looked her over.
“Oh my God. You are the most stunning woman I have ever seen. Xavier, Lach, and Will won’t be able to take their eyes off of you.”
“What?” Kylie squawked and then cleared her throat.
“Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you haven’t seen the way they all look at you.”
“Don’t start, Eva.” Kylie snatched the emerald-green high heels from her friend’s hand and bent to put them on.
“Make sure you don’t bend over like that on the day of the wedding, because you will have every male eye pinned to that hole in the dress, wondering if your boobs will fall out.” Eva chuckled.
“They won’t. I already checked. The support in the bodice will prevent me from flashing anyone.” Kylie straightened up and looked at Eva. “There is no way in hell I’m getting involved with anyone.”
“Do you like the dress?” Eva asked.
Kylie narrowed her eyes and stared at her friend. She knew damn well that Eva was ignoring her last statement.
“Yes. I would feel more comfortable if there were a little more to it, though.”
“Kylie, you have never seen how pretty you are. I wish you would see yourself the way I see you. You are gorgeous, girl, and will have every single man at the wedding vying for your attention.”
“I don’t want a man in my life, Eva. God, I have a lunatic stalking me. The last thing I need or want is a relationship right now.”
“You want them just as much as they want you. Did you think I didn’t notice the way you were looking at them over breakfast? The sexual tension between you four was so thick I could have cut it with my knife.”
“Just because I’m attracted to them doesn’t mean a thing.” Kylie began to carefully remove the dress with the curtain still open so she could see Eva as they talked. “They are arrogant, conceited, bossy assholes, and I don’t want anything to do with them.”
“You’re lying to yourself, Kylie.” Eva sighed as she took the dress from her. “They may seem arrogant and domineering, but they are just what you need. If it hadn’t been for those three men cajoling and pushing you, you wouldn’t have eaten your breakfast. Do you think I didn’t notice you hardly ate anything last night? That you just pushed your food around your plate pretending to eat? You have lost too much weight, girlfriend. I’m worried about you. You have dark smudges beneath your eyes from lack of sleep and your ribs are poking through your skin. You’re beginning to look anorexic.”
Kylie sighed but didn’t argue with Eva. What could she say to the truth? Kylie had lost just over ten pounds and although she had been healthy, she’d always been on the lighter side of her ideal weight for her height. She’d been living on fear and nerves too long, and it was starting to show. Maybe now that she was away from her hometown and that asshole, she could begin to relax a little. But deep down she knew he would catch up to her. Somehow, someway, her life was in danger and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
* * * *
Will studied the sketch the police artist in Sheridan had compiled from the information Kylie had given him, and then handed it to Xavier, frustrated that Kylie hadn’t been able to see the shape of his eyes or their color.
After breakfast, Will, Xavier, and Lachlan as well as their cousins went down to the sheriff’s department to visit Damon Osborn and Luke Sun-Walker to see what information they could dig up about Kylie’s stalker. What worried Will the most was that if the prick managed to track Kylie to Slick Rock, she may not recognize him and she would be in danger.
“Has any information been found on this fucker?” Lach asked Sheriff Luke Sun-Walker.
“No.”
“I’ve done a complete nationwide data check,” Sheriff Damon Osborn said. “No alerts came up.”
“Fuck.” Will burst to his feet and began to pace in the sheriff’s office. “I hate this shit. Surely someone somewhere knows who
Tom Clancy, Steve Pieczenik, Jeff Rovin