My heart skipped a beat. I remembered watching the talented skater when she won her first silver medal in the Olympics. I nodded. “I heard. She’s amazing.”
“Would you like to come with me? I know it’s not much notice since it’s tomorrow.”
I shot him a mega-watt grin. “I love figure skating.”
Dallas returned the smile. “And dinner before?”
This was it. I was committing to go on a second date with someone—after almost a year, I was finding strength to step forward. “Sure.”
“I’ll pick you up at six?”
“Sounds great. See you then.”
He waved as he pulled the door open. The front door whooshed shut. My smile widened as I watched Dallas cross the street. I thought about why I had so readily agreed to go out with him. Of course, Sasha Cohen was hard to turn down. Usually after one date, however, I found enough excuses to keep from going out again. That was before Briette. Things were different now. I had promises to keep.
I headed to the back to see how much of the conversation Lorea had overheard. My grin stretched ear to ear as I reentered the sewing room. Lorea raised her eyebrows, and the pins in her mouth wobbled as she tried to keep from smiling back.
“Did you hear?”
Placing a few more pins in the hem of the dress, Lorea let out a sigh. “You’re going to the ice show.”
“To see Sasha Cohen!”
“That almost makes me wish I had a date.”
“You could, you know, if you would stop turning down every guy who asks you out.” I picked up a stray pin from the floor.
“I’ve seen too much behind-the-scenes action to want to date anyone seriously.”
“Who would think a wedding planner could be a cynic?”
Lorea waved her pincushion at me. “I’m not a wedding planner; I’m your assistant. And I’m not a cynic. I’m just realistic.”
I straightened a pile of fabric swatches and thought about how my promises included an attitude change. “I used to say that. But now I’m a ‘glass is half full’ kind of girl.”
“Aren’t you forgetting Brett Hansen the night of his rehearsal dinner?”
“Now, don’t blame that on me. Friend to friend, I tried to warn Gwen not to marry him.” I had a personal policy of honesty that Lorea liked to call “brazen bluntness.” Whatever it was called, it meant that I didn’t care about the money enough to help one of my friends make a mistake. I wasn’t afraid to break up an engagement—I wouldn’t stand idly by and let a girl marry a jerk if I could help it.
“It’s too bad she didn’t listen to you before the wedding was planned instead of after she found her fiancé making out with the caterer. That would’ve saved her parents a lot of money.”
I cringed. “That reminds me. We really need to look into some new catering businesses.”
“Glad I’m in charge of dresses,” Lorea said.
I made a note on my to-do list before scrolling through the images of the wedding gowns we were thinking of ordering for the next shipment. My eyes lingered on one of the dresses, and I tried not to think of how it reminded me of Briette’s gown. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were clenched into fists. The familiar strands of anxiety tightened my stomach. I straightened my shoulders and forced myself to relax. Not today. She would want me to be happy in my new business venture.
Briette would have been excited for my date with Dallas. It was time for me to open my heart to new possibilities. I hoped I could find the courage to do so.
Chapter 3
Coffee Filter Roses
For each rose, gather three four-cup and three eight- to twelve-cup unused basket-style coffee filters. Dye them using watercolors or watered-down acrylic paint. Dip and then dry.
Stack the three large filters together. Flatten them out, then fold in half and in half again to form a triangular wedge. Using scissors, cut along the open end of the triangle to create a scalloped line. Do the same with the three small filters.
Open the cut filters and place the small stack on top of the large stack. With your fingers, pinch the underside of the stack in the center, where the folds meet, which will cause the filters to crinkle together. Using a stapler, staple just above where your fingers have pulled the filters together.
Turn the flower over and open up the filters. Beginning with the outermost filter, gather the filter at the base and pinch around the base to pull the circle tighter, forming ruffles and petal-like fullness. Repeat with each of the six filters, gathering them at the base and pinching along the bottom to create a stem-like bump on the bottom. Wind masking tape around the base to hold the shape. Fluff out the flower.
Use coffee filter roses as table décor, hang from the backdrops or ceiling, or use them to create floral wreaths.
Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com.
Chatting with Dallas had put me a little behind, and the line at the post office was longer than I’d hoped. When I stopped by Walter’s store to tell him about the shipment, I found the store closed. A hand-written sign taped to the front door stated he was sick. It seemed strange that he didn’t have someone covering for him. I couldn’t recall a time when Mayfield Jewelers had ever been closed during regular business hours. Walter was looking forward to seeing the gowns, and Lorea and I were just as excited to show him, but it would have to wait.
The sun burned off the cool mountain morning as I walked down the block to my building. Summer was fast approaching, but the temperatures were still sluggish, even this late in May. I unlocked the back door of my shop and stepped inside. Before I could
