BEYOND THE PALE

obby pin into my long, unruly brown hair, determ

tylist for the actual wedding. I muse as I

ment and sit back in my chair. Frustration will

more minutes of wrangling, cursing, and dousing my wild mane with

ssed with my skill. It had been risky to forgo my usual ponytail and try out the

ven p

t party,” I declare out loud while I pull a few strand

uding my fiancé, find me to be pretty. I have deep, dark brown eyes and nice, full eyebrows. My eyelashes

not a common feeling for me, so I decided that I’m going

pinch, so I count the small victories. The fabric hugs my bust without being trash

ack to examine myself in the full-length m

ress, pretty.

I was a little girl. A checklist to make sure I feel confident

hums and I know immediately fr

om,” I

. The place looks lovely and they have

r going early so I coul

, sweetheart. Are

es. I also need to see if David

and text me when y

m still likes me to text her whenever I drive anywhere so she knows how long to wait be

I smile as I wait for my fiancé to answer, thinking about his pretty

Leave a message and I’ll get back to you

ug and head to the bathroom to grab my perfume. He’s probabl

a Architects about twenty years ago and made quite a name for himself and his firm over the years. But the hours are long and i

ucky to have someone like David, who is kin

iful yard so carefully tended by my mother and, beyond that, the magnificent view of the Mountains. From my third-floor vie

an I wanted to pay, but Marky insisted that I wear something

oo fitted, I thin

e at th

he hallway to my bathroom and

my search. That’s so generous of him, but I bet all he had to do was flash that smile and they gave him a major discount. He’s

my perfume and

otal eye candy. I stop mid-spr

ke my

hair, and bodies like lumberjacks, Marcus Herrera and his son David look more like brothers instead of father an

ather-in-law. What is wrong with y

ou’re just getting a glimpse of what David is going to look like in t

didn’t really frequent the same circles back then – he was the typical jock while I li

I happier? Then, I shoot a glance at the clock. Crap. “6:23.

o my old hatchback. It’s not much, but this car has gotten me from point A to B since high sc