Seeing as it's my brother's birthday, I decided to be an awesome big sister and bake him a carrot cake. It's his favorite. We're experiencing some August rain this week, so it's actually giving me something to do on this gray, wet Saturday.

My brother Cooper lives down near Baltimore. He's trying to make junior partner at his law firm, so he doesn't find too much time to get back home for any extended length of time. He graduated Balt U years ago, but liked his college town so much, he decided to stick around. I've only seen his place a handful of times, but the townhouse he rents with another law school buddy of his is pretty nice.

He's always giving me crap about being thirty and still living at home, but he knows as well as I do that I've got it made here. Besides, maybe Charlie will ask me to move in with him soon. I can hold out until then.

Just as I get the cake pans into the oven, the house line starts ringing. I quickly wipe the gunky batter off my fingers and answer. "Hello?"

"Hi Shana. It's Victoria."

I think, fabulous, but I say, "Hi."

When I don't offer anything else, she stammers, "Uh, the bridal shop called and they said you still haven't gone in there to get measured for your gown."

Crap. I forgot. "Oh, yeah. Things have just been crazy around here."

Vix interjects, "Well, I'm only calling because we can't order the dresses until everyone's been fitted, remember? The saleslady said that sometimes, it can take up to six months for delivery. We don't have a lot of time."

Give me a break. The wedding's not until next spring.

As if reading my thoughts, she adds, "Plus, we'll need to have them altered. That takes time, too. Remember?"

"Yeah. Of course. I'll uh, I'll get over there tomorrow. Okay? First thing."

There's a slight pause, and then, "Well... tomorrow's Sunday."

"And?"

"And the store is in the Garden State Plaza. Paramus, remember? The mall's not open on Sunday."

Fuckin' blue laws. "Shit. You're right. Uh..." I check the clock and realize I've got plenty of free time before Cooper's party tonight. I was planning on getting a manicure, but I suppose my nails can survive for another twenty-four hours if it means I won't have to deal with a barrage of nagging phonecalls from Victoria Chadwick: Bridesmaid of the Year. "I'll get over there today, I guess. Okay?"

This seems to placate her. "Phew. Okay, great. I hate to be a pain, it's just that we need to get this done."

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Yeah, right.

"Also, you may want to get your shoes there, too. They can dye them to match."

Classy. "What color is the gown?" I ask out of self-preservation. God, I hope they're not pink or something.

"Oh, they're a beautiful pale pink. Very elegant."

I'll bet.

Vix giggles and adds, "Liv swore she'd never have pink bridesmaids, but the gowns are so pretty and they were marked sixty percent off! She figured we'd all forgive her the color choice because of how much money we'll be saving. Isn't that so like her?"

Hmm. Let's see. Selfish, waffling, and cheap? Real nice way to think of your own sister, Vix.

But instead, I say, "Yeah, totally. Okay, Vix, thanks for the call. I'll take care of it. Bye."

As soon as I hang up, Cooper comes trudging into the room and melts into a kitchen chair.

"Happy birthday, old man. Rough one last night?"

He puts his elbows on the table, rubbing his stubbled face in his hands. His voice is even more baritone than usual as he answers groggily, "Rymer arranged a pub crawl."

"Greg Rymer? From high school? What's he up to?"

Cooper lets out a yawn. "I don't know. Two-forty, two-fifty, I guess."

"Hardee-har-har."

I put a cup of coffee down in front of him and remark, "You know, you're almost thirty. You don't have the body of a twenty-one-year-old anymore."

Cooper leans back in his chair, cracking his back. "I'm only twenty-eight. And yes, I do."

There is nothing to do here but roll my eyes.

Cooper stirs some milk into his mug. "Who was that on the phone? They woke me up."

I start to load all my cake stuff into the dishwasher as I answer, "Livia's sister. Vix."

Cooper knows how I feel about my best friend's crowd, so his brows furrow in confusion. I explain, "She was calling about the bridesmaid gowns for the wedding."

"Ah, okay. When is it again?"

Ummm... "May... something?"

"Nice, Shane. Where is she having it?"

Ummm... "You know, I don't even know. Why don't you ask her when she comes over for your birthday party?"

"Shana. You're in the wedding and you don't even know where it's going to be?" He says this more as a statement than a question, all smug and lawyery.

"Oh, shut up. It's like a million months away and I'm sure I'll know where it is by then. God, you act as though I couldn't be bothered to find out or something."

"Sure looks that way."

"Well, that's just a load of bull. I happen to just be very busy lately between the store and Charlie—"

"Hey, yeah. Am I going to meet the famous Charlie tonight?"

"I hope so." I quickly check the clock on the wall again. "His flight should be in by now, so he should be here soon, actually." I make a mental note to call Charlie when I'm done cleaning up here in the kitchen. I have to let him know that I'll have to postpone seeing him for a few more hours. Damn dress.

"You know Mom's practically got you married off to him already, right?"

"I know. She's like, in love with him."

"Are you?"

"Well, duh."

"Yeah, well, it would be nice to meet this guy. Seeing as he's going to be your husband someday."

Husband. I completely love the sound of that.

I know Charlie has his faults, but doesn't everybody? Yeah, he's a bit short-tempered. And sometimes he can be a little uncool. And his family isn't the greatest, but they're starting to come around. Even Ashleigh has lightened up a bit in the past month. Though I suppose it might only be because she's figured out that I buy her stuff when she's not being a snot. And yes, he's a workaholic, but he earns great money because of it, so I deal with not being able to see him every minute of every day. He's actually even started taking the rare business trip every now and then. He's on his way home from Florida right now, after spending the last four days attending an OSHA conference on worker safety. Fun. He'd asked if I wanted to go with him, but Florida in August? No, thank you. It's not like I don't have my own life going on anyway.

The store has been keeping me busier than usual. When business was good, the place practically ran itself. But the past few months have shown a slight dip in our sales and I'm forced to spend more hours there than I'm used to. My mother isn't helping matters any with her constant, pointless suggestions. Sure, Mom, I'll just stop buying stock for the store. What does she expect me to sell if the shelves go bare?

I keep dropping not-so-subtle hints to Kim and Suki about the threat of shortening their hours. I don't know who they think they are, but they both have been downright bitchy with their complaints about that. What do they expect me to do? Sales are down, so I have to cut expenses somehow! I didn't hear them complaining last Christmas when I gave them big, fat bonus checks after a stellar holiday quarter. If they want to reap the benefits of a good year, they're going to have to suck it up during a bad one. We're all in this together.

They never would have had the nerve to speak to me so candidly if I'd maintained our professional working relationship. But hitting Milan with them that one, stupid night makes them think that all barriers have been removed. Since when did going out for a few drinks with the boss suddenly mean you were best friends? But I suppose if I really think about it, I shouldn't complain too much. After all, if I hadn't let those two drag me out that night, I would never have met Charlie.

So, I guess all things considered, it's worth it.

I finish wiping down the counters and head into my room to get changed. I've got a mall in Paramus to get to.

*** Yeay! Cooper!

Yes, that was Cooper Benedict. Best friend to Layla Warren from REMEMBER WHEN. He will be making a few appearances throughout this story, along with a few other characters from my other books. (You may have also noticed that Rymer got a shout-out in this chapter!) 

If you have no idea who I'm referring to, you may want to check out REMEMBER WHEN, available for FREE at every major online retailer or right here on Wattpad! 

It's a sweet and steamy romantic comedy about a Hollywood movie star and his high school sweetheart. It's the first book of a trilogy and takes place in 1990-91, before he was famous. You're going to fall in love with Trip! 

New chapter tomorrow! ***