Page 95 of The Backup Groom

“You would’ve done the same thing if you had been in my shoes,” I said.

She looked doubtful. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“One of the easiest things in the world is to be kind.” I opened the door to the dress shop next door and waved Stella in.

A woman immediately approached us with a warm smile. “Welcome—I’m Violet. How are you doing on this beautiful morning?”

“We’re great—thanks for asking,” I said.

“Wonderful. Well, feel free to browse around our showroom. If you don’t see your size, we have a stockroom in the back with many more dresses, especially our most popular models that are displayed on the mannequins. Take your time and let me know if you need help with anything at all.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling more relaxed after meeting an employee that seemed to be genuine and considerate. I pointed to the mannequin with the floral lace, spaghetti-strap wedding dress. “That is lovely.”

Violet came from around the counter. “Sounds like you need to try it on. Let’s get you set up in a fitting room. Can I get either of you something to drink?”

“Water would be great, thank you,” I said.

“Me, too. Thanks,” Stella said.

“I’ll be right back with those,” Violet said.

I ran my fingers along the material of the dress, then found my size on the rack next to it. “Yup, definitely need to try this on.”

Stella practically jumped in the air toward another dress that caught her eye, pulling it from the rack. “Try this one on, too.”

I shook my head. “No. Way.”

It was a beautiful dress, but it was one of those form-fitting mermaid dresses that laced up in the back. I saw them on their website when I was doing research. They recommended a corset to keep everything in place.

No, thank you.

“Humor me,” Stella said.

I sighed. “Fine, but if I suffocate to death in that thing, you are going to feel very guilty at my funeral.” I pointed to a chiffon Southern belle dress that caught my eye. “Ooh, I like that one, too.”

Violet returned with two bottles of water. She took the dresses from us and hung them in the fitting room.

Still parched from the night before, I downed the entire bottle in seconds.

I tried the Southern belle dress on first, coming out of the fitting room, twirling around. “This one is comfy.” I rocked my hips to the left and to the right, giggling at the dress material swooshing and swaying back and forth. “I feel like the Liberty Bell.”

Stella shook her head in amusement. “Not bad, but I’m not feeling it. Try on the mermaid dress.”

I sighed. “Let the torture begin.”

Violet had to help me with the corset and the lacing up of the back of the mermaid dress. I could barely move, and breathing wasn’t much easier. There was no way I was going to buy the dress, but I would make Stella happy and show her how it looked on me, then change back out of it before I passed out.

Finally, after finally getting everything in place, I wobbled baby steps out of the fitting room, feeling like a penguin.

I glanced at myself in the mirror, surprised how much it pushed up my boobs.

“So, this is what a strait jacket feels like,” I mumbled to myself.

“Damn, you look hot,” Stella said. “Scotty is going to poop rainbows when he sees you in that dress.”

I winced at how tight it was. “It feels like this dress is trying to give me a mammogram.”

Stella giggled. “You have always complained about the size of your boobs. They look amazing in that dress, but you need to be careful. You don’t want to give yourself a black eye when you are dancing.”