I'm so coy that in the end, I don't even know ifanyoneknows what we've decided, and I'll be shocked if I walked down the aisle and it'snotan absolutely horrific mishmash of clashing styles and elements.
So today, I am absolutely thrilled to be taking a day away from the palace and spending it at Forever More Bridal. I managed to arrange it so Dylan doesn’t know what we’re doing today. The ‘official’ dress shopping day will be here at the end of the week—complete with Imogen’s team and the ANN camera crew to ‘capture the moment and share it with the world.’ Tessa and Nikki have agreed to come back for the fake shoot, but Gran (who refuses to ‘play it up for the cameras’) gave me a hard no. But at least she’s here for the real one, where I can act like a regular bride and actually share my opinion. Then, we hide it away, along with a few other of the most flattering choices, to model for the cameras. It’s all so dishonest and stupid that it makes me hate myself just the tiniest bit, but desperate times call for…secret wedding dress shopping trips.
Anyway, the owner of the shop, Jasmine Lee, closed down the shop for us so Gran, Tessa, Nikki, and I will be spending a glorious few hours trying on dresses, sipping champagne, and nibbling on hors d'oeuvres. I just finished putting my hair up in a very simple bun to keep it out of the way and giving myself only a light dusting of makeup so as not to get any on any of the dresses. I grab my phone and send a quick text to Will to tell him I'm off to buy a wedding gown and that I love him (just in case he ends up in a spot with Wi-Fi). Then I set off.
Forever More Bridal is the quintessential wedding shop for the women in Valcourt who have a lot of money but are either too sensible (or don’t quite have the budget) to commission a dress from a designer. It's an extremely posh store with thick white carpeting, soft blue walls, and lighting meant to flatter even the palest of complexions. I've heard rumors the mirrors take more than one size off your frame as well, which I'm sure helps them close the sale.
The limo pulls up in front of the two-storey brick building, and I smile to myself. It's going to be an absolutely lovely day, with three of my favourite people, away from all of the chaos and tension. Just us and— somewhere in between these walls—the perfect dress. Nikki, Tessa, Gran, and I all pile out of the limo and are immediately ushered inside by Jasmine, who locks the door behind us and greets us all with air kisses and limp handshakes. "Princess Arabella, it is an absolute honour to be dressing you for your big day. I have hand-selected two dozen gowns that I think would suit you perfectly, but if you prefer to start by browsing, we can certainly look at my selections later. Take your time, relax, and enjoy every minute of what is often described as one of the most magical bridal moments.”
I happened to glance at Nikki and Tessa when Jasmine said the word ‘browsing’ and saw their eyes light up, so obviously, in the name of fun, that's what we’re going to do. "Why don't we take a few minutes to look around at your beautiful selection and then we’ll get to trying things on?"
"Very good, Your Highness," she says with a deep curtsy that seems like a bit much if you ask me. "I shall leave you to it and come back with some champagne in a few minutes."
Nikki waits until Jasmine is out of earshot, then says, "I hope you know this isnothow store owners act for us regular folk."
I give her the half grin, not knowing exactly what to say to that.
Gran hooks her arm through mine and says, "Let's go find your dream dress—and don't give me that crap about how it doesn't matter to you in the least because I know it does."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at her tiny frame.
Tessa answers for her. "Only that we’re not buying the whole ‘I'm the least precious bride on the planet’ thing you’ve got going on."
"Well put, my dear," Gran says to Tessa. "It's almost like you've always been a Langdon."
I unhook my arm from Gran and plant it on my hip, but before I can say anything, Gran holds up one finger. "And don't even start. We'veallseen the dream wedding album."
"Well, that is just…" I trail off, too irritated to come up with a good retort. "You know what? I'm not going to let that bother me," I say, giving them a firm nod and turning from them. I walk over to the nearest rack of dresses and start flipping through them angrily, muttering, "People change, you know. They absolutely change. They mature and their ideas and values shift… I mean, who is exactly like they were when they were a teenager, anyway?"
I turn around and glare at Gran for a second. "I distinctly rememberyousaying you wanted to bea nunwhen you were fifteen and you didn’t exactly turn out to be a virgin bride of Jesus, now did you?"
All three of them look slightly shocked, both Nikki and Tessa are holding their lips between their teeth, clearly trying not to laugh while Gran gives me an icy stare with her cool blue eyes. "For someone who's claiming none of this matters, it’s surprisingly important to have everyone believe how very much you don't care."
Jasmine reappears with a tray of four flutes, each one a third-full of champagne. She presents the tray to them with a flourish and a slight bow. Suddenly not in the mood to browse, I take one of the flutes off the tray and down it, then say, "You know what? Let's start with the selections you've made for me."
She smiles, clearly pleased, then leads us in the direction of the fitting rooms. Gran, Nikki, and Tessa all take seats on the French provincial sofa set while I walk up the two steps, past the mirrored platform and into the first fitting room I see. Sliding the cream-coloured curtain across, I see two dresses hanging with their fronts to the wall, having been unbuttoned and readied for me. One is a very simple sheath dress. The other is a lace-covered, long-sleeved dress with a large poufy skirt that reminds me very much of Kate’s. I quickly undress, then pull the simple gown off the hanger and step into it, pulling it up and sliding my arms into it.
Just as I finish, Jasmine asks, "Are you ready to be buttoned in?"
Good Lord, how is her timingthat good? Does she have a camera in here?
A few moments later, I step out of the dressing room and walk out onto the platform, giving the ladies a ‘Well? What do you think?’ look.
They all tilt their heads, none of them smiling, which clearly means it's a no. I turn from them and look at myself in the mirror, seeing that I agree. "It's very sensible," I say.
"Yes, you could grace the cover of Sensible Bride Magazine in that," Gran says wryly.
Jasmine stands behind me and makes a few adjustments, then steps back and stares at me for a moment and shakes her head. "This is not the one."
"It's quite lovely," I say. I mean, I don't lookbadin it. And it really does have a simplicity that makes me appear to be a no-nonsense bride.
"No, when we find the one, I'll see it in your eyes. Now, how about the other one in the dressing room? Do you care to try that on?"
I shake my head. “I'm looking for something a little simpler than that. Perhaps somewhere in between this and that one."
She gives me a single nod then says, "Say no more, I'll have it replaced with two new ones.”
Okay, so maybe this isn't the dream morning I thought it would be. I've tried on at least fifteen dresses now, none of which have had that special spark that Jasmine is looking for, and quite frankly, they haven’t exactly brought a tear to my eye, either. It's quite stuffy in here and, at the moment, I'm sitting in the dressing room in my underwear, fanning my underarms with my hands while I wait for something else to be brought to me. Tessa and Nikki abandoned Jasmine’s selections three dresses ago, not-so-subtly stating that they may have better luck finding something since they know me so well.
