Page 10

CHLOE

E ven though Matt had volunteered to go into town with me, today I needed the bride. I picked Alex up from the clinic, and we made our way to the dress shop.

“We’re here for Alex’s final fitting.”

“Right this way.” The boutique owner, Sarah, led us through the main shop to the fitting room.

With a delighted smile, she brought out a white garment bag and hung it in the room set aside for Alex. “I think you will love the alterations,” she said. “Please let me know if you need me.” I loved how she knew when to back away and allow customers their space.

With trembling fingers, Alex shut the door to the dressing room, making me wonder if she was okay. After a few minutes, when she didn’t appear, I gently knocked on the pretty cream and gold door. “Can I help?”

The door slowly opened, and Alex’s brown gaze was staring at the dress. The off-the-shoulder dress was gorgeous with the lace along the top edge and down both of her sides. The dress was more formfitting than I would have expected, but the smooth fabric was broken up by the long slit that ran up her left leg. It gave a feel of classic elegance mixed with subtle risqué.

Over and over, her hands kept smoothing down the sides. This was not the confident woman I was used to.

“Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

She shrugged. “It’s a beautiful dress.”

“And you look amazing in it…” I left my sentence open ended, hoping she’d let me in.

“I love it, I do, but it’s just… sometimes I feel like I’m losing myself. I want to be the elegant perfect woman for my guys. I don’t want to be an embarrassment to everyone who’s coming from Cosland.”

“What do you mean?” I hadn’t realized how much pressure she was putting on herself. I made a note to check in with Alex more without the guys present.

“It feels like a royal wedding in some ways. There are certain expectations. And this dress feels like it’ll fit those expectations.” She let out a sigh, then tugged at the fabric of the dress once more.

“I don’t think that slit of yours is an expectation. If it is, I can’t wait to search for mine,” I laughed, lightly touching the slit that went all the way to Alex’s mid-thigh. “And this lace? I’m not sure royalty are allowed to show this much skin.”

Alex laughed too, letting out a gust of breath at the end.

“Or the fact that you’re getting married in a field under a tent and not walking down the aisle of some fancy church,” I added. “The Kingstons want the same type of wedding as you do.”

She waved a hand up and down the front of her dress. “I don’t want to disappoint them, but I also want to feel more like myself.”

“And this dress doesn’t feel like you?”

She gave me a sad nod.

I tapped my finger on my chin. “Have you thought about a reception dress?”

Alex’s lips pursed in thought. “What’s that?”

“You know, a dress you change into after the ceremony that you wear during the reception.” I grabbed a poofy dress off a nearby rack. “Like this. It’s completely different than what you are wearing.” I put the dress back and picked up a short, sparkly dress. “Or this. It can be anything you want.”

When Alex’s eyes lit up, I knew her hesitation was just the dress, and luckily, that was an easy fix. “That’s a thing? I can change into another dress?”

“Of course. This is your wedding. You can do your first dance in this one, then sneak out and change into the next one. It can be whatever you want.”

Alex’s smile stretched across her face, and she was practically hopping back and forth from foot to foot. “Sarah, can you grab that dress I sent you in the email?”

Sarah rushed off to grab whatever dress Alex had been dreaming about.

Another ten minutes later, Alex came out of the dressing room, and I gasped. “That is perfect.”

She gave me a little twirl, already lighter on her feet. This dress had a distinct country feel to it. The skirt flared out, in direct contrast to the figure-hugging one she just had on. “This one will be so much easier to dance in.” Alex did a quick two-step.

I clapped for her as she made her way to the mirror. With the way she sashayed from side to side and the constant smile on her lips, I knew this was her dream dress.

“Do you think we can have this fitted in time?” Alex asked Sarah.

“For you, of course. I had this set aside just in case. Chloe is right. To make you feel like you, you need a reception dress, and this one screams Alex. Pair it with some boots, and you will look fantastic,” Sarah said as she started pinning the dress to fit Alex’s size. “Only a few alterations and it will be perfect. I can have this done in a week for you.”

The Kingstons had set no budget, and I knew they wanted Alex to be happy. I checked my planner and added in another fitting on the schedule. “Is next Friday okay?”

Sarah grabbed another pin. “Absolutely. I’ll put you on the schedule. Just stop by whenever you can, and we’ll do a final fitting. In the meantime, I’ll have the ceremony dress cleaned and steamed.”

“Perfect,” I said. “Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you so much, Sarah. You’re a lifesaver!” Alex giggled and did another spin in the mirror while Sarah got up and marked us on her calendar.

We left the dress shop and headed to our next stop, the flower shop. On our way out the door, the owner asked for us to stop by when we could to discuss the final flower arrangements. She had to custom order out-of-season blooms, and she needed the final approval before she placed the order.

The tiny bell jangled as we entered the tiny shop. Sweet flowers perfumed the air, and I took an extra-deep breath. The combined scents reminded me of summer.

Mrs. Meadows had owned Wildflowers Flower Shop since before I was born. Her trademark was putting Texas wildflowers in the bouquets. She had a huge field in which she planted a lot of her own flowers and used what she had during the various seasons.

