Daughters Of The Bride(96)

Courtney sighed. “Okay—here we go. Into the dress lion’s den.” She frowned. “That sounded a lot better in my head.”

Rachel laughed. “I know what you mean. Don’t worry.”

They walked out together and headed around the corner to the dress shop. Sienna hurried in behind them.

“Oh, good. I’m not late,” she said and hugged them both. “Thank God. Normal, rational family. I’m so grateful.”

Rachel raised her eyebrows. “What does that mean?”

Sienna covered her face with her hands, then dropped her arms to her sides. “David’s mother flew in for a couple of days over the holiday weekend. It was horrible. She’s obsessed with my height and I don’t know why. David is a few inches taller than me. But she kept going on and on about it. Worse, she brought me his grandmother’s wedding gown. It’s hideous and huge and too short and she expects me to wear it. David said I didn’t have to, but still. It’s there. In his house. I hear it mocking me every time I walk into the living room. Oh, and she’s set up a Facebook page for the family and she expects us to move to St. Louis.”

Sienna paused for breath. “It’s not that he isn’t a great guy and all, it’s just I’m so confused about everything.”

“Including whether or not you love David?” Rachel asked, recognizing the panic in her sister’s voice and eyes.

Sienna stared. “What? No. I love him. At least I’m pretty sure I do. I mean, of course I do. It’s just everything happened so fast and there’s the haunting dress to consider.”

Rachel patted her arm. “It’s a little early to drink, but I think come five o’clock, you need some serious margarita time.”

“Tell me about it.”





22

THIRTY MINUTES LATER Sienna seemed calmer, the sisters had viewed the color and style choices in the bridesmaid dresses and now had to make a decision. Courtney knew which one she wanted, but it wasn’t up to only her.

“Your mother has settled on a pale pink wedding gown,” Betty told them. “She said your choices are white, ivory, a darker pink or black.”

“Black,” Sienna and Rachel said together.

Courtney nodded. “Black.” White or ivory would be too weird and dark pink, well, given what had already been ordered for the wedding, no one wanted to go there.

“So black dresses in similar styles, but slightly different?” Betty asked.

They all nodded.

“Excellent. Let’s see what we have.”

They walked back to the racks of bridesmaid dresses. She showed them various options. They settled on a designer that had three dresses in the same fabric. They were similar, with just enough variation to keep things interesting.

Each of them took a dress into a changing room. Courtney had barely pulled off her jeans when her phone chirped. She glanced at the message.

“Uh-oh.”

“What?” Rachel called from her room.

“It’s Mom,” Courtney told her. “She wants to know if we have a DJ request list.”

“Do we?”

“Last I heard, we weren’t using a DJ.”

“We are now,” Sienna said from her room. “I know a great guy we use all the time at fund-raisers. Want me to get in touch with him?”

“Yes, please.” Courtney replied to her mother. They were texting now. Not speaking all that much, but there was communication. She supposed that was an improvement.

She pulled off her T-shirt, then slipped on the dress. As soon as it settled on her, she realized her bra wasn’t going to work at all, so she removed that, as well.

“I’m going to need a strapless bra with this,” she said.

“Me, too,” Sienna called.

“Me, three.”

Courtney’s dress was simple. It had a fitted sweetheart bodice, with spaghetti straps. The skirt followed the shape of her body through her hips before falling to the floor. The fabric was flowy without being overwhelming. The cut was flattering and comfortable.

She stepped out of the dressing room. Her sisters did the same. Sienna’s dress was a wrapped bodice, strapless style, while Rachel’s was an off-the-shoulder style. They were all long and fitted to the hips. The black fabric emphasized their blond hair and fair coloring.

The three of them stood on the low dais, in front of the large mirror. Sienna tossed her head.

“We look good.”

“We do,” Rachel agreed, her tone slightly bemused. “I have a great body. I need to appreciate that more.”

“Modest much?” Courtney teased.

“Hey, I’ve been suffering in a muffin-less world. Get off me.”