‘‘Sure,'' Jill agreed. ‘‘I have to go directly from work so I'll stop off at your place and we can leave from there.''
‘‘Sounds good to me.'' She tried to imagine their blond, scatterbrained classmate as a wife and mother. It was Morgan who'd gotten the entire dorm hooked on daytime soap operas. Before anyone could figure out how it had occurred, all the girls were obsessed with the characters and their lives. It became as important as mealtimes to learn if Jessie would ever find true love. To the best of Shelly's knowledge, she hadn't.
But then, Jessie didn't have an aunt Milly. The unexpected thought flashed through her mind.
Irritated with herself, Shelly dropped her share of the bill and a tip on the table. ‘‘I'll see you Tuesday, then.''
‘‘Right. And Shelly, don't look so worried. No enchanted wedding dress is going to disrupt your life unless you allow it to happen.''
Easy for Jill to say, since it wasn't her life and her great-aunt's wedding dress. Nevertheless, her advice was sound. Aunt Milly might have had some fanciful dream about Shelly's marring a tall man with blue eyes, but that didn't mean it was going to happen, especially when Shelly was so determined that it wouldn't.
‘‘You're absolutely right,'' she stated emphatically. ‘‘I know I keep saying that, but … well, I seem to need reminding. So, thanks. Again.'' With a final wave, she wandered out of the restaurant, barely noticing the colorful shop windows as she passed them. As Jill had pointed out, Aunt Milly meant well, but the letter and the wedding dress shouldn't be taken too seriously. Shelly was content with her life, and the last thing she needed right now was a man. Especially a staid, conventional man like Mark Brady.
Shelly knew exactly what kind of man she'd fall in love with. He'd be intelligent, and fervent about life, and as passionate as she was herself. Naturally, he'd appreciate her work and take pride in his own. He'd need to be a free spirit, like her. Unconventional. She'd like a man with gumption, too-someone who possessed a bit of initiative. It'd be nice if he was a little better at organizational skills than she was, but that wasn't absolutely necessary.
With thoughts of marriage so prominent in her mind, Shelly soon found herself standing in front of a jeweler's display window. A large assortment of wedding bands had captured her attention. Scanning the selection, she found one ring that stood out from the rest: three small rows of diamond chips, bracketed on each side by a thin band of gold. The ring was striking in its simplicity, its uncontrived beauty.
For the longest moment Shelly stared at the rings as her mind wove whimsical dreams around the happy bride and the tall groom. Tall groom. Her thoughts came to a skidding halt.
What on earth had come over her? She didn't know, but whatever it was, she didn't like it. Self-consciously she glanced around, fearful that someone was watching her. Well, a very specific someone, to be honest. Someone who definitely shouldn't see her gazing with open longing at a collection of absurdly high-priced wedding rings. Mark Brady.
With a sense of urgency, Shelly hurried toward the mall exit, her feet barely able to move fast enough. It was all she could do to keep from breaking into a run. No matter how fast she walked, however, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was there, watching her. Twice she whirled around, convinced she'd find Mark Brady strolling behind her, sneering and making contemptuous remarks.
He wasn't there.
Shelly felt herself relax as she neared her apartment. She parked her car, then stopped in the lobby to collect her mail. As soon as she opened the small box, Mrs. Livingston's head poked out her door.
‘‘Good afternoon, Shelly,'' she chirped, gazing at her expectantly.
It took Shelly a moment to realize that Mrs. L. must have been waiting to hear about the contents of her package.
‘‘It's a lovely day,'' Shelly said conversationally, sorting through her mail. Two bills, a flyer and something from the Internal Revenue Service. The way her luck had been going, it was probably an audit notice. A quick inspection revealed exactly that. She closed her eyes and groaned inwardly.
‘‘A lovely day indeed,'' Mrs. Livingston echoed cheerfully.
Muttering under her breath, Shelly stuffed the IRS notice back inside the envelope. When she glanced up, she noticed that the older woman was now standing in the hallway, wearing another vividly colored outfit-turquoise and purple this time.
‘‘I suppose you're wondering about the package,'' Shelly said resignedly, tucking her mail inside her purse. ‘‘It was a gift from my aunt Milly.''
‘‘Something from the past, I guess?'' Mrs. Livingston asked.
‘‘Why … yes, how'd you know?''
‘‘I'd take whatever it was very, very seriously if I were you,'' Mrs. Livingston continued in a solemn voice. ‘‘Wizard wouldn't go anywhere near that box. Think what you want, but my cat has always had a sixth sense when it comes to this sort of thing.''
‘‘It's a dress, Mrs. L.'' Shelly explained, hiding behind a falsely bright smile. ‘‘How am I supposed to take a dress seriously?''
Mrs. Livingston opened her apartment door and scooped the large black-and-white cat into her arms. ‘‘That I wouldn't know,'' she returned, her eyes narrowed and mysterious. ‘‘All I can tell you is that Wizard felt skittish around that package. You don't suppose there's … magic in it, do you?''
Somehow Shelly managed a reply, although she felt certain it was unintelligible. Taking the stairs two at a time, she hurried into her apartment, leaning breathlessly against the door once she was inside. Even Mrs. Livingston's cat knew there was something strange about Aunt Milly's wedding dress!
WHEN JILL ARRIVED late Tuesday afternoon, Shelly was ready and waiting for her, brightly wrapped baby gift in hand. She was eager to get out and socialize-eager to get out, period. Anything to escape another phone call from her mother, who'd recently heard from Aunt Milly. Now Faith Hansen was calling daily for updates on the romantic prospects in her daughter's life.
‘‘Well,'' Jill demanded as she entered the apartment. ‘‘Are you going to show it to me?''
‘‘Show what to you?''
Jill gave her a look that seemed to question her friend's intelligence. ‘‘The wedding dress, of course.''
For several hours Shelly had managed to put the dress out of her mind. ‘‘No,'' she said forcefully. ‘‘I want to forget about the whole thing.''
‘‘Met any tall blue-eyed men lately?'' Jill couldn't resist asking.
‘‘None,'' Shelly answered shortly. Checking her watch, she noted that they were early but suggested they leave, anyway. ‘‘Shouldn't we go now?''
‘‘We've got lots of time,'' Jill countered, moving toward Shelly's bedroom. ‘‘Come on, it isn't going to hurt to let me look at the dress.''
‘‘Oh, all right,'' Shelly conceded ungraciously. Leading the way, she opened the closet door and reached into the back of the closet.
She brought out the lace-and-satin gown, holding it up for Jill's inspection. She'd barely looked at the dress the day she'd received it, and now she was almost shocked by how breathtakingly beautiful it actually was.
The laughter drained from Jill's dark brown eyes as she stared at the gown. ‘‘Oh, Shelly, it's … lovely.'' She gently touched the Elizabethan sleeve and ran her finger along the delicate layer of pearls that decorated the cuff. The high neckline was also trimmed with an intricate design of pearls, so that it resembled a choke collar. ‘‘I don't know what I expected,'' Jill continued in an awed whisper, ‘‘but certainly nothing as beautiful as this.''
Shelly nodded wordlessly. The dress was far more exquisite than she'd realized. Her heart swelled with unexpected emotion, and to her dismay, tears filled her eyes as she thought about the old Scottish woman who had so lovingly constructed the gown. Each pearl had been sewn into place by hand. She thought of her aunt Milly, as tall and statuesque as Shelly herself, wearing the dress. Then she recalled her uncle John, such a determined man. She imagined him, standing tall and proud beside Milly. Shelly thought fondly of those two, who'd been so completely different, yet had loved each other so well. …