“Chloe?” I ask, surprised to see the photographer from Ivory and Preston’s wedding.
“Taylor, wow all of you, hi,” She stands from the table when I reach her and I pull her into a hug. Her arms stay firmly pressed against her sides like she’s not sure how to react to seeing us. Our only connection to this woman is her online friendship with Miller that turned into a freelance gig for one weekend.
“What are you doing here?” Gabby steps up beside me.
“Just taking some photos. I love the beach.”
“Us too. We have another wedding in our future if you’re interested,” I tell her, hoping now that I’ve seen her that it willbe possible to hire her for mine and Grant’s ceremony. I don’t have pictures from the first time except a selfie we took on the pier after.
“Yeah, maybe. You have my information.”
“Taylor, Gabby, what do you want to drink?” Ivory asks from the counter where she’s placing the order.
“Sorry, we’ll leave you alone. It was good to see you, and if you’re ever in Nashville, let me know.”
Chloe nods and sits back down. Gabby and I order, waiting for our coffee and pastries.
“Oh, look at that cute little bridal boutique.” Ivory points across the street to a white building with wedding gowns in the window. “Should we go in and look for a dress?”
“Seems like the perfect bachelorette trip activity to me,” I agree, picking up my coffee and taking a long sip. We leave the shop, nodding to Chloe on our way out, and she gives a shy smile and a wave.
Gabby crosses the street first and stops in front of the shop. “This place looks so familiar. It looks like the one in Nashville where we picked out Ivory’s dress.”
“Francesca’s bridal? Did she move?” Ivory looks to me like I have all the answers.
“No idea, let’s check it out.” I open the door and hold it for them.
“I mean just look at this place. It’s like the Nashville store was completely cloned and re-created for this boutique, but with a beach vibe,” Gabby says, spinning to take in the place. There are racks of dresses along the perimeter. In the back is a seating area in front of a pedestal and three way mirror.
A raven-haired woman steps out of the back room and stops in her tracks.
“Who’s getting married now?” Francesca asks with a bright smile.
“That would be me.” I raise my hand.
She claps and bounces on her toes. “Oh my gosh, the planneris now getting married. I love this so much. Are you here to pick out a dress?”
I shrug. “We’re here on vacation, but it’s technically my bachelorette trip so why not.”
“Let’s see what we have.” Francesca grabs my hand and guides me over to the couch by the mirror.
“Can we play the game again? The one where Ivory and I pick out dresses for you since we got to pick out Ivory’s dress together?” Gabby’s excitement is contagious, and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the rest of the morning.
“I would love that.”
“Oh my gosh, that sounds so fun. Let’s definitely do that again.” Francesca rushes to the desk to get her egg timer and the girls get into position to race around the store and pick out three options for me to try on.
When Grant and I got married, I just wore a simple white dress, so being able to do all the firsts this time around means everything to me, and being able to do it with my girls is the icing on the cake.
I watch from down the street as Taylor, Ivory, and Gabby leave the dress shop, laughing and chatting. They’re headed to the cafe on the corner for lunch and we plan to crash their lunch before hitting the resort for a round of golf.
At the door to the cafe, Taylor almost collides with a man—my oldest brother. I pick up my pace and hurry after her in case this turns ugly. I don’t know whose claws would hurt worse—hers or his.
Hers.
“Reginald,” I hear Taylor say, drawing back from him. Neither of them has noticed me closing in on them. I hang back, close enough to hear every word but unseen.
“Man, what are you—” I slap a hand over Miller’s mouth and hold a finger up to my lips, tuning back into the conversation as Reginald starts speaking.
