For the briefest flicker of a second, something changed on Zach's face. Not easy to catch, but not nothing either.
"I mean, there's us, too…" he said, quieter now, rubbing a hand through his hair. "But, I was just also thinking?—"
"You're getting everything you ever wanted. This is going to be huge for Wild Sacks. For you. And for me," she said, instead of what she really wanted to say.
Her heart raced, the confession right there on the tip of her tongue.
I'm falling in love with you, and I'm terrified I'll ruin us.
But she stopped herself.
His face flickered, a shadow of something—disappointment? —crossing it.
"Right," he said, rubbing a hand through his hair as his phone buzzed again. "Wild Sacks gets the deal. You get the corner office. Win-win." He hesitated.
"I'm ready for my surprise," Anna trilled, flipping back the curtain they used as a makeshift doorway to the tent and snapping Piper out of herself. Anna held out grabby hands like a small child awaiting cupcakes.
Piper exhaled. Time to pivot. "It's good, I think. Hopefully. No pressure, right?"
"So," she continued with a too-wide smile, "I had this idea about your dress. We actually—" she gestured between herself and Zach "—designed something for you." She motioned toward the garment bag Zach carried.
"If you hate it, totally fine. We'll launch a Code Red and sprint to the nearest boutique. No hard feelings." She pressed the back of her hand against her forehead wishing it was an ice pack because there was definitely going to be a headache later.
Piper forced a smile, her heart hammering as the Dvornakov women crowded into the tent, their chatter filling the space like static.
She glanced at Zach, who gave her a small nod, his expression steady but laced with something comfortable. Something that made her want to spill every fear and hope she'd been bottling up.
Instead, she gripped the garment bag zipper tighter, the cool metal grounding her as she prepared to unveil the dress. Then she stopped.
"Actually." She turned to Zach. "You do it."
Anna gasped as Zach unzipped the bag inch by suspenseful inch.
"Oh," Anna whispered, fingertips sliding reverently across the fabric.
She hugged the dress to her chest and did an impromptu spin, full on tears brimming in her eyes. "It's absolutely perfect."
"You'll need to try it on," Piper said, quieter. "But it should fit."
"Hope you like it," Zach said.
"Like it? I love it," Anna said, half-laughing, half-sobbing as she pulled Piper into a smooshy, grateful hug.
Diana, Sadie, Heather, and Babushka all stood quietly, letting Anna have her teary moment.
Zach cleared his throat. "You know, Babushka always says if you cry happy tears before the wedding, it means you'll cry unhappy ones after."
Everyone turned to him in horrified unison.
Babushka even sucked in a long breath. "I vouldn't say it at this exact moment. I vould vait until the right moment. Vhich is not now."
"Why would you say that?" Anna thwacked him on the back of the head like a seasoned sibling. "Bad vibes. Ba-a-a-ad vibe management."
"Ow." He rubbed the spot. "Hey, I don't believe it. It's just what she always says."
"It's true. I do say this. But I am not stupid vhen I say it." Babushka shook her head with grave disappointment.
Piper stayed silent.
