Family Ties — читать онлайн бесплатно полностью

Her earrings were gold and onyx to match the dress, and her high heels and clutch purse complemented each other with small gold buckles.

“Beautiful,” I said again, and meant it.

She tucked the purse under her arm and reached up to adjust my tie. Then she smoothed my shirt over my chest. She even checked my waistline to make sure I didn’t have any wrinkles in my shirt.

“Just like my dad taught me,” I said with a smile. “Military-style.”

Her cheeks glowed with more than pleasure. “I used to help my mom when she checked my dad’s uniform for ceremonies and stuff.

“So… am I properly squared away?”

She grinned and set her purse on the dresser. Then she lifted my suit coat off the hanger. I started to turn, but she moved behind me instead. She slid the sleeves onto my arms with practiced ease and then moved in front of me to smooth my lapels.

“Very handsome,” she said at last.

“You know I’m just going to take it off when we get in the car?” I said with a grin.

“Hush. You’ll spoil the moment.” She reached for her purse and looked around again.

“Relax,” I said softly. “We’ll have other times when we dress up for a formal occasion. I’ll make sure we’re in a room with a mirror.”

She reached for her compact. Then she looped her arm through mine, straightened her shoulders, and held the open compact at arm’s length. The mirror was ridiculously small for what she wanted, and I did my best not to chuckle.

“Exactly,” Christy said, as if she’d read my mind.

“I know. You actually know how to dress.” She gazed at our reflection in the small mirror again. She was about to say something else when someone rapped on the door.

“Uh-oh,” I said. “We’re late.”

Christy snapped her compact shut and shoved it into her purse. I opened the door and grimaced at my father’s expression.

“Sorry,” I told him. “We should’ve gotten an earlier start.”

“Nonsense,” Christy said as she stepped in front of me. “It was my fault.

My hair took forever to dry.” It hadn’t and she knew it.

“Doesn’t matter,” Dad said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

We hustled to the car, where Dad climbed into the front passenger seat next to Mom. Susan smiled at us from the driver’s seat as Christy slid to the middle of the back seat next to Erin. I followed and folded my jacket neatly on my lap as I pulled the door closed.

The car’s tires actually kicked up sand when Susan did just that.