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"I'm surprised you invited Julia."
"Mother thinks it will look more convincing if I have two friends at the boutique.”
"I suppose she right," Jasmine noted.
"She is." I stuffed my phone in my pocket.
"She's going to ask when I saw Sebastian last, and I'm not up for being drilled," I complained.
"Bex, I hate to break it to you, but if you want the engagement to look real, you need to see him more than once every two weeks," Jasmine suggested.
I groaned.
"Hey, I agree Sebastian’s a dick. But if you are going to go through with the plan, at least play the part. If anyone suspects this marriage is arranged for business purposes, it won't benefit either of your families."
I know she's right. I wish I could take the money and run, extracting myself and my family from this mess.
Jasmine fished her phone out of her pocket and grinned as she typed.
“Who’s got you smiling?” I asked, grateful to change the subject.
“Jay,” she replied dreamily. They’d been texting each other ever since my birthday.
“Still?” I asked. Jasmine wasn’t the commitment type. If she’d been keeping Jay around longer than a week, he had to be someone special.
"He wants to go on a weekend trip, but it's too soon. I haven't finished vetting him yet," Jasmine explained.
"You mean running an extensive background check on him after you get into his wallet and take a pic of his license.”
"Hey, you can never be too careful. Men are insane. They can snap at any second! The weekend away could be an attempt to kill me."
"Or he might really like you." I nudged her gently. "I get it, though. Safety is important, and it is a little too soon for a weekend away."
She nodded. "That's months down the road if I keep seeing him."
We reached the bridal boutique, a Tiffany-blue building with a seafoam awning and window display full of gowns ranging from simple to cupcake-made-of-tulle.
I sighed and looked longingly at the dresses.
"C'mon." Jasmine grabbed my hand.
“I doubt your dress is as bad as Regina’s making it seem. We both know she has a tendency to exaggerate,” Jasmine consoled. I’d shown her the pictures this past week, hoping she could use her fashion degree to discern the shape of the dress at least, but she said she would need to see it in person.
“You never know. It could be cool,” Jasmine said. “Think of it as a piece of history! You’re wearing art. That’s rad!”
“You’re right. I bet it’ll make sense once we at least see it,” I said, trying my best to give my mother the benefit of the doubt.
“That’s the spirit, now get in there.” Jasmine shoved me into the entrance before I could protest. It was the same strategy we used during final exams in college.
The inside of the bridal shop was full of ecstatic brides and fawning bridesmaids. Several brides had tears in their eyes as they stepped onto the large teal podiums and examined themselves in the full-length mirrors.
I looked at the giggling women and doubted I could muster that much enthusiasm.
I spotted my mother and Julia near the back and waved.
“Look excited! You’re a woman in love! This day is your dream or whatever bullshit your mom thinks!” Jasmine whispered. She squeezed my hand and broke into a smile as we approached. In a rare moment of maternal instinct, my mother reached out and hugged me. That was a good sign. Maybe Jasmine was right, and this afternoon wouldn’t be so bad.
"You look beautiful," Julia grimaced.
