Liv laughed and moved on to the next rack. “I need something that I can wear under my dress. And I want it to be surprising, you know?”
“Surprising how?” Min asked.
“I’m going to be in this frilly white gown all day, all prim and proper andvirginal-looking—” Callie snorted, but Liv continued on, shooting her friend an amused look, “—and when I take off the dress, I want to feel the opposite of that. Not precious or porcelain, or any of those other ways my mom will try to describe me when I’m wearing my wedding dress.”
Callie considered a corset and returned it to the rack. “You want to feel strong. Powerful.”
“Yes.”
“Unbreakable,” Min said with a knowing smirk.
“Exactly!”
“How about this?” Callie reached to the back of a rack and pulled out a bodysuit that was little more than thin strips of lace forming a giant v shape for the main body with satin straps wrapping around the sides.
“Definite possibility,” Liv said, taking the hanger. “These shoulder straps are thin enough that they should fit under the straps of my dress.”
“What about something like this?” Min held up a sheer corset, the boning visible through the aqua mesh, garters dangling from the side.
“Gorgeous!”
“Babe,” Callie said, pulling one more hanger out to show her friend. “This one.” It was a one-piece teddy, high cut, sheer mesh forming the panty attached to a strapless corset covered in intricate floral embroidery. The corset curved at the top, rising to a high point in the middle, and then swooping down on each side before rising at the back again.
Min frowned. “That top looks like it’ll be too short for Liv.”
“It’s an under-bust corset,” Callie explained. She held it flush to her chest, demonstrating the way the boning would sit beneath the bust. “All the support and none of the coverage.”
“That’s the one,” Liv said, taking it from Callie’s hands.
“I think I might get this one myself,” Min said, biting her lip as she surveyed the corset and garter set she’d held up to Liv as an option.
“That color will be stunning on you,” Liv said, holding the hanger back out to Min. “It’ll really make your eyes pop.”
“You should get the one you picked out, Callie,” Min said.
“Oh! In the green! It’ll be so perfect with your hair!” Liv said, diving back into the rack and producing the barely-there teddy in a deep emerald green. Her nose wrinkled. “Did I just tell you to buy lingerie for my brother?”
Callie snatched the hanger from Liv’s hands and placed it back on the rack. “No, because I don’t need any lingerie.”
“Everyone needs lingerie,” Liv said. “You should get it. I’m just going to pretend it’s not my brother who’s going to see you in it.”
Min found Callie’s eyes across the store.She knows it’s not real,Callie thought.Noah will never see me in this.
“You should get it because it’s beautiful and you’ll feel beautiful when you wear it,” Min said softly. “Get it for yourself.”
Callie smiled at Min, grateful for her deft handling of the situation.
“My treat,” Liv said, plucking the hangers from both Min and Callie’s hands. “We are going to be smoke shows, ladies.”
Each with a tiny silver gift bag overflowing with tissue paper that concealed the wisps of fabric Liv had purchased for them, they left the shop and began their walk back to the public parking lot a few blocks away. Callie’s feet were already sore, but more than that, she could feel the tension creeping into her hips. All this walking combined with the yoga class had probably been too much in the middle of a week that was pushing her physical limits each day, but she couldn’t bear to break up the fun they were having. She didn’t want Liv to spend even a second of her wedding worried about Callie’s comfort.
“Do you have your something old?” Min asked as they walked.
“Noah’s taking care of the something old and something new. Not that he’ll tell me what they are,” Liv said. “Oh! Cal, you can tell me!”
Callie shook her head. “Sorry. I don’t know what he’s got planned.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
