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The hoots and hollers that followed had me laughing as I went to my fitting room and changed.
The next one was a ball gown. I felt like a princess in it, but it was too much for me. I didn’t want to stand out any more than I had to. The next one was a bright red mermaid style dress. It was tight at the knees, and I could barely walk. I nearly tripped stepping off the staging area.
I tried on dress after dress. By the twentieth one, I was losing hope. They were all gorgeous choices, but not right for me. Jessie poked her head in my room as I was unzipping a cerulean blue number with silver jewels attached at the neckline. I’d thought maybe this one would have been the one. It matched Thomas and Declan’s eyes perfectly, but it still wasn’t right.
“Try this one next.” She handed me an emerald green dress that looked far too scandalous for me. “Trust me,” she whispered when she noticed my hesitation.
I slipped on the gown and slowly turned to the mirror. I blinked a few times, my hands nervously running down the sides of the dress. It was a beautiful dress, and it looked like it had been made specifically for me. I looked sexy, and I liked the thought of the guys’ expressions when they saw me in it.
I stepped out of the room and climbed onto the platform. The echo of their gasps told me what I already knew. This wasthedress.
I turned to Jessie, who was in a bright red silky number that fit her like a glove.
“How did you know?”
“Emerald is Thomas’ favorite color, and it goes great with your hair. They’re going to eat you up in that.”
“Uh huh.” Grace fanned herself.
“Now that we have the dress, shall we find you shoes and jewelry to match?” the assistant asked.
I nodded, even though she had already left in search of the items.
My eyes stayed glued to the mirror. I was nervous for the guys to see me but excited all the same. I hoped they liked it as much as I did. I felt sexy but not over the top. I hadn’t felt this way in a long time, and it felt nice.
“So, have you guys set a date yet?” I heard Jessie ask.
Grace looked down at her left hand. I hadn’t noticed the three-stone diamond ring before.
“It just happened, Jess. I’ve barely had time to think since the proposal and the announcement, but I do know one thing. I want to do it before I go off to Rio.”
I padded over to take a seat with the group.“Congratulations. I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner. I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay. We haven’t really told anyone yet. Both parts actually. The Olympic team was announced right after New Year, and the guys proposed at Christmas.”
“That’s amazing.” I squeezed Grace’s hand. I knew she had worked really hard to get on that team and had faced quite a few hurdles to get there.
“The only thing we all agreed on was we wanted it to be small. And Blake has to be my maid of honor.” Grace shot a hundred-watt smile at her sister.
Blake squeaked out a happy laugh and wiped away her tears as she wrapped Grace in a bear hug. “Of course. I’d be honored.”
“Well, let us know when you’re ready to go dress shopping,” Jessie said, and we all started laughing.
The assistant came back with a few choices for shoes and options on accessories. Since the dress was the statement on its own, I opted for simple pieces to accent the dress and not overshadow it.
“Girl, we’ll be lucky if we even make it to the gala with you looking like sin.” Jessie made a sizzling sound.
“What about my hair and make-up? I have no clue what to do to make this look good.” I ruffled my curls.
“I have just the people for that. I’ll make sure to have them come earlier so they can do us both.”
I let out a breath, thankful Jessie had it all covered. I’d have been lost without her. I wrapped my arms around her, leaning my head on her shoulder, grateful for her friendship and easy acceptance of me.
She hugged me back before we both stepped away.
“Do we have everything we need?” I asked.
We went over a quick checklist. “It seems like it,” Grace said.
