“That sounds interesting. What does Janice think?” Mom asked.
I groaned. “Who cares what Janice thinks? It’s their honeymoon, not hers.”
“She’s paying for it,” my sister pointed out, glancing at me through the rearview mirror. “She said she wanted to send us to the Dominican, but neither Elliott nor I have a burning desire to go there. We’ve always talked about seeing Europe.”
“So tell her that you want to go to Europe, then.” I frowned, not seeing the dilemma.
“We’re going to, but Elliott wants to be there so please don’t say anything,” Kelsey replied, catching my eyes in the mirror again and giving me a pointed look.
“You know I love a good secret.” I arched a brow.
11
Free Fall
Gwen
Ideserved a medal of some kind for putting up with Janice. After spending the last hour with her, I had a newfound appreciation for my mother. She really wasn’t all that bad. Compared to Elliott’s mom, ours was a saint.
She had a complaint about everything, and I meaneverything. Every dress that Kelsey tried on, she’d spew out some kind of ridiculous flaw in it.
The saleswoman cleared her throat, and Kelsey stepped out in a beautiful Viera lace on tulle dress with a sweetheart neckline. It was decorated with Swarovski crystals and an embroidered lace hemline. Kels’ entire demeanor changed when she looked at herself in the mirror, but then Janice’s displeased tone shattered the moment.
“No, that’s not it either.” She insisted, dismissing the dress as she had the other six before it.
“Woah. Hang on. What are you talking about, Janice?” I demanded, pointing at the dress. “Just look at it! It fits her perfectly, and it’s totally her.”
“It looks dirty,” Janice said, eyeing the dress with disdain. “Try on the ball gown I selected.”
Kelsey looked at herself a final time in the mirror before pivoting. “It makes sense to try on all the dresses, but so far, this one is my favourite.” She said with confidence, giving her future mother-in-law a polite smile before she followed the sales lady into the change room.
“I happened to like the silver undertones,” I said to Mom, rolling my eyes.
“Gwen,” Mom scolded me for my tone, but I could tell she agreed with me. Still, she made polite conversation with Janice while we waited.
I pulled my phone out, my finger hovering over the Facebook icon before tapping it, opening up my notifications. I nearly dropped my phone with surprise when I read that Alaric had accepted my friend request.
Wait, what friend request?I thought frantically. Admittedly, I’d pulled up his profile a few times over the last week or so, but I hadn’t requested him. Or at least, I hadn’t meant to.
Still, he’d accepted the request. Finger hovering over his name, I hesitated for only a moment before clicking it.
More of his profile was revealed to me, but it still didn’t really give me any closer of a look at his life. The few photos he’d been tagged in were from years ago, and he didn’t seem very active on it now.
I lingered on a photograph of him with his arm around the shoulders of a red-haired woman as she held a tiny pink bundle. The grin on his face as he gazed down at the baby made my heart clench.
The love and adoration in Alaric’s eyes as he gazed admired his newborn daughter took my breath away and made me ache acutely for something more.
“Gwen?” Startled at the close proximity of my mom, I dropped my phone. I leaned forward and picked it up quickly, my face flushed.
“Jesus, Mom. Do I need to get you a bell?” I demanded.
“I said your name seven times.” Mom shook her head, her brow furrowing as she gazed at me with suspicion.
“Well, you have my attention now.” I sighed, trying to recover from not only being startled but from the distressing realization that I was inwayover my head.
Mom’s frown deepened, and she nodded toward the little stage set up with mirrors where the sales ladies had brides-to-be model the dresses they tried on. Kelsey was wearing a strapless ball gown this time, with scattered lace embellishing the tiered layers of tulle—a lot of tulle.
My sister gently moved her hands up the lace bodice, her fingers fluttering over the material.
