She jerked at the sound of the familiar voice coming from behind the drape.
“Ginn, is that you?”
“Yeah, I’m out here. What is this? What in the hell is going on in there?”
Angie drew back the curtain.
Ginny gasped. Her hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes went round. “Oh. My. God. Angie? Is ... is this forreal?” She reached out both hands, took Angie’s in her own. “Ohmygod, is this going to happen? Is thisreallygoing to happen?”
Angie felt stupid suddenly. She felt exposed. As if she’d just showed Ginny a secret dream before she was even certain she could attain it.
“I ... maybe.” She swallowed. “Your dad and I have been discussing it for a while, and I came in here for work, and I saw this, and—”
“And you thought you should try it on? Damn right you should have! It’s freaking made for you.” Tears glinted in Ginny’s eyes. “Let me see you. Come out here. Turn around.” Ginny stepped back.
Angie came forward and did a slow turn, feeling self-conscious.
Ginny pressed her hand tightly over her mouth and stood there in silence, shaking her head.
“That bad?”
Ginny shook her head harder.
“Ginny?”
“I ... I can’t even talk.” She half choked, half laughed the words. “And that ring! Wow, let me see?”
Angie held out her hand, and Ginny examined the ring. She looked up. “Dad didn’t tell me. About any of this.”
“Ginny, he kinda doesn’t know. It’s complicated. He ... we’re still working it all out.”
“But he gave you a ring. He knows about the ring.”
Angie nodded. “But then we had a bit of a blowup. We’re ... taking it slow.”
Ginny nodded and blew out a chestful of air, trying to gather herself. She moistened her lips. “Okay, okay. So the dress is a surprise.”
“You could say that.” Angie snorted, feeling awkward now. “It’s a mistake,” she said, turning to go back to the dressing area. “I don’t know what made me do it.”
Ginny grabbed her wrist. “No, Ange, no. It’s not a mistake. This is so you. It’s beautiful. You’ll never find anything like it later. You’ve got to do this.”
“I—I think it really was a mistake.”
“No.” Ginny’s eyes crackled with a sudden ferocity. “I know my dad. I know you. This is going to happen. I know it with all my heart, and I’m going to help make sure it does. You’re going to get this dress. And—”
Angie opened her mouth, but Ginny’s hand shot up. “No. Hear me out. If you want to argue with yourself, go right ahead. You tell yourself that if things don’t work out, you can sell the gown. No problem. But if things do go ahead, you have it. You have something beautiful.” Ginny’s hot eyes glittered with emotion. She swiped away a tear. “You’re doing this, okay? You just are. You called me for a reason, and it’s clearly apparent that my reason is to make sure you follow through and order this dress.”
Emotion filled Angie’s eyes and made her heart hurt. She loved this kid. This kid who would be her stepdaughter if the marriage went ahead. Like Justice Jilly Monaghan had gotten a grown stepdaughter in Jasmine’s mother. Jilly Monaghan’s words whispered through her mind.
Things happen for a reason, Angela. I firmly believe this. One needs to seize the opportunities where they present.
Angie nodded. “Okay,” she said softly. “But it’s our secret, Ginn. Just in case things don’t work out.”
Ginny smiled, a mischievous little glint entering her eyes. “Yes,” she whispered. “Our secret.”
CHAPTER 24
The cupcake bakery in Ladysmith was tiny, with two sets of round tables and chairs pushed up against a window that looked out into the mall parking lot. Behind the glass-fronted counter, a woman in her sixties was icing a batch of cupcakes.
