“You’re letting your imagination run away with you,” she says finally. “This is exactly why I did not want to involve you in the details. You get dramatic.”
“I’m concerned,” I correct. “There’s a difference.”
She draws in a breath through her nose, sharp and angry. “I need to use the restroom. Keep going with the fitting.”
She steps down from her platform, gathers a handful of fabric, and disappears into her fitting room. The door slams closed.
Lila returns with another dress in her arms. “Ready to try a size down?”
“Actually,” I say, forcing my voice steady, “I am. Just let me go in and change, and I’ll be right out.”
Lila smiles like she has heard that a thousand times. “Of course. I’ll leave this here. Just call if you need help with the zipper.”
She hangs the new dress on a hook and drifts away to help another bride.
The second she’s out of range, I step down from the platform, hitch the skirt up enough to move, and slip into my fitting room right next to the one Abi vanished into. I hear it before I see anything.
Abi’s voice, low and sharp.
“No, I told you, she’s getting pushy,” she hisses. “Yes, the stepdaughter. Chad’s girl. She keeps asking about Minxy. Just shut up. I’ll text you.”
My heart slams against my ribs.
I pull the upholstered bench closer as quietly as I can and step on top of it, then grab the top of the divider with my fingertips. The fabric of my dress pulls a little at the thigh, but I plant my feet and straighten slowly until my head clears the top.
It feels absolutely ridiculous but necessary.
Abi’s inside, turned slightly away, still in her gown. Her phone is in her hand, screen bright against the soft lighting. I can read every word.
My stepdaughter is getting pushy. No one can know that Minxy saw us that night with Todd. Todd will lead to Dominic, and that CANNOT happen.
The words hit like a shovel.
Saw us.
The night with Todd.
Will lead to Dominic.
Cannot happen.
My fingers tighten on the divider until they hurt.
Abi’s thumbs fly over the screen.
She thinks it’s just school drama. But if she keeps digging, she’ll get herself hurt. Keep this contained. Minxy stays where she is until the wedding is over.
My breath catches.
Todd. The second husband. The one Talon said just disappeared. Dominic is the name of Talon’s dad. And Minxy saw something that ties all of them together.
My brain tries to slot it together. Todd didn’t just leave. Dominic didn’t just commit suicide. There was a night. There was an us. There’s a reason Abi married again like nothing happened.
I feel my stomach pitch.
Dominic cannot be pulled into this. If anyone starts sniffing around, you shut it down. That girl will back off. She’s emotional, not smart enough to connect anything real.
Heat sears my face.
