“Hot flash. You’ll learn all about it in twenty years.”
“Ah.” Echo nodded. “Are you ready to do this?”
Lela smiled like she was self-assured and at ease, even though she felt like nothing of the sort. “Of course.” She wasn’t sure if she should bring up the subject, but something told her she had to. “Is everything okay?”
“Do I look that bad?”
“No. You look amazing. I’m just sensing that something is wrong.”
Echo folded her arms across her chest. “You know I’m getting married in two weeks, right?”
“Yeah. Of course. I’ve heard both you and your dad talk about it.”
“Well, I got into a huge fight with my mom last night. She’s been so overbearing about the planning, and Dad told me that I should just tell her to back off, so I did, and it blew up in my face. She totally flew off the handle, calling me ungrateful, saying I was being a brat.” Echo’s face seemed to fall a little more with every word. Lela felt so bad for her. When Lela had planned her wedding to Mark, her mother had been nothing less than a godsend. She never complained. Never made a fuss. Never even expressed her opinion. “So there’s that, plus, the woman who was supposed to do my hair and makeup had an accident at freaking Cross Fit and broke both of her arms.”
“Yikes.” Lela wanted nothing more than to help. “I’m not a total whiz with hair, but I’m not bad, and I will gladly do your makeup. I can drive up that morning and get you all taken care of.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course I would.” Lela reached for Echo’s arm. She’d never felt maternal about anyone in her whole life, but she was starting to wonder if this was what it felt like to be a mom. The thought of Echo unhappy was almost too much to bear. “Anything you need.”
“I don’t want to make you drive all the way up to Connecticut for that. My grandmother lives in the middle of nowhere.”
“Well, now I have to go. I’ve heard stories about the James family estate, but your dad never invited me.” Echo’s grandmother was the heiress to a silver fortune and had raised Donovan and his brother in what was reportedly a completely over-the-top mansion. Donovan had once said that when he was a kid, he’d figured out that he could hide from his mother for days in the house if he wanted to. And apparently, he often did. “I’m dying to see it. And get a chance to meet your grandmother, too.”
Echo rolled her eyes. “She’s a trip.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“This would be such a godsend. Thank you.” Echo’s eyes brightened, even as she slanted her head to one side and a curious look crossed her face. “But hold on. This is stupid. You should just come to the wedding. Dad will be there and you know my mom, so you’ll have people to hang out with.”
Lela was about to have another hot flash. “You don’t need to do that. I’ll be fine. And I’m sure it’s impossible to book a hotel this close to the date anyway.”
“Oh, no. There’s plenty of room at the house. We kept the invite list small. All of the guests are staying on the grounds.”
“Oh.”
“And you can ride up with Dad.”
“Well…”
“Lucius and I are going up with him, too. Seriously. Lela. I won’t take no for an answer.”
That was all she had to hear. She wasn’t about to state any more objections, no matter how much she was incredibly unsure about how this would go. “It sounds lovely. I sincerely appreciate the invitation. Thank you.”
Echo clapped her hands in gleeful fashion. “Awesome. Now let me show you the dress I think would be perfect for the shoot.”
The pair walked over to the clothing rack in the opposite corner of the studio. Echo pulled a garment from the middle—bright pink with tiny black polkadots, a fluttery hem, and a plunging neckline. It was exactly the sort of thing Mark would’ve criticized, telling her it was ridiculous or that she was dressing too young for her age.
“Do you think it’ll look good on me?”
“Are you kidding? It’s going to look freaking amazing. Go ahead and put it on.”
Lela disappeared behind a gray velvet curtain in a small dressing room and peeled off her clothes. Slipping both sleeves of the dress up over her shoulders, she held the bodice against her body with one arm, turning in the mirror. The horrors of the hot flash and subsequent sweat-fest faded. She not only loved the way she looked in the dress, she loved the way shefeltin it, like a glamorous superhero. She poked her head out of the fitting room and waved Echo over. “Can you help with the zipper?”
Echo stepped inside and cinched Lela into the dress, which fit like a glove. “It’s gorgeous. It pushes boundaries, but it also just looks flat-out incredible with your hair. I can’t wait to see how it photographs.”
Lela looked down at herself, surprised that she now found the prospect of this whole thing somewhat exciting. Why she’d spent any time at all stressing about it was beyond her. “Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it.”
