She was standing in the middle of the shop floor, dressed only in her low-cut bra, thong and stilettos, with her hands on her hips. She swung around towards Lisa – almost taking Lisa's eye out with her boob. "I think I've tried every dress you have. I don't like anything."
Bang go my sales. Lisa could barely see over the rainbow of silk, tulle and crystals under her nose. She supressed a sigh and nodded towards the stockroom. "I have other dresses that aren't on display. Feel free to take a look."
She was at her wits' end. Every single second of her patience had been stretched. Ruby topped up her glass and strutted over to the stockroom. Polly – who didn't like to be left behind – grabbed a handful of chocolate and followed her.
Lisa bit her lip and put the dresses down on the chaise lounge next to Nancy and started rehanging the dresses. She took a deep breath. "How are you, Nancy? Is everything okay?"
Nancy's head shot around towards her. It was almost as if she'd forgotten she was in the bridal salon.
"Yes," she said defensively. "Everything's fine."
A hundred thoughts were shooting through Lisa's brain. A thousand words were dancing on her lips. Well, four really. Your fiancé's a cheater.
But did she really want to be the person to ruin the celebrity wedding of the year? More importantly, did she want to be the person who looked Nancy in the eye and told her news that would devastate her?
Why was any of this her business? She and Adam couldn't possibly be the only people who'd seen Jared.
And everything wasn't fine. Nancy's nerves looked just as shattered as hers. She was practically jiggling as she sat on the chaise lounge, wringing her hands together.
Maybe Jared's actions the other night were just a one-off drunken, stupid mistake. And it was none of her business anyway. She barely knew Nancy and news about her fiancé's actions would hardly be welcomed.
The yapping from the stockroom was becoming unbearable. Lisa took another breath. "Nancy, I'm sorry but we're running out of time. I know you're having another fitting for your dress tomorrow, but if Polly and Ruby don't pick something soon, there'll won't be time to make sure their dresses fit properly."
If Nancy's brow wasn't so botoxed she was sure there would be deep lines across it. She pushed herself up and walked decisively over to the two women in the stockroom. "Pick something." The yabbering stopped instantly. "Pick something in the next five minutes or I'll pick it for you." She turned on her heel and walked away.
Lisa finished hanging the last dress. She'd tried to help as much as she could. "Nancy, what about different colors or different styles?" She'd suggested it before, but Nancy had always been non-committal.
"No. They wear the same dress and the same color."
It was pretty clear there was no argument here.
Lisa walked back to the stockroom. Polly and Ruby were whispering to each other, both with shocked expressions on their faces.
Lisa ignored them and started pulling dresses from the rails in the back. "What about this one? Or this one? Or this?"
She was being systematic. The dresses through here were either last season's styles or hadn't sold well. For some, it was because of the style, for others the shade wasn't quite right.
Polly stepped forward. "What about that?"
She pointed to a tiny sliver of pinky peach sticking out from behind another dress. Lisa's stomach flipped over. The breakdown dresses. The dresses she'd bought the day she'd found out her sister had married her ex. Ugh. Why hadn't she got rid of them yet?
"You like those?" She couldn't keep the disbelief from her voice.
Ruby stepped around her and pulled both from the back of the jammed rail. She ran her eye up and down them. "What is this color?" she asked.
"It's difficult to classify," Lisa said quickly. "Depending on the light it can look pink or peach … or maybe even a bit mandarin." She gulped.
Polly moved closer. The one-shouldered dresses were unusual. The color was definitely unusual. The sequins and sparkles made the dresses seem like a glitter experiment gone wrong.
But something was happening. For the first time ever the bridesmaids from hell weren't complaining.
They unzipped the dresses and stepped into them. Before she could stop herself Lisa was pulling up the zippers. They stepped outside onto the shop floor.
The silence was deafening.
Lisa peered around the stockroom door. She was almost scared to step outside.
But instead of the shrieks of horror she expected from Nancy, she was nodding slowly.
Polly was tugging at the waist of her dress, cinching it in to make it a snugger fit. Lisa's reactions were automatic. She walked up behind Polly and pinched the dress from behind. "It would need some adjustments. But we can do that. I have a seamstress who works for me and can do personalized fittings to make sure it looks perfect."
Where had those words come from? She couldn't even raise her eyes to see Polly's reflection in the mirror. She was too afraid the horror of the mandarin dresses would be displayed on her face.
But Ruby was nodding too. Her dress was a little snug around her bust line. There was room for adjustment there too.
A cloud must have moved, because within a few seconds the sun was streaming through the windows, bouncing off the sparkling jewels and sequins and sending an array of colored lights around the shop. The whole thing resembled a 1980's discotheque.
Nancy smiled. Really smiled. It was as if the big black cloud hanging above her head had lifted for a few seconds. She stood up and walked over to a shelf, which housed lots of sample shoes. She picked off some stiletto jewelled-sandals. "Try these on," she said, handing one pair to Polly and another to Ruby. Then she worked her way along the shelf picking up a variety of sparkling headpieces.
She was actually paying attention. She was actually engaged. And for the first time since Lisa had met her, she was acting like a normal bride. One who actually cared about her wedding.
She stood in front of Polly, holding up one headpiece, then another. "This one, no, this one. It suits you much better." She slid the tiara into place. Ruby glanced at the remaining two in her hand. She wrinkled her nose. "I'm not wearing that," she sneered, then picked up the other one and turned it over a few times before positioning herself in front of the mirror and sliding it onto her head.
"There!" clapped Nancy. "That's perfect." She looked from one to the other, then back to Lisa. "We'll take these ones. How soon can you do the fittings?"
Lisa swallowed. This was actually happening. They were actually taking the breakdown dresses.
Something was stuck in her throat – a lump the size of a tennis ball. Once this wedding took place Married in Marietta would be forever associated with these dresses. Did she really want that?
Three sets of eyes were staring at her so she walked quickly behind her desk and started flicking open her diary, pretending to look for a date.
She sucked in a deep breath and lifted her head, just as Adam Brady walked past the store front. For a second she could swear he hesitated. His footsteps almost faltering and his head turning towards the store. But it was almost as if as soon as he almost looked in, he changed his mind and continued on down the street.
Her stomach clenched in a way no amount of sit-ups could emulate. She'd spent most of last night going over and over her reaction. Yes, it was over the top. Yes, it was out of the blue. Did she really have any right to be upset about a groom she didn't know doing something she wasn't entirely sure about? That brunette could well have been on her knees for a whole host of other reasons …
Nancy. Her big blue Hollywood eyes were right in front of her, filled with expectation. Those lashes must have cost a fortune.
"When can you do it?" Nancy repeated. There was an air of desperation about her voice. As if now she'd finally got Polly and Ruby to agree on a dress she didn't want to give them a single second to change their mind.
Lisa swallowed and looked up again. The clouds had shifted. The shop wasn't a glittering array of colors anymore. Was it possible – even for a tiny second – that the dresses weren't quite as bad as she'd imagined?
Maybe the tinge of orange Hollywood tan was just the right tone for this peculiar mixed shade? Anyone else who'd ever set eyes on these dresses had made the tiniest flinch. Even if they hadn't been conscious of it.