The other one waswhite.
“We got one in white, just in case,” Jessasaid.
“No pressure,” Katie added, grinning. “Just choose the one you likebest.”
“The white one,” I said automatically, and my girlfriends bothbeamed.
“Yay!” Katiesaid.
“I didn’t wear a white dress at the wedding,” I told them. “So this is…perfect.”
Jessa got the dress down and handed it to me. It was short, with a flared skirt and a deep V neckline, the whole thing overlaid with a subtle white lace, the same lace used for the long, flared sleeves. It wasn’t a traditional bridal dress or bridesmaid dress. It was utterly cool, a little rock ’n’ roll, and I was pretty sure Zane was gonna love it onme.
I put it on, and Jessa turned me toward the giant wall mirror as Katie did up the little buttons on the back. It was perfectly tailored for mybody.
Was this reallyhappening?
I took a long look at myself. And I felt like I was in adream.
“Maggie Omura, you look like a fucking dream,” Jessa said, as if reading my mind. And since it was coming from a lingerie model, I took it as a hugecompliment.
“Thankyou.”
Then she got right down to business again. “Bare legs, or do you want the stockings andgarters?”
“Bare,” I said, knowing Zane would like that,too.
Jessa nodded and whipped out some leg cream, a tinted moisturizer with a little shimmer in it, and started rubbing down my legs. “Damn,” she muttered, “you have the most beautiful skin tone. You don’t even need thisshit…”
At the same time, Katie played with my hair. “Up or down?” she asked. “The makeup girl does hair too, so she can put it up for you if youwant.”
“No. That’s okay,” I said. “Zane likes itdown.”
Katie grinned at me in themirror.
“Now… shoes.” Jessa turned me around. “We’ve got these little booties that will go with the dress, but I’mthinking—”
“The glittery ones,” I said. My eyes had already fixated on them. They were pink gold, with a few thin straps that zig-zagged across thefoot.
Jessa and Katie helped me get them on. The heels were four inches and gave me a nice boost of height, made my short legs look long in my dress, and added the perfect hit of dazzle to compliment the somewhat simple but edgydress.
“Is this happening?” I asked, as they both stood back to admireme.
“Yes,” Katie saidfirmly.
“And it couldn’t happen to a better person,” Jessaadded.
“But what about your baby party?” I asked Katie, feeling a littleguilty.
“Ah,” she said with a shrug and a smile, patting her still-flat belly. “We’ll deal with thatlater.”
Then they steered me out the door to get my makeup touchedup.
* * *
By the timethe three of us made our grand reentry into the ballroom, the party was underway. People were mingling and chatting, laughing and drinking their non-alcoholic mocktails, and music wasplaying.
It was a remix of Sarah Vaughan’s “Fever,” and I was pretty sure I didn’t even need to look to know who the DJ was at this event. Then the music went low, and I heard a familiar voice over the sound system. “Here comes thebride!”
