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“Whatever. Don’t try it. But at least pick something not so…grandma-ish. You’re twenty-two, Livie. Act like it.”
“I’m trying it on,” I turned my back on her and handed the dress to Louise who was currently pretending that she hadn’t been listening to our conversation.
Louise helped me into the dress and onto a raised platform. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, marveling at the fact that I was wearing a freakin’ wedding dress. I knew we were already married, but seeing myself in a dress made it even more real. I smoothed my hands down the lacy fabric and turned so I could see the back of the dress. It was beautiful and I loved it, despite Avery frowning in the mirror’s reflection, but I knew it wasn’t the one. I wanted to take Trace’s breath away the first time he saw me in my wedding gown, and I knew this dress wasn’t the one to do that.
“This isn’t the one,” I shook my head at my reflection and stepped off the platform.
Louise unzipped the dress and hung it back up.
I tried on an A-line style next but thought it was a bit too fancy and big for an outdoor wedding. Oh gosh—I really hoped I didn’t get as hot as I did at my mom’s wedding. That had sucked.
“Do you have anything…really simple…but pretty?”
Louise laughed at my vague description. “Let me go check the stockroom and see if we still have the one I’m thinking of. I’ll be right back,” she excused herself from the room.
“If I was getting married, I’d wear something like that,” Avery pointed to a dress in the corner of the room on a mannequin. It was on the risqué side with a low-cut top and high slit on the side.
“That’s an interesting dress,” I replied. I wanted to tell her it was slutty, but I thought that would be rude so I kept my mouth shut. Besides, she wasn’t getting married…yet. I could talk her out of something like that when the time came.
Louise returned, closing the door behind her. “We still have it and it’s in your size. We might need to shorten it a bit if you like this one.”
“Let’s see it,” I smiled kindly.
Louise held the dress up and my jaw dropped. It was exactly what I had seen in my head. Everything about it was me.
“Oh my,” I gasped, reaching out to finger the fabric.
“Do you like it?” Louise dared to ask.
“It’s beautiful,” I gasped.
She smiled widely and helped me into the dress. When I looked in the mirror, tears sprung to my eyes. “This is my dress.” I spun around giddily. It fit my curves perfectly and didn’t swallow me whole like some dresses. It was flowy with a small train and strapless. It had a sweetheart neckline that showed off a little bit of my chest but I didn’t feel like I was going to fall out of it. The top also had really pretty beaded detailing. I felt like a fairy princess in it.
“Excellent!” Louise clapped her hands together. “Let me go grab one of the seamstresses so we can bring this up a bit,” she pointed to the hemline I was bound to trip over. “Would you like a veil? Headband?”
“No,” I shook my head.
Louise hadn’t been gone long when the door cracked open.
“Mom!” I exclaimed, hopping off the platform and running towards her. I hugged her tightly. I hadn’t realized how much I missed her until now. “Look at you!” I gasped at the size of her stomach.
She placed a hand over the bulge. “Four more months until little Abigail joins the family.”
I paused, repeating her words in my head. “Abigail?” I said hesitantly. “The baby’s a girl?!”
“Yeah, another little girl,” she smiled as I hugged her again.
“I can’t believe this,” I gasped. “Abigail is such a pretty name too.”
“We’re going to call her Abby,” she explained, hugging a teary eyed Avery. Obviously this was news to her too.
“Hi, Lily,” I smiled at my mother-in-law as she entered the room.
“Hey gorgeous,” she chuckled. “Oh my God! That dress is beautiful!” Lily exclaimed, looking the dress up and down, and then forcing me to turn around so she could see the back. “Please tell me this is the one you’re getting. It’s exquisite.”
“Yeah, this is the one,” I spun around in circles so the dress fanned around me.
“It’s so gorgeous, Liv,” my mom gasped. “You couldn’t have picked a better dress.” Avery would probably have liked to argue that I could have found something better, but she kept her mouth shut, resolving to the fact that I wasn’t going to wear anything scandalous.
