“Who is it?” he asked urgently, almost like he thought I might be in danger.
“It’s alright. It’s just my sister.”
“Which one?”
“Eugenie,” I said. “Apparently, she’s come on orders from our mother to help me find a wedding dress.”
“That’s unexpected,” he said carefully, but his voice was tighter now. In fact, he sounded almost worried again. “Has she, uh, has she said anything about, uh, about us? Me? You?”
“No.” I frowned. “Well, she did mention that it’s not every day that your sister marries your ex-boyfriend, but she didn’t seem too put out by it.”
“Okay. That’s good.”
“I’ll call you later,” I said. “I’d better go get ready before she decides to redecorate the house entirely before our appointment at the boutique.”
There was a quiet exhale on the other end. “Yeah. Call me.”
Something about the way he said it made me pause on the landing, that familiar doubt creeping into my gut. Before I could question it, he hung up and I sighed, seriously starting to question my own sanity. I’d never been paranoid or suspicious, but it was like every second thought I had these days was about how odd something was.
In any event, even if I was losing my mind, I went to get ready for the boutique, knowing that Eugenie wasn’t exactly somebody I could talk to about this and she wouldn’t have patience with me if I held us up.
Precisely an hour later, we walked into a bridal shop with polished white floors, soft lighting, and racks of impossibly beautiful dresses lining the walls. Eugenie strode in ahead of me, like she was the one getting married.
“This is perfect,” she declared loudly as I followed her in.
It looked like that was my only role today, going along for the ride. When it came to my family, this was a role I was exceedingly familiar with, but I was hoping she would at least take my opinions into consideration today.
“This is lovely,” I said, reaching for the first dress that caught my eye. It was simple, elegant, and understated. “What do you think?”
Eugenie glanced at it for no more than a second before she scoffed. “No.”
I sighed. “Are you sure? It’s stunning.”
She was already scanning the next rack, her back to me as she shook her head. “It’s not. It’s boring.”
“I like boring.”
“Yes, well,” she said, pulling out a dress that was significantly more elaborate. “This isn’t about what you like, is it?”
“Are you sure? It is my wedding, after all. I feel like what I like should at least matter a little bit.”
“What do you think of this one?” She held the dress out toward me, the sequins shimmering under the lights and feathers sticking out of the bodice. “This is the kind of look you should be going for.”
“I don’t know,” I mused out loud, not wanting to be rude since a sales assistant was standing within earshot. “I’m not sure that’s quite me. It’s rather a lot, isn’t it?”
“It’s a wedding dress,” she said. “It’s meant to be a lot.”
“I suppose.”
She handed it off to the assistant without waiting for my agreement, then finally looked at me again. “Besides, Jesse will expect something more impactful. He is a Westwood, after all. Their name comes with certain expectations and responsibilities.”
I frowned. “Do you really think he’d expect me to wear something specific, though?”
“Of course,” she said. “He always has liked things that make a statement.”
That doesn’t sound right.“He doesn’t seem particularly concerned with statements to me.”
Eugenie paused for just for a second before smiling a smile that didn’t reach her eyes at all. There was a strange twinkle in them, though. “Well, that’s new. Although I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. That man has never been consistent. With him, things change all the time. It’s part of his allure.”
