Page 85 of A Wedding in Tuscany

‘Um, hello, I know. That’s why I’m putting up with the fact that it feels like a vice.’

‘Ready?’ she says, taking my dress off the hanger. ‘Arms up or step in?’

‘Step in, I think.’

‘Right. Hang on.’ She takes the duvet off the bed and lays it on the floor, then carefully drapes the dress on top so I can step into it. I do and she pulls it up to my chest. ‘Hold it against you and I’ll do up the buttons.’ The dress is secured by two dozen tiny pearl buttons and I’m a little impatient with how long it’s taking to do them up. If we don’t have sex tonight, it will only be because of all these buttons! I imagine myself asleep, still wearing my dress, and laugh.

‘What’s so funny?’ Sarah asks.

‘Just thinking that Jean-Luc had better not drink too much tonight or I’m going to be stuck in this thing till morning.’

‘Hah! Hilarious. Like that time Jane Fonda went to that awards ceremony but couldn’t get out of her dress by herself. Remember? She posted a photo of herself wearing it at breakfast the next morning.’

‘Maybe you should come with us to the resort after the wedding.’

‘Uh, yeah, I’m not doing that. You and Jean-Luc are gonna have to figure that one out on your own. All done.’ She pats my shoulders then slowly turns me around and looks me up and down. ‘Talk about wowser.’

‘Really?’

‘Come on, Cat, you know you look great in this dress. Right, now, shoes.’ She crosses the room and retrieves my Jimmy Choos, then kneels and helps me step into them and does up the buckles. ‘Okay, now you’re done.’ She stands then takes a step back and gazes at me. ‘You really do look amazing, Cat.’

‘I wish there was a full-length mirror in here.’

‘Oh, duh, I’m such an idiot?there’s one on the back of our bedroom door. Come on.’

She’s out our bedroom door in a shot and I follow, the clack of our heels on the tile floor reverberating through the apartment. I peek in at the caterers as we pass the kitchen and they are buzzing about. The older woman shoots me a smile and a nod of approval, which I graciously accept with a shrug of my shoulders. I step into Sarah and Josh’s room and when she closes the door, I finally get to see my full bridal self?dress, shoes, and jewellery on, and hair and makeup done.

‘Oh,’ I say. It’s both me and a sexy-princess version of me, a version I’ve never seen before.

‘Told ya.’ We lock eyes in the mirror and exchange smiles.

‘I’m so glad you’re here, Sez. I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else by my side.’

‘I’d give you a big hug, but we’re both kind of fragile right now,’ she says, her eyes slick with unshed tears.

‘Literally and figuratively,’ I say softly.

‘Yeah.’

I suddenly remember that one niggling detail. ‘Oh, I meant to ask,’ I say, turning towards her, ‘any chance you have something blue? That’s the only thing I’m missing.’

‘Something … oh, the something blue. Um …’ She looks about her room the same way I’d looked about mine a little while ago. ‘Actually … wait here a sec.’ She disappears into her en suite and returns holding up a bottle of blue nail polish. ‘What about this?’

‘Umm …’

‘Well, we don’t have to do all your nails?we could do like in Drop Dead Diva?you know, where she just paints her pinkie nail for good luck.’ I screw up my nose. ‘Sorry, I haven’t really got a better idea.’

I press my lips together. ‘Ah, fuck it, let’s do it.’

‘Really?’

‘Do it before I talk myself out of it.’

Sarah leads me over to her dressing table and places my hand flat on the surface?an extreme care measure?then paints my right pinkie nail blue before doing her own. ‘Now we’re the blue pinkie sisters,’ she says holding up her finger.

Just then the front door opens. ‘Sarah,’ Josh calls out.

‘In here.’