All of Me (The Bridesmaids Club Book 1) (35 page)

After the publicity their story generated, they’d ended up with over fifty donated bridesmaids’ dresses, a dozen bridal gowns and a box full of letters from other women asking for help.

“Are you listening, Annie?” Tess Williams, the owner of Angel Wings Café, and one of her best friends, nudged her leg under the table.

Molly and Sally, her other two best friends, looked out the window of the café to see what she’d been staring at.

“It’s Dylan,” Sally sighed. “Does he even know how drop dead gorgeous he is?”

The first time Annie had met Dylan Bayliss she hadn’t known what to make of him. He rarely smiled, almost never touched another person, and had a way of filling up a room without knowing it. She had to admit that six and a half feet of pure male testosterone would have an impact on any room. Add in wide shoulders, a chiseled jaw, and sapphire blue eyes, and you had the makings of a man who would turn a woman’s head every time.

“Can we get back to what we need to sort out? Annie and I have to get the next lot of meals ready for the Lighthouse Café.” Tess stuck her head around the edge of the window and smiled at Dylan. “Okay. We’ve all had our hormone fix for the day. Back to work.”

“It’s all right for you,” Sally moaned. “Your fiancé has been keeping your toes warm at night. We’re not all fortunate enough to have a man like Logan Allen in our lives.”

“And some of us don’t want one,” Molly stated. Her Irish accent softened the words, gave them a lyrical quality that covered the hurt behind them. Molly’s marriage had lasted a grand total of six months. The charming, romantic man she’d married had shared his charm with someone else, and Molly was still recovering.

Sally gave Molly a quick hug. “Where are we up to?” she asked.

Tess looked down at her notes. “Julie is arriving with her two bridesmaids tomorrow. She’s looked at the catalog, so I’ll put the dresses she liked to one side.”

When they’d first started The Bridesmaids Club, the biggest challenge they could see was having some way of showing their brides what the dresses looked like. So Molly, a professional photographer, had put together a catalog of the dresses they’d been given. So far, it was working out better than they’d planned.

“I talked to my bride,” Sally said. “Holly is coming to see us next Saturday with her sisters.”

Annie stopped sipping her milkshake. “All six of them?”

“Yep. I just hope they don’t bring any extra people.” Sally leaned her elbows on the table and glanced out of the window again. “What do you think Dylan’s perfect woman would be like?”

Annie had been wondering the same thing, which scared the living daylights out of her. Unless you counted a disastrous ten pin bowling incident, she hadn’t dated anyone in over six years.

Dylan didn’t seem to date much either, but that could have been because of his touching issue. He’d told Tess he was working on it, whatever that meant.

Annie grinned at the serious expression on Sally’s face. “I’d say Dylan’s perfect woman would be a five-foot-eight brunette. She’d have sparkling green eyes and a fondness for animals.”

Sally blushed. “I’m the worst person for Dylan. He’s too...”

“Perfect?” Molly said.

“Complicated,” Annie added.

All four heads around the table nodded. Dylan must have sensed the female interest on the other side of the window. He turned and looked at each of them in turn. Annie scrunched down in her seat, too embarrassed to smile back like everyone else.

Dylan held his wrist out and tapped his watch. Annie knew they were running late, but some things were worth a few extra minutes. Especially if they involved girly talk about the man in front of them.

Tess looked down at her notebook. “Is there anything else we’ve forgotten?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Okay, so I guess that’s the end of our meeting.” Tess flipped her notebook closed. “We set a world record - we only went off topic four times.”

Molly laughed as they stood up. “We’ll have to come more prepared next time.”

Dylan must have figured out their meeting was over. He walked into the café and met Tess at the front counter. “Are you ready for me to start loading the meals?”

His Texan drawl sent goose bumps down Annie’s spine. Not that she’d let Dylan know that. In all the time she’d known him he’d carefully avoided her. They’d barely spoken, never touched, except when he’d tripped over her feet in the middle of a chapel.

Annie walked toward the kitchen. They’d already put twenty meals in aluminum trays and packed them in boxes. The people that ate at Pastor Steven’s café appreciated the food they made. For some of them, it was the only meal they could count on each day.

Dylan cleared his throat as Annie opened the kitchen door. “Do you want to ride with me?”

Annie frowned, then looked over her shoulder. No one was there. “You’re talking to me?”

Dylan shrugged. “I was just wondering?”

“I can’t…leave, I mean. I’m looking after Angel Wings Café while Tess delivers the meals with you. And then I’ve got bowling practice.”

Dylan nodded. “Maybe next time, then.”

Annie hurried into the kitchen and called herself every fool under the sun. She’d gotten tongue-tied around Dylan. He was a man. A perfectly normal, over-the-top gorgeous male, but a man nonetheless. And she was a confident, single woman, whose excuse for not going with him had been bowling practice.

There was something seriously wrong with her priorities.