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“Do I?” she asked, a question still in her voice.
“You do. I promise.”
“Do you apple pie promise?” she said and a laugh bubbled out of my throat. When we were kids, we’d decided to have something bigger than a pinkie promise and apple pie was both of our favorite things at the time, so we swore on apple pie instead. Since then our tastes had changed and I was more of an ice cream girl, but the sentiment was the same.
I reached out and took both of her hands.
“I apple pie promise.” She squeezed my hands back and looked over her shoulder at the mirror.
“I can’t pick this one, Lo. It’s the first one I’ve tried on. You can’t pick the first one.” Chloe cleared her throat.
“Many brides find that their first instinct is the right one and end up coming back to the first dress even after trying on dozens of others. Just something to keep in mind.” Cara turned her head to the side and swished the dress a little. I let go of one of her hands and motioned for her to twirl under my arm. She did, giggling a little.
“It twirls perfectly, which is very important,” I said, keeping my face serious.
“Well, that’s good to know. But I still want to try on more dresses.” I didn’t care if she wanted to try on every damn thing in the whole entire store. Twice. I would stay here with her. I would come back the next day and the next forever if she wanted. I’d move in to this store.
“How are we doing over here?” said a husky voice. I turned to find a woman in black leather pants, a gauzy black tank, and a blazer. Her hair was bleached white and undercut on one side. I got immediate queer vibes, especially when I saw that she had an industrial ear piercing on the undercut side. The queer points were racking up.
“Good,” Chloe said. “Cara, Lo, this is Maeve, the owner of the store.”
“Oh, wow, it’s nice to meet you,” Cara said, shaking Maeve’s hand. I also shook her hand.
“I have to say, that dress isn’t for everyone, but you’re rocking it. I love that touch of pink,” Maeve said, looking Cara up and down. I swear, Cara was blushing.
“Me too,” I said, moving to stand closer to Cara. I had the urge to put my arm around her, or hold up the hand with her ring on it.
“It’s like it was made for you,” Maeve said, ignoring me. “Is this the first one you’ve tried on?” Cara nodded.
“Well, we might have hit a home run, what do you think?” Cara said that she loved the dress, but didn’t think she should pick the first dress without trying on any others.
“Sensible. I like that. Well, let me know if there’s anything you need. Can I get you some coffee or tea or perhaps some champagne?” Cara and I exchanged a look.
“Champagne, if you have it.” Why not? Made the day more festive.
“You’ve got it,” Maeve said and headed over to a corner where she had a little drink station set up with a coffeemaker, kettle, and an iced bucket with several mini bottles of champagne. Wow, classy.
She popped one of the bottles, filled two glasses, and brought them back over.
Cara was comical as she tried to sip the champagne and keep the glass away from the dress.
“I’m guessing if you spill on it, you buy it,” she said.
“We’re not that mean here,” Maeve said, laughing. “I know how to get pretty much any kind of stain out of a wedding dress. Occupational hazard.” She smiled and there was a dimple in one of her cheeks. I felt my own cheeks flush a little. She was hot, that was for sure, and she had the effortless confidence of someone who knew exactly who she was and who she wanted to be. I definitely didn’t have that, but I wished I could ask Maeve what her secret was and then copy everything she did. Maybe it was the leather?
“Okay, well, let’s go ahead and get you in another dress,” Chloe said, and Cara handed me her champagne glass.
“Let me know if you need anything else, we’re here to help you with whatever you need,” Maeve said, touching my shoulder and then moving on to the large group beside me. They were still hemming and hawing, this time about how the bride was going to do her hair and if she was going to wear a garter. I seriously wanted to swoop in and rescue the poor girl. She looked young and lost.
