When Stars Collide (Second Chance Romance #2) - Sara Furlong-Burr Page 0,39
Agnes reappeared, pushing a rack full of dresses. Another woman followed her, toting two bottles of champagne and more glasses.
“Let’s get this party started,” Elle proclaimed.
“I’m no wedding expert, but aren’t there supposed to be wedding dresses for you to try on, too?” I gestured at the rack Agnes had just brought in—the one that was obviously lacking anything white.
“I pretty much already picked out my dress the day Luke proposed to me.” Elle poured herself a glass of champagne and made herself comfortable on the couch. “At least, I have it narrowed down to two choices. They’re going to be brought here in a couple weeks. If you can be available on FaceTime, I’ll call you so that you can help me decide.”
“Of course, I’ll be available. I’m all in on your wedding, and when I go all in on something, I don’t half-ass it. You’ll be getting my whole ass for the next seven months.”
“Mine too,” Tulip chimed in. “As the cousin of the groom, I’ve made it my personal mission to make sure your and Luke’s wedding is as beautiful as your love for each other.”
“You should get that printed on T-shirts for us to wear at their wedding reception.”
Her eyes widened. “Yes! I should!”
I stared at her, waiting for her to laugh it off. When she didn’t, I turned to Elle, mouthing “What the fuck,” without making it too obvious.
She shrugged, refilling her already empty glass of champagne.
“I’m thinking with your dark hair and your coloring—you’re slightly darker complexioned than the other two girls—these bright yellow dresses will look the best on you.” Agnes handed me the dresses, three in total. “Now, Violet and Kirsten, you both look so similar you could be sisters, so I really don’t think the color is going to matter so much as the style.”
“We’re just going to drop trou here, then?” I asked inspecting each of the dresses Agnes handed to me.
“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” Elle called from the couch.
“Have another one back there,” I replied over my shoulder.
“We have private dressing rooms, if you’d be more comfortable changing in there,” Agnes answered, reassuringly.
“No, no, that’s fine. I just didn’t want to start stripping and make things all awkward in here.”
“Okay, well, you ladies change, and I’ll stand just outside the wall here and wait for you.” Agnes pointed needlessly to the half-wall as though we didn’t already know it was there.
The three of us nodded and began stripping down to our underwear. It was in times such as these that I was grateful for always making it a point to wear something cute and matching whenever I left the house. Kirsten and Geranium apparently adhered to that philosophy, too.
“Looking good, ladies,” Elle cat-called from the couch.
“What are we? Pieces of meat to you?”
“That’s it,” Kirsten groaned, catching a glimpse of her half-naked body in the mirror, “I’m going to need a glass of that champagne.
“I feel you.” I inspected the three dresses I’d hung on a hook next to the mirror. Each were their own distinct style, all were chiffon.
“Why don’t you each put on the first dress, and we can all decide together?” Elle suggested.
“Did your planner tell you to say that?” I looked behind my back at her as she flipped through the pages in the spiral notebook.
“No,” she replied, quickly closing it in her lap. “Carry on.”
“Shouldn’t you be a pro at this wedding planning business by now? It’s like your second one.” I smiled coyly at Elle, who attempted to discreetly flip me off by holding her middle finger flush against her champagne glass as she took a sip.
Elle’s first husband was, long story short, asshole squared, and their marriage was, for lack of a better word, rushed, due to an unexpected pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. Many people wouldn’t have gone through with the marriage after losing the baby, especially considering there had been just about zero chemistry between the two, but at that point in her life, Elle had been under the mistaken impression that mediocre was all she deserved. It hadn’t been until Luke’s sudden reappearance back in her life that she realized just how much she was worth—and how much she had allowed her insecurities to cost her.
“I’m ready,” Kirsten announced, striking a pose in her tangerine chiffon creation, bearing a front slit that revealed more than I already knew she was going to be comfortable with showing.