“Perfect, thanks!” chirps Maggie.
I nod and smile, too, adding a murmured, “Thank you,” as Shannon turns to leave.
Maggie faces me and gives a happy wiggle. “This is gonna be fun,” she whispers, then claps her hands lightly.
Grinning at her antics, I sip my champagne, then decide I should focus more on the water. I’m a lightweight, and while one glass of champagne isn’t enough to get me drunk or even tipsy, my incipient dehydration combined with alcohol is likely to leave me with a headache.
“Sorry,” Maggie whispers after Shannon leaves.
“For what?” I’m genuinely confused. Did I miss something?
“Oh, just … sometimes I take over. I think it’s a side effect of motherhood, and since I planned all of our shopping destinations …” She flops her hand around, which I think is supposed to indicate how that would lead to her taking over.
“Honestly, you’ve been keeping better track of what styles I like than I have. It gets a bit overwhelming after a while, especially …” I trail off, biting my lip, and Maggie gives me a concerned look.
“This is all a bit of a whirlwind, isn’t it?” She straightens and looks around. “I mean, you just moved to Seattle, immediately got sick, and now we’re shopping for a dress. Have you applied for the marriage license yet? I know you have to wait a few days before you can actually get it.”
I shake my head. “Not yet.”
“Well, I guess we know you’ll have at least four days since it’s after five already. The earliest you can apply is tomorrow. So if we need minor alterations, we have that much time to work with at minimum. I know Jason wants the ceremony to happen before training camp starts. Have you looked at any of the sites he was thinking about?”
Just then, Shannon returns with a rolling rack of dresses in all shades of white and cream, saving me from having to respond. Looking at sites? I thought this was going to be a quick courthouse wedding. What sites? I guess he did mention the schedule was kind of full at the courthouse, so we could have his friend do it at a park, but … it’s not like I care that much about which park it is. This isn’t real.
I mean, it’s real in a legal sense. But it’s not like I’m marrying the love of my life.
Although …
I have to admit that Jason’s better than any boyfriend I’ve ever had—taking care of me while I was sick, making sure I have everything I need, doing his best to support my goals …
If I were to pick out the qualities I’d want, those would all be at the top of the list. And it will seem less weird for him to help me with a car and money and stuff like that if we’re married …
And I have had a crush on him since I was old enough to understand what that was. He’s hot. And kind. And caring. And I really like spending time with him …
But this is all just to assuage his guilty conscience, after all.
Shannon clears her throat after hanging a few dresses on hooks next to the dressing room. “I thought we’d start with these, just to get a few ideas.”
“Oh, no, not that one,” Maggie says, pointing to a cream colored dress with a big skirt and a train. Even hanging on the hook, it trails to the floor. And realistically, I’m not that tall. “It’s going to be an outdoor wedding, so we don’t want anything dragging the ground. And Hailey and yellow don’t get along. Trust me.”
Shannon’s nostrils flare ever so slightly. “It might be worth trying on for?—”
“No, Maggie’s right,” I say, looking it over. “That one’s a definite no. But I’ll try the others.”
Covering her irritation, Shannon gives me a closed-lip smile. “Wonderful. Here’s your dressing room. And I have a slip for you as well. If you need a strapless bra, let me know your size, and I’ll grab one.”
“No, thank you. I want a dress I can wear with a normal bra.”
“Many of them also have corset styling, which wouldn’t require a bra, even if they’re strapless. Something to keep in mind. But wear whatever you’re comfortable with for today. Once you’re ready, let me know, and I’ll help you into the first dress.”
I give Maggie a wide-eyed look. “Help me?”
Shannon looks confused. “Of course. Is this your first …” Her delicate brows pull together. “You mentioned you’ve been shopping …”
“This is our first bridal boutique. Since it’s an elopement, Hailey wasn’t sure she wanted a traditional wedding gown, so we opted to start with more general boutiques and department stores. At a couple of stores, someone helped with zippers. Or I did. But no one’s helped her into the gown altogether before this.”
“Well,” Shannon says, turning to me after Maggie’s explanation, “this is what we do here at Blushing Bride. That way we ensure that everything fits how it should. If you weren’t determined to buy off the rack, we’d have you try on a variety of samples. Sometimes they’re large enough that we have to clip them back to give you a better idea of how it’d look when it’s fitted properly. Since you specified no trains or full-length skirts, though, I’ll only pull the ones that are tea length or shorter, okay?”
“Okay,” I mumble.
