Daughters Of The Bride(97)
“Girls,” Sienna said. “Let’s play nice and take a moment to admire us.”
Courtney thought of the high heels Quinn had bought her. While the color wouldn’t work, knowing she had them made her want to buy a pair for this dress. This bridesmaid gown deserved killer heels.
Betty walked in and clapped her hands together. “You’re more stunning than I’d imagined. Impressive. If you don’t order those dresses, I’m going to be disappointed.”
“I think these are the ones,” Sienna said. “You both agree?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I want this one,” Rachel said, turning so she could see herself from the side. “I can’t remember the last time I felt hot. I think it was before I had Josh. This is great. Do you think it would be tacky to wear this dress to work after the wedding?”
They laughed, then stepped down and went back into their dressing rooms.
Courtney pulled on her jeans and felt decidedly less glamorous than she had before. Funny how she’d never thought much about clothes before. They were something she wore, but nothing to care about. But those stupid high heels had changed everything. Or maybe it was just the way Quinn looked at her when she wore them.
Her phone rang. She picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Courtney? It’s Jill Strathern-Kendrick. I’m officiating at your mother’s wedding?”
“Of course.” She couldn’t think of a single reason for the judge to be calling, unless... “Is there a problem?”
“I hope not. You know I’m pregnant, right?”
“Yes.” Courtney held in a groan. Was Jill going to have to be on bed rest or something?
“It seems my due date has changed. The doctor just moved it up a couple of weeks.” Jill gave a strangled laugh. “It’s, ah, technically the day of the wedding.”
“Yikes. That’s not good.”
“I wanted you to know, in case you wanted to make other plans. But to be honest, I was more than two weeks late the first time, so there’s no reason to think I won’t be late again. It’s your call. I’ll totally understand if you want to get someone else.”
Courtney hesitated. “Mom really wants you to perform the ceremony. She’s known your dad forever. He was very nice to her after she lost my father. I’ll talk to her about it, but I’m going to say we’re hoping for the best where you’re concerned.”
“Oh, good. I’d love to be the one to officiate. Your mom is a real sweetie. I plan to be there.”
“That’s great. Thanks for letting me know, Jill.”
Sienna and Rachel walked into the dressing room.
“We heard,” Sienna said. “What are you going to do?”
“Talk to Mom, even though I’m sure she’s going to want to keep Jill. I’ll check around for a backup person in case Jill goes into labor. It will be fine.”
Sienna smiled at her. “You really do have all this under control, don’t you?”
“I’m trying.”
“No. You’re doing a lot more than that.”
Quinn and Joyce sat out in the shade on the patio of her bungalow. It was midafternoon, with the temperature near eighty. A light breeze off the ocean kept them cool, as did the crisp Washington chardonnay she’d poured. There was a plate of fruit and cheese, along with two very attentive dogs waiting for anything that fell.
Joyce sat on a chaise with her wrapped foot propped up on a pillow. Sarge sat on her lap, watching every bite she took. Pearl had staked her hopes on Quinn. She’d positioned herself in front of him. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to refuse those big brown eyes.
“When do you close on your building?” she asked.
“The end of the week.” There were advantages to paying cash. “Wayne has contractors lined up to give bids. We should be able to start construction by the end of the month.”
He was going to say more when he saw Maggie approaching. He knew from what Courtney had told him that their reconciliation had been halfhearted at best. While he understood that Maggie was still smarting from what she’d found out, he was Team Courtney all the way.
He started to stand, but Joyce put a hand on his arm. She didn’t say anything, but he heard the message all the same. She wanted him to stay in case things got difficult. Maggie gave him a quick smile, then turned her attention to Joyce.
“I just found out about your accident. How are you?”
Joyce waved her into a chair. “I’m fine. It was a silly thing and I’ll be up and about in the next day or two. I’m lucky it was just a sprain. At my age, you don’t want to break a bone.”