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Much to her displeasure, Kayla couldn’t come to the party later as she was too young, but I wanted her to come along for the shopping part of the day, and she’d been thrilled I’d included her. I just wished Chrissie and my mum could have been there too. I’d invited Deanna, and she too was delighted I valued her opinion, but she said this was a day for me and my friends, and that she’d be more use as a babysitter.
Radleigh stepped towards me and wrapped his arm around my waist. “Remember what I said. You can have whatever you want, okay? Don’t do that thing you do where you freak out over the price of something.”
I laughed. “I can’t promise that.” I loved the luxury of living with Radleigh, but deeply ingrained in my head was the memory of my childhood, when money wasn’t easy to come by. Although we were far from poor, we’d still had to be careful. Radleigh had managed to get me to loosen up a little, but the cost of some of the things in our house still made me balk sometimes.
“I’m serious. It was partly my fault the first one was ruined, so whatever it costs… it doesn’t matter.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you.”
With a knowing grin, he said, “You’re still going to be careful, aren’t you?”
“Yup.”
Kissing the top of my head, he said, “Get out of here.”
I laughed again and hugged him, then reached up to kiss him. “Have fun tonight.” I turned my head towards Bryce. “Make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble.”
Bryce saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”
As I turned back to Radleigh, he kissed me again and I took Jessica from him to give her a hug. “And you, Little Miss, be good for Nanna and Grandpa.”
It took a little while to untangle myself from Jessica and Radleigh, but I finally got away and started to make my away around to my friends’ houses to pick them up. The first stop was Kayla’s to pick up her and Izzy. Izzy would be staying for a few weeks which was brilliant because it meant I had one less dress disaster to worry about since she could try hers on during her stay. I still had to hope Chrissie and Grace’s measurements were correct as they weren’t flying in until a week before the wedding, but that was something to stress over later. Next I picked up Freya, and finally, Bree.
The girls were buzzing as we walked into the bridal shop, but I still felt a little subdued. We were greeted by a lady of around forty in perfectly pressed grey trousers and a white blouse. Her hair was pinned back in the most complex up-do I’d ever seen, and her face was flawless.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” she said, stepping forward. “I’m Teresa, and I’m here to help you with anything you need today.” Her eyes found mine and she smiled. “You must be the bride.”
“What gave me away?”
“The bride is always the one who looks like she’s going to throw up.”
Behind me, I heard sniggers coming from my friends. Teresa’s words put me at ease and I laughed too. “Yeah, that’s pretty much how I feel.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll make this painless for you. Starting with…” Teresa turned and looked over her shoulder, and right on cue, a young woman with perfectly straight black hair walked towards us carrying a tray which held four glasses of champagne.
“Oh, hell yes,” Bree said, grinning.
“No fair.” Kayla pouted, making us all laugh.
“It’s a long time ‘til twenty-one.” Freya gave Kayla a quick hug before taking a glass from the tray.
“I should have thought this through,” I said. “I’m driving.”
Freya’s eyes widened in horror and she handed me her glass. “You drink. I’ll drive.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. You need this more than I do!”
With a grateful smile, I took a sip. God dammit, it tasted good. Having the money to shop in places like that definitely had its up sides.
Bree and Izzy took a glass each, and Teresa began asking me questions about what I was looking for. I explained my situation, and described the style of dress I wanted. After we’d finished our first glasses of champagne, the great wedding dress hunt began again.
Within twenty minutes, any champagne-induced enthusiasm I’d built up had slipped away. The dresses I looked at were beautiful, but they weren’t for me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t let go of what I’d had. Even so, I tried on six dresses I thought might work, but none of them had that magic spark, and my girls showed little enthusiasm for any of them.
“You guys, this is impossible! The dress I had was the one. As gorgeous as all these dresses are, I don’t think there’s another one that will be as perfect.”
Freya gave me an understanding smile. “Babe, this place is huge. You’ll find something.”
