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Caitie paused outside the bridal store in the mall, looking at the dresses modeled on the mannequins; the display was stunning. There were dresses of every shade of white, some strapless, some with fur stoles wrapped around the cloth shoulders. Hanging from the ceiling were giant cut out snowflakes, and scattered across the floor were wrapped gifts in shades of gold.
Everything You Need For Your Winter Wedding, the sign proclaimed. Caitie bit her lip as she wondered if they could provide a venue, too.
She’d agreed to meet Ember here for a dress fitting right before four. All the bridal party was due to be here, apart from Ember’s sister, who was back in Sacramento where she was studying. Her fitting would be last minute, when she was back for winter break. Ember had been breathless when she’d told Caitie she’d seen the exact dresses she’d always dreamed of, and wanted her opinion. That’s how she found herself walking along the tiled floor of the mall that afternoon.
“Caitie, over here.” Ember waved as she walked into the shop. She was surrounded by her friends, sitting on the luxurious leather sofas, frosted glasses of champagne in their hands. “Would you like a glass?”
“No thank you. I’m driving.” Caitie smiled in greeting at Ember’s friends. She remembered Brooke and Ally from the engagement party. They’d made her feel so welcome, reminding her that they knew her from school, talking about mutual friends. And then there was Ember’s work friend, Rachel. She was quieter than the others, but seemed nice. Caitie said hello to her, and Rachel waved back.
“Okay ladies,” the saleswoman said, coming over to top up their glasses. “Who wants to go first? Should we start with the bride?”
“Do we have to?” Ember’s face was pink, as though she didn’t like the limelight.
“Yes,” Ally said, grinning at her friend’s discomfort. “We definitely do.”
As Ember was fitted for her dress, Caitie took her seat, and sipped a glass of cool spring water. Her muscles were aching from too little sleep and too much midnight thinking.
“How’s the search for a venue going?” Brooke asked, her eyes full of sympathy. Caitie guessed Ember had shared their futile search with her friends already.
“Not great,” Caitie admitted. “We tried twenty different places today. I can’t find anywhere available within driving distance of Angel Sands.”
“It’s such a shame the Beach Club’s fully booked,” Ally said. “That would have been perfect.”
“Or Delmonico’s on the pier,” Brooke added, referring to the town’s favorite restaurant. “That would have worked if it was a little bigger.”
“I’m scared we’re going to have to change the date,” Caitie confessed. “And I know it’ll break Ember’s heart. She seems so set on a Christmas wedding.”
“I think she just wants to be married to your brother as soon as possible,” Rachel said, shrugging. “And who can blame her. He’s hot as hell. He needs to be off the market right now.”
“Yuck,” Caitie said, wrinkling her nose. “That’s my brothe
r you’re talking about.”
“I thought you preferred Breck,” Ally said, grinning.
For a moment, Caitie thought Ally was talking to her. But she realized her eyes were on Rachel, and Caitie’s stomach dropped.
“I do,” Rachel said, her voice low. “He’s gorgeous. Have you seen him when he’s surfing? He has muscles in places they have no right to be.”
Caitie took another sip, her pulse drumming against her ears. So what if there was something going on between Rachel and Breck? It had nothing to do with her; she didn’t even live here. They were grown ups, what they did with their private life was up to them.
And yet she couldn’t ignore the way her heart ached a little. She was being stupid, she knew, and yet it hurt to think of Breck and Rachel together.
“How are things going with you two, anyway?” Brooke asked Rachel.
“I’d say they’re going well. I saw him at Ember’s place last night and we talked about going surfing together. He just seems really shy.”
Breck shy? That’s not how she’d describe him. Caitie put her empty glass down on the table and picked up one of the magazines displayed there. She leafed through it, trying not to listen as Rachel, Brooke, and Ally talked about Breck. A glance at her watch told her it was only quarter past four. With four more of them to fit, it was going to be a long afternoon.
“Oh!” Brooke gasped. Caitie looked up from the magazine she’d been staring at to see Ember slowly walking out of the dressing room. The sales assistant was behind her, holding the back of the ivory dress out. But it wasn’t the dress that drew Caitie’s eye, it was the way Ember was beaming at them all.
“What do you think?” she asked.
It was made of warm ivory satin that contrasted with Ember’s dark hair. The bodice fit her tiny frame perfectly, the Bardot-style neckline revealing her tan shoulders and delicate arms. It was cinched in at the waist before flaring into a full skirt covered with a layer of lace. The way it cascaded down to the floor made it look like a frozen waterfall.
“You look amazing,” Brooke said.
“Like a princess,” Rachel breathed.
