She inhaled, but then let the words die on her tongue. She couldn’t make him promises that it would work out, since it was likely that he simply didn’t want to be in a long-distance relationship with someone. She could offer to stay faithful to what they had started, but if he was feeling as though he wouldn’t want to, there was nothing she could say that would get him to change his mind. He’d made good points—it would be very difficult for the two of them to maintain a relationship with their hectic schedules and the vast distance that was about to come between them.
“I’m sorry you feel that way, Tom,” she whispered. “I’ve loved getting to know you.”
“I’ve loved getting to know you too, Delilah. I’ll treasure these memories always.”
She nodded, finding it harder to fight off her tears. “I will too.” She forced a smile and then leaned forward to gently kiss his cheek.
“Goodbye, Delilah,” he said, sounding as though something had caught in his throat.
She simply nodded, slowly stood up and walked away, keeping her head held high until she reached the end of the town square. Once she was behind a cluster of lilac bushes, she couldn’t hold her tears back anymore.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“To finding the perfect dress!”
“Cheers and amen to that!”
Julia laughed as she clinked her champagne glass against the glasses of her mother, cousin, and sisters. Although her glass held nonalcoholic champagne, it still tasted delicious and bubbled ceremoniously. The five of them were seated in comfortable, stylish armchairs and couches in the bridal room of the dress shop. The walls of the beautiful suite were decorated in an elegant pink, white, and gold wallpaper, and large oval mirrors hung all around the room, allowing brides to see their dresses easily from every angle.
Noelle was trying on her next potential dress at the moment, and Julia and the rest of the women kept grinning at each other with anticipation. There was a sense of excitement in the air, and Julia thought to herself that the joy amongst them was practically as visible as a cloud of soap bubbles.
“Hey, Vivian?” Noelle called, and Vivian hopped up as eagerly as a rabbit.
“I’ll take it,” Alexis said, offering her hand for Vivian’s glass as Vivian looked around for somewhere to put it.
“Thanks, honey!” Vivian smiled at her. “Coming, Noelle!”
She hurried off to the dressing room, where Noelle apparently needed help fastening her dress. Even the ones with zippers were too delicate for Noelle to close up herself, and some of the dresses had intricate buttons or medieval-looking ribbon laces reminiscent of princesses.
“I wonder if I’ll like this one better than the last one,” Hazel said, shaking her head and smiling. “I’ve changed my vote every time. They’re all so gorgeous, and she looks incredible in all of them.”
“I still like that one with the sheer bell sleeves the best,” Julia said. “But you’re right that she looks amazing in all of them.”
“Our job is to support her while she decides, not decide for her, anyway,” Hazel said, sinking back in her armchair and taking another sip of her champagne. “And I’m grateful for that, because I never could decide. There are too many good options.”
Alexis chuckled. “Noelle usually doesn’t have much trouble making decisions, but we’ll see how she feels today. I’d definitely have trouble picking too. I think it’ll come down to which style of dress makes her feel the most like how she’s always wanted to feel as a bride.”
“So true.” Julia nodded. “And we can’t help her with that—she’s the only one who knows.”
“I can’t wait to see which one she picks out,” Faith said, her eyes shining. “This is making it all seem so much more real. She and Dean are going to have an absolutely beautiful wedding.”
“Agreed,” Alexis said. “And this place is making it all feel more real too. The wedding vibes are top tier. It’s positively luxurious in here.”
“I know.” Hazel laughed, lifting up her champagne glass. “What service. I’m really having a great time. It’s so fun to share this experience with all of you.”
“Cheers to that!” Faith grinned, lifting her glass.
Julia’s heart glowed with happiness as she took another sip of her drink along with her sisters and cousin. She thought about what Faith had told her after her surprise party, that she felt incredibly fortunate to be a part of the Owens family. Faith had said that their love and support of one another was something truly special, and that she couldn’t have found a better family anywhere.
I feel that way too,Julia thought.And I can’t wait to officially bring Noelle in as our other sister. She already feels like one of the family but making it official is definitely cause for celebration.
“Okay, here she comes!” Vivian said, stepping out of the dressing room with a huge smile. “Drumroll, please.”
Laughing, the Owens women tapped the palms of their hands on their thighs and the arms of the couch to create a drumroll sound. Laughing and blushing, Noelle emerged from the dressing room in a breathtakingly beautiful dress.
Every one of them gasped as soon as they saw it. Julia felt in her gut that this was the one, and one look at the faces around her—especially Noelle’s—told her that the women in her family were thinking the same thing. The dress had a sweetheart neckline and sheer flowing sleeves that matched the fabric of the full, princess-like skirt. Noelle seemed to absolutely glow in it, and the creamy white of the dress brought out the vibrant hues of her red hair.
“You look beautiful,” Alexis said, and her voice caught with emotion. She immediately laughed at herself for crying as she wiped away a couple of tears.
