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A sharp gasp. “Josephine Renee Stewart! Charlie said you’d be in town.” She rushed forward and hugged Jo, squishing her good and proper before leaning back. “Look at you. My goodness, you were always gorgeous, but honey, you’re just stunning.”
Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Jo lowered her gaze to the floor. “You have to say that.”
The woman tipped her chin up. “I don’t either. You’re beautiful.” She smiled as she acknowledged Serenity and the other women. “Hi, Ms. Harper.”
“Serenity, please.” She shook Mrs. Sharpe’s hand. “This is Emily, June, and Madison. Three of my four bridesmaids.”
“Where’s your fourth?”
Jo caught the slight downturn of her lips, but Serenity quickly recovered. “She had something come up, but she swore that she’d fly in this week so she could get fitted.”
“That’s fine. I think I can manage that,” Mrs. Sharpe said and looked Serenity over. “I think with the time constraints, we’ll have to start with something off the rack, but with some modifications, it’ll be perfect. I see you loving clean lines, soft but simple. Not exactly bohemian, but something for an outdoor wedding.”
Jo held in a chuckle. The woman had always been like that. She could sum up a woman’s dress in seconds. She’d expected Serenity to be a little put out that the dress wouldn’t be custome, but Jo was quickly learning the actress was incredibly down to earth. She was getting married to Ethan, not putting on a show. That was sweet.
“Oh, my goodness. How did you do that?”
“It’s what I do,” she said and looked at the bridesmaids. “You want something soft and feminine to align with the overall theme of your wedding. You’re giving them the ability to pick their own styles, too.” She eyed each bridesmaid and summed them up, ending with June.
June stared at the woman. “I know where I’m getting my wedding dress when I get married.”
The women laughed as Jo’s phone rang. “Uh, let me take this really quick. I’ll be back.” She stepped outside and answered the phone. “Hey, Delia, what’s up?”
“How’s it going?”
“Uh,” Jo said and peeked through the dress shop window. “Good. Serenity is dress shopping at the moment and invited me along. I think this is going to be a great article. She’s super relatable, sweet, and funny.”
“That’s great.” She paused a beat. “I have the most amazing news. We just brought Arianna Carter on.”
Arianna Carter? “She’s?—”
“The best wedding photographer out there. I ran into her at a charity benefit this weekend, and we got to talking and I’m not sure how it happened, but she said she’d love to work for Eternal Vows.”
“I mean, that’s great, but I thought there was only one open spot available for another photographer. The spot that was supposed to be mine, remember?”
“I couldn’t turn down Arianna. She’s the most sought-after photographer out there.”
“Does that mean you’re opening up another spot for me?”
Delia scoffed. “No, but there are rumors that Jason is looking to leave in the next couple of months. When he does, I promise you can have his spot, okay?”
Jo raked her hand through her hair and sighed. Delia always did this to her. Made promises and broke them. Reliable disappointment. That just wasn’t good enough anymore. “Delia, we had a deal.”
“Jo, I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. As soon as the board found out that she was interested, my hands were tied.”
Right. That’s what she always said. Her hands were tied. There was no arguing with her, though. “Okay.”
“That’s my girl. Always a team player.” A muffled sound came from the phone. Most likely Delia put her hand over the speaker. “All right, I need to go. Apparently, there’s an issue with the printer.”
The line went quiet before Jo could even respond. She pulled her phone from her ear and looked at it, then dropped her hand to her side, lightly kicking the brick wall of the shop.
“What’d that wall do to you?”
Jo startled and faced Jack. “It’s nothing.”
He smiled. “Didn’t look like nothing.”
“Really. I’m okay. A moment of frustration.” She shook off the funk of the call and smiled. “What are you doing?”
