryan is dating that new girl. What’s her name? Daphne? She sounds like perfect country club material. I’m sure they could give you the perfect club wedding pretty soon.”
    Her mother got some color back in her cheeks and sat up in her chair. “I don’t like that girl.”
    That caught Kyle’s attention. Daphne must be a keeper then. “Why not?”
    “Your brother spends too much time with her. It keeps him from focusing on his career like he should. He’s already spending too much money on her. And she has a child.” She said it like it was a disease.
    “So?”
    “So she has a past. No telling what kinds of sordid things she could be bringing into a relationship. Bryan must be careful. Besides, I want him to find a nice, pure girl to marry and start his own family with.”
    God, Kyle hoped Bryan married this girl. Please, please, please. Her brother, and her family, needed something like this to lighten them all up.
    “You need to ease up. You don’t even know the girl. Besides, if he falls in love with her, you’ll have to get used to her.”
    Her mother ignored her. “That’s neither here nor there. They’ve only been seeing each other a little while. I’m more concerned with you. It’s fine if you’re going to let Charles stew a little while, but then you need to get over this nonsense and make up with him, for Heaven’s sake. Then you get on with the wedding plans, young lady.” She glanced down at the closed magazine. “Get back to me on the date. And I’d love to go with you to a dress fitting.” She was obviously going to call a truce on the venue of the wedding. At least for now.
    “Okay, Mom.”
    She saw her mother out after promising to call Charles that day. She had no idea what she would say to him. And, as she erased her messages, she noticed there was a new one that must’ve come in while she’d been in the shower.
    She frowned at the machine. Charles really had to get a grip.
    She pressed the button.
    “Hey, Muffet.” Her stomach filled with flailing butterflies as Jed’s voice came on. He’d obviously just woken up. “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to chicken out on me today. Three