Joseph didn’t have to do any of it, but he chose to, and that made Jo see him in a softer light. Over the last few years, she’d grown to care about him.
Maddy cleared her throat, causing Jo to turn and see the tears shimmering in her mother’s eyes. “Stop it, Mom. You’re not supposed to do that until I find my wedding dress.”
Maddy snorted and shook her head. “I probably should let you know, Joseph and Carl talked, and we’re coming over during your honeymoon to keep an eye Rian.”
“Really?” Jo breathed the words past numb lips and then released a happy chuckle. “Oh, that would be perfect. I don’t know if this case will be solved before we leave, but even if it is, we’ll rest so much easier knowing Rian and Lisa have someone on the property who can defend them.”
“It’s settled then. Besides, having Carl and Joseph around will give Rian someone to hang with while you two are gone. A distraction, so he doesn’t miss y’all.” Maddy beamed at Jo. “And maybe I can convince Marta to give me her secret Potato Soup recipe. Hers is so much creamier than mine.”
Before Jo could respond Gretchen, their consultant, bustled in. “So, have you ladies found anything?”
Jo pulled three dresses she’d set on the hooks outside of the racks. One she loved and would save it for last. Maddy lifted her three from a rack she’d shuffled them on to.
“Great. Let’s see if you two have found the one.”
They followed the polished woman to a large dressing room. Mirrors hung from three walls and a pedestal stood in the center. Behind her, Maddy and Gretchen hung each of the dresses across hooks next to the door.
Jo shook out her shoulders, releasing the tension, and tried to relax. She would rather have eloped, but her mother would’ve killed her. Not to mention how she wanted to make Rhys hers in a public fashion. After seeing how many women flirted with him at the charity events, Jo needed them to see he was hers.
“Which do you want to start with, hon?” Maddy asked.
“Can we do the ones you picked first?”
Her mother smiled. “Sure.”
And it began. Jo’s closest friend had explained how dress shopping worked. So she hadn’t put on much makeup, just her everyday lip gloss, powder, and blush. Her hair was swept up in its usual French twist. Jo didn’t want a lot of fanfare. Simple and classy were her go-to words.
The first dress was a hard no. Gretchen’s eyes widened. “Normally, we have to tell the bride not to ‘yes’ us to death or to weed out the groups of ‘maybes.’“
Maddy laughed. “No worries. We’ll let you know where we stand. If we don’t like it, we’ll say something.”
Her mother’s last two choices were a toss-up. Jo liked the beadwork on the last one, but the lace was too much. “Set it in the maybe and then we’ll figure out what you like about it and see if Gretchen can find something along the lines.”
Jo nodded and reached for her choices. The accents on the dresses she chose were more in the cut, except the last. Jo took the A-line dress with a flared skirt first. It was by far her favorite with how little embellishment adorned the cream-colored material. The dress nipped in at the waist, giving her a Tinkerbell look. Her mother gasped but shook her head. “It’s not quite right, but I love how simple it is. It brings out the sparkle in your eyes, and the color makes your skin glow. Not to mention the top makes you look like you have boobs which Rhys will love—”
“No sex talk, Mom.” Jo wiggled her hips, and the dress fell to the floor. “This is a maybe. I like the feel, but I’m not crazy about how full the bottom is. I’m liable to rip it with my heels. Or tangle Rhys and me up in the skirt during pictures.”
Gretchen held up the second of Jo’s choices. It had a mermaid silhouette which Jo wasn’t a fan of but she loved how the material gathered at the knees, and there wasn’t a train. When she put it on it still didn’t feel right. Her eyes strayed to the last dress.
“Okay, this is a no. You keep looking at the sheath dress so let’s see how it looks.”
Her hands trembled as she stepped into the floor-length gown. The bodice hugged her narrow waist and hips. It felt like cool water across her skin, and the half sleeves hugged her arms. The front dipped too much for Jo’s liking, but that could be fixed. No embellishments touched the satiny material, allowing her to be the only adornment. It dragged the floor, but that was because Jo was short and not because of the way the dress was made.
Gretchen lifted the bottom. “This piece will brush the floor, and there’s no train.”
Maddy’s sniffed as she said, “This is the one, hon.”
Jo met her mother’s watery gaze in the mirror and nodded. Sensing she needed a moment, Maddy distracted Gretchen as Jo pictured herself walking down the aisle in this dress. Imagined Rhys’s face lighting up and opened her eyes and smiled. This was the dress she would be married in.
“Oh Gretchen, when the dress is made, I need enough room for a thigh holster since I can’t wear my ankle holster in this dress.” Jo pointed to the juncture between her legs. “The gun can go here, so it doesn’t bulge the dress.”
Gretchen’s eyes widened, and she spun around to face Maddy again. “Is she serious?”
“Oh yes. Carl had his shoulder holster on when we were married. It’s part of being a cop-they don’t like going anywhere unarmed.”
“O-okay.” Gretchen gave them both a hesitant smile. “I’ll be sure to let them know.”
