Chapter 13
Wedding dress shopping.
“Why does this momentous occasion actually feel more like a chore?” I whisper to Emmie as we huddle in the corner of the Sew Lovely Bridal Boutique situated right here on Main Street in Cider Cove. It’s finally the weekend, Saturday to be exact, and all of the planets have aligned so that my sister, mother, Georgie, and Emmie could help me hunt down the perfect gown. Both Juni and Jasper’s mother, Gwyneth, skipped out on the offer to join us. I can’t blame them. I almost skipped out myself.
“A chore, Bizzy?” Emmie hisses at me as she plucks and pulls at the sea of white dresses while trying to balance her glass of complimentary champagne. After looking at these prices, it’s clear why they’d want to liquor up the bride-to-be along with anyone who’s accompanied her. “What would Jasper think?”
“Jasper wouldn’t care if I were naked.”
Emmie giggles. “Okay, fair enough, but personally I’d rather see you in one of these. Ooh.” She plucks out a wall of taffeta. “How about this one?”
I cringe at the sight. “No, thank you. I believe that’s the marshmallow dress Sherlock was hinting I wear.”
She blinks over at me. “Sherlock Bones? The dog?”
My fingers quickly ride over my lips. Since Emmie doesn’t know about my quirky gift, I don’t want to clue her in on the fact. “I meant Juni. I think the champagne is going to my head.”
“Bizzy, you’re the only one in here who hasn’t had any champagne. I think your nerves are getting the best of you.”
“You’re right. I think I’ll rectify that with champagne,” I say, swooping past her and threading my way through the spacious light and bright boutique that caters to all things getting hitched.
Honestly, I would have been happy picking out my dress online and having it delivered in the mail. This entire barrage of white dresses has quickly become an avalanche of choices—choices that suddenly feel impossible to make.
Of course, the boutique has an entire slew of bridesmaid dresses, too, in every shade of pastel, and I told both Emmie and Macy to pick out whatever they like, in whatever hue they desire, and I’ll gladly pick up the tab. I just so happen to be picking up the tab for Georgie’s dress, too, but she’s not a bridesmaid. She’s the ordained minister who gets to tie Jasper and me up into a tidy little matrimonial knot.
“Bizzy.” Mom toasts me with a flute of champagne as she stands around a marble bistro table with Georgie and Macy. “How’s it going?”
“It’s come and gone, I’m afraid,” I say as I pick up a glass of champagne sitting on the platter. As soon as we arrived, the staff began to pour the bubbly. “You know, I think they ply you with liquor here to keep you from falling over from the sticker shock.”
Macy belts out a laugh. “Then you should have the entire bottle, seeing that you’re picking up the tab.”
“No way.” Mom wags a finger and sloshes some of her champagne onto the slick marble floor in the process. “Your father already volunteered to pay for your dress, Bizzy. And that of your sister’s and Emmie’s. You and Jasper are doing enough. It’s our treat.” Even though my parents have long since divorced, when it comes to getting my father to pay for things, my mother really does deserve half the credit. Without her prodding him, there would be no credit to give anyone.
“Wow, thank you.” I toast her with my glass. “How did you get him to agree?”
The Sew Lovely Bridal Boutique is light and bright, with creamy marble floors, the sound of moody love songs ringing out through the air, and the entire place holds the scent of a sugary perfume.
“Don’t you worry, kiddo.” Mom gives a twitch of her cheek. “I may not be tied to that man legally anymore, but I know how to sit on him when I have to. Believe me when I say, the divorce was a marked improvement in our relationship.”
“Hear, hear.” Georgie holds her champagne flute high. She’s dressed in a flame red kaftan with yellow and orange streaks dyed into the fabric, and she looks exactly like the spitfire she is. “My divorces were the best time of my life.”
Macy sighs dreamily. “I can’t wait to get a divorce.”
“Macy”—I make a face at my ornery sister—“you’re not even married yet.”
She gives a wistful tick of the head. “And that’s why I need to hurry up and saddle down one of Jasper’s brothers.”
“You stay away from Jasper’s brothers,” I’m quick to tell her. Macy has already cycled through two of them, and my mother has tried out yet another. “You’ve done enough damage.” I look to my mother. “You too.”
Georgie gives a throaty laugh. “Save a Wilder for me, would you? I wouldn’t mind adding a fling or a ring to my resume in the very near future.” She wiggles her hand while winking at the thought.
“All this talk about divorce is turning me green,” I say as I take a little sip of my champagne. I’m not a drinker by nature. I don’t have anything against it. I just don’t care for the stuff. Besides, the few times I’ve overstepped by inebriated bounds, I had every thought in the room flooding into my brain—and at an amplified decibel. No, thank you. But at present, I don’t see what a sip or two could hurt.
I take another hearty swig.
Mom sags as she inspects me. “Now look what we’ve done. She’s taken to day drinking because she’s so afraid of getting a divorce. Don’t you worry, Bizzy. Things are different with you and Jasper. I hardly knew your father before we jumped the gun.” She leans in. “Not to mention the fact your grandfather had a very real weapon at our wedding. You’ve heard of shotgun weddings? This was
