her hair up into a messy neckline bun and secured it in place with a couple of bobby pins. Then she positioned the comb at the top, letting the veil float about halfway down Alana’s back.
“Now stand up and take a look,” Sadie said.
“Perfect.” Bridget took more pictures.
“It does match Mama’s pearl necklace and her earrings.” Alana sighed.
“Do we have our dress, then?” Sadie asked.
“I believe we have,” Alana said. “I love all of it.”
“Then we’ll get it ordered. You can take the veil home today, and I’ll put a rush on your dress. It should be here within a week,” Sadie said.
“Thank you.” Alana looked at her reflection once more. An icy cold chill chased down her back, and the smile left her face. She felt beautiful in the dress, and evidently her father loved it, but…she closed her eyes and tried to keep the tears at bay.
“Matt sent a text,” Bridget said. “Listen to this, Knew the dress was the right one by Alana’s expression. She’s beaming, and that’s the way I want to see her on her wedding day.”
Alana thought about walking down the aisle on her father’s arm and him putting her hand into Pax’s. She found herself hoping that on this wedding day, she could make her father’s wishes come true even if hers couldn’t—that this was really the wedding of his dreams. Someday she would marry a man who had really proposed to her, not a friend who was doing her a big favor.
“You look like you’re about to cry,” Bridget said. “I can’t let anyone cry alone, and I don’t want to mess up my makeup before I try on dresses.”
“It’s all so overwhelming.” Alana pulled a tissue from her purse and dabbed at her eyes with it.
“That’s why I didn’t want a big to-do when Maverick and I got married, but you’ve got a whole different situation,” Bridget said.
“Truth is, I didn’t want a big wedding,” Alana admitted as she headed back into the dressing room. “I wanted me and Pax, you and Maverick in the church with family around us, and then a small reception. Daddy’s the one who wants this huge affair.”
“It’s because he loves you,” Bridget said. “Don’t lose sight of that.”
“Thanks, and I’ll try, but every time I turn around he wants to do more.” Alana managed a weak smile. “If Mama were here, she’d put the reins on him.”
She closed the dressing room door. Sadie started undoing all the small buttons down her back and asked, “What are your colors, and do you want long dresses or short ones for your bridesmaids?”
“Long dresses,” Alana told her, “and my colors are yellow and orange. We’re having lots of yellow roses because they were my mama’s favorite, and shades of orange worked into the centerpieces and bouquets. I was thinking something in a soft peach for the bridesmaids. One of them is eight months pregnant, as tall as me, and red-haired. One is as tall as I am and dark haired, but she’s not pregnant. The other three are shorter—one is a redhead, one is a strawberry blond, and one is a brunette, and Bridget is the one who came with me today. I don’t really want their dresses to be alike but all of them in the same color would be nice.” She realized she was talking too much to cover up her own anxiety. The whole idea of getting married to please her father hadn’t hit her so hard until she saw her reflection in the mirror in that perfect dress.
“I think I’ve got what you need,” Sadie said. “While you get dressed, I’ll take your dress and veil up to the front and help Bridget pick out an assortment of peach-colored ones.”
Alana waited until the women were gone, and then she sat down in a wingback chair, put her hands over her eyes, and wept as silently as she possibly could. The past week had gone by so fast that it was nothing but a blur. She wished she could slow time down to savor every single moment. She knew whatever time she had left with her dad would go all too quickly.
“Stop it!” she scolded herself as she took her hands away from her face. “Some folks don’t get even one extra hour with their loved ones. Think about Pax and Maverick’s grandpa. He dropped with a heart attack right where he stood. They didn’t have any time to get goodbyes said and things arranged.”
She