already swiftly shot down the first few selections my mom had made. “We never get to see you anymore now that you’re both off to college.”
“I know. Part of me wishes I’d stayed more local, but what can ya do? I only have one semester left, so I can suck it up.”
“Oh, you’re graduating early?” my mom asked.
“Yeah, I took summer classes online the past two years. And last summer I received school credit for an internship I did for a kids’ summer program on campus.”
“Thanks for that,” I grumbled. “We could’ve lived together the past two summers too.”
“How’s that going? You girls sick of each other yet?” my mom