I stepped out from behind the curtain in another sleek, strappy number.
“No,” Sadie said decisively. “You look like you’re about to walk a red carpet, not get married.”
Laney tilted her head. “It’s very pretty, but it’s not you.”
CC clapped her hands once and shop assistants appeared like magic. “Next!”
I agreed and once again headed into the dressing room where a mountain of satin awaited me. My phone buzzed and I swiped it open, hitting FaceTime to accept the call. Georgia’s face filled the screen. She hadn’t been able to get away from the office today, but I’d been talking to her on and off throughout the fitting. Her eyes immediately widened when I lifted the phone high enough for her to see the latest disaster I was in.
“Oh, my god, Mais,” she said, her hand flying to her mouth. “Please tell me that’s not the one.”
“It’s not even close to being the one,” I muttered, angling the phone to show her the back of the dress. “This is, however, dress number eight and I’m slowly losing the will to live.”
Georgia laughed so hard, she nearly rolled out of the chair behind her desk. “Thank heavens. You look like a cake topper from the eighties.”
“Exactly,” I said, reaching for the zipper at my side and tugging it down myself. I wasn’t even going out there in this thing. “I thought this was supposed to be fun.”
Sadie popped her head around the curtain. “It is fun. For us, that is.”
She winked at me and disappeared again, loudly announcing to CC and Laney that I wasn’t exaggerating about looking likea cake topper. I groaned and flopped dramatically onto a little velvet bench, nearly tangling myself in tulle.
“I’m fashionable. I can pull off just about anything, so why do I keep looking like a train wreck?”
Georgia gave me a sympathetic smile. “You don’t need a dress to look amazing, but also, don’t give up. One of them is going to feel right.”
I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment and trying not to hyperventilate. The curtain rustled, and when I looked up, CC had swept into the dressing room. With her gray-blonde hair perfectly styled, only just brushing the tops of her shoulders, and white, linen pants with a navy blue, oversized button-down, she looked like she belonged in the pages of a fashion magazine.
Simple gold jewelry adorned her neck, wrists, and ears, and she’d brought a faint cloud of expensive perfume into the room with her. She was the kind of woman I’d always aspired to be, so comfortable and confident in her own skin, a close bond with her boys, and a no-fear, take-charge attitude.
Yet her hazel gaze was soft as it held mine. “Alright, that’s enough. It’s time to stop playing around.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, but hope flared to life in my chest. If CC was actively stepping in, that meant this fitting really had been a disaster so far, but also that we might just finally stand a chance at finding something I liked. “Do you have any ideas?”
“Oh. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” She didn’t waste any time, just flashing me a smile before she pulled the curtain back and disappeared. I heard her quietly issuing instructions to the store attendant. Curious about what was going to happen, I followed her into the waiting area.
Sadie cringed when she saw the dress I still had on and Laney’s eyes widened, but neither of them commented. A few minutes later, our attendant was back, pulling a rail on wheelsbehind her. Immediately, I could tell that these gowns were different.
They were more timeless and lessmake-a-statementmodern. Beaded silk and delicate lace, they looked vintage, like they had pieces of history stitched into every seam.
My heart skipped, but CC smiled her approval at the attendant. “Now this is more like it. What do you think, honey? I asked her to bring us pieces from designers who are more classic and traditional.”
Before I could even respond, the attendant pulled out a pale, dusty rose gown that made me stop breathing for a second. It wasn’t the traditional white, but it was soft and romantic, like it belonged to another era.
“Try it on,” CC said, her eyes already sparkling. “I have a good feeling about it.”
I didn’t argue. While I never would have chosen it between hundreds of other dresses myself, this was the first one that had made my heart beat a little faster. The attendant preceded me into the dressing room, quickly helping me out of the disaster and then collecting the dresses that had remained in there.
“I’ll be back in a minute to zip you up.” She smiled, then ducked out with her arms full of tulle and satin.
Inhaling a deep breath, I stepped into the vintage dress and even just pulling it on felt different. The fabric hugged my curves without making me feel suffocated, the lining soft and the neckline low but graceful.
The attendant reappeared, professional approval in her eyes after she’d let them skim across me. She stepped up behind my back and smiled as she zipped me in. “I think you’re going to like this one.”
I nodded stiffly, but when she moved me in front of the mirror once she was done, I froze. “Oh.”
She grinned. “What do you think? Should we go show them?”
Another curt nod later, we were in the waiting area with the others, but I felt like I was drifting on a cloud of fairy dust and dreams. Sadie squealed. Laney covered her mouth with her hands, and Georgia, still on FaceTime, sucked in a sharp gasp.
