Page 9 of Substitute Bride

“Ooh, it’s gorgeous,” Jill said.

“Gorgeous!” Julie echoed.

“I don’t think it will fit,” Rose said. Even pregnant, Georgina Beaufort had obviously been smaller than her.

Her grandmother frowned even more sternly. “Of course it will. Put it on now.”

Rose sighed again, but went over to take the dress since it was easier just to not argue with the old woman. If the dress didn’t fit, then her point would be proved, and they would all have to accept the situation.

She took the dress into the sitting room in the back, made sure the doors were closed, and then took off her jeans and knit top. She examined the dress until she understood how it was to be fastened, and then she pulled it on over her head.

It fit a lot better than she expected, although it was quite snug in the hips and more of her breasts were forced up at the neckline than she would ever show in public.

She glanced in the mirror and was shocked by how pretty she looked. The pale lace fabric set off her fair skin and the slight auburn in her hair, and her figure looked lush and feminine.

Rather too lush. The amount of cleavage showing was incredibly inappropriate.

“Does it fit?” Julie shouted. Her mouth must be right at the doorknob if the volume was any evidence.

“Pretty much,” Rose called. “But I need some sort of shawl. Can you ask Kelly to help you find one to bring to me?”

Julie went happily to fulfill her duty and came back in less than two minutes. When Rose opened the door a crack, the girl thrust in a lace wrap that was so thin it was almost transparent.

Rose was hoping something with a little more coverage, but she wrapped the fabric to cover as much of her cleavage as possible, and then she went out to present herself.

The girls were delighted, and they all played they were getting ready to go to the ball. Kelly even volunteered to be the stagecoach driver, and she helped to set up a coach with three benches and a couple of old lanterns.

Rose was having such a good time that she forgot that James was on his way over and she should really get out of this wedding dress before he arrived.

James wasn’t having a good day.

There had been one annoyance after another at work, and then his business dinner had been a disaster when his boss said something stupid and alienated the owners of a start-up that they’d been trying to woo.

He wanted his girls and a little quiet, but they’d evidently decided to go over to Rose’s family’s house for the evening, which meant he would have to go there to find them.

He glanced down at his phone when a new text came in, thinking it might be Rose. It wasn’t. It was Genevieve sending him another selfie.

In this one she was wearing a very sexy top and grinning at him over a cocktail.

Who knew where she was this evening—out with friends as normal. He had no idea where she found the energy. He wanted his chair at home and a beer.

He must be getting old.

The selfie made him remember the conversation he’d had with Rose that morning about Jill. The girls needed to get to know Genevieve better. No time like the present to start since Genevieve clearly wasn’t doing anything important this evening.

He clicked on her number and waited for it to connect.

“Hey, baby,” she greeted him.

“Hi. How’s your day?”

“Fabulous. You should see the new shoes I bought this afternoon.”

She was always buying shoes. There was no way for him to keep up with them all. “I can’t wait. What are you doing right now?”

“What do you think? I’m at Toast of the Town. You should come down and join me.”

“I can’t right now. I’m going to meet the girls.”