For the Kingston arrangements, we wanted classic red roses, but also to incorporate bluebonnets and some baby’s breath. Give the subtle nod to the red, white, and blue for Texas. We had other wildflowers for decorative table and aisle arrangements, but we needed a decision on boutonnieres.

Since we’d discussed it on the way here, Alex had a firm idea of what she wanted. She skimmed over the pictures and gave her approval. It was an easy visit, and I already knew the flowers were going to be lovely addition to the reception. Just the right pop of color.

“Would you like to grab some lunch, or do you need to get back to the office?” I asked Alex, checking the time.

She glanced at her cell and frowned. “I need to get back. Are you okay with finishing up in town?”

I’d taken her away from a slow morning at the veterinarian clinic she owned. It was hard for her to get away during the day.

“Of course. That’s my job,” I laughed. “Go to work, and I’ll get back to mine.”

Alex engulfed me in her arms and squeezed me. “Thank you so much for helping, Chloe. I don’t know what I would have done without your dress save, the fact that you’re so organized, and have such amazing ideas. It’s made things much less scary. I’m glad I have you.”

My chest tightened, and the back of my eyes burned. This was exactly why I wanted to do this. To plan important events for people. It felt amazing to help someone make their dream a reality.

“Okay. Go to work before you make me cry.” I pulled away and sniffled.

Her eyes were watery too. “I’ll see you at the ranch. We have a meeting set for tomorrow night, right?”

I nodded as Alex slipped into her car. I watched as she drove away and headed toward her clinic. I had a few things left on my to-do list I could finish while I was in town. Since it was just me, now was the perfect time to visit Lacey. It helped that her mom owned a bed and breakfast, and I needed to speak with her at some point about rooms for wedding guests. Two birds, one stone and all that. I could spend time having lunch with my friend and check off part of my list.

“Well hello there, Chloe. Long time no see,” Mrs. Halloway, Lacey’s mom, called from across the counter when I entered the bed and breakfast. She scooted around and held her arms open to me. I accepted her motherly hug. It’d been too long. She always said that Holly, our other friend, and I were like the other daughters she never had, while grumbling about the two boys she had instead. It made us laugh every time.

“I thought I heard your voice.” Lacey rushed into the room and flung herself at me. Even though I’d seen her only a few days ago, she greeted me like this every time we met up. She said we had to get months’ worth of hugs in during my short stays.

“Come on, ladies. Food’s in the kitchen. Go grab a plate.” Mrs. Halloway shooed us from the front entry. She didn’t have to ask us twice. I knew enough to never turn down a meal from her. While Lacey and I ate the delicious casserole, I casually brought our conversation around to the wedding when her mom stopped in during a lull.

“You know, there will be so many people coming to town for this wedding, and we only have a few empty rooms on the ranch. And those will be for the family and bridal party.”

Mrs. Halloway took a seat at the table and grinned. “Is that right?”

“Mm-hmm. I was thinking the guests deserve to stay at the best place here in town. And I was hoping you could block that week off on your calendar. We can direct interested people to book with you.” I put my hands together, palms facing each other.

“For one of my favorite daughters, of course. I always liked you the best,” she said as she sauntered over to her desk. This time of year was hit or miss for the reservations, and I knew the guaranteed income would mean a lot to Lacey and her mom.

“Do you mind if I add your information on the wedding website I created for the wedding?”

“Not at all. How many rooms would you like me to hold on to?”

“I’m not sure. Let me check with Alex, but likely all of them.” I smiled. “Bed and breakfasts are so much better than hotels.”

Lacey bumped me with her shoulder. “Thanks.”

“I’m trying to include the local businesses. The big chains think they can come in and take over our town.” I wagged my finger in the air. “But we won’t let them. Do you think you can help spread the word about what the town has to offer guests? I’d like to add something to the wedding website that lists places to stay, places to eat that are unique to Cottonwood Creek, and things to do.”

“That’s a fantastic idea. I’ll have Holly mention it around town too. Then we can get together and come up with a list to present to Alex. How’s she doing by the way?” Lacey tapped on the screen of her phone, likely texting Holly now.

“Stressing out, but I just put out a mini fire. We went to Sarah’s boutique and ended up getting a second dress for the reception. I wish I’d thought of the idea sooner. Alex is going to look stunning in both of her dresses.” I clapped my hands, nearly squealing.

“You’re so good at this.”

“Thanks.” I loved my best friends. They supported me like no other. “Do you think you and Holls can come by the ranch sometime this week? I’m having the guys start the labor over in the field, but I wanted to see if you could help me with a few last-minute things. Besides, I need a break from all the testosterone.”

I fanned my face, smiling. I didn’t really need the break, but I wanted to introduce my friend to the rest of the ranch—especially Hunter and Kyle. They already knew and approved of Matt.

“Oh, twist my arm.” Lacey cradled her elbow. “Who wants to hang out all day on a ranch full of extremely hot cowboys who are always doing some kind of manual labor that makes every woman drool?”

We laughed and texted Holly the plan. I knew she was in when she sent a funny GIF of a woman fainting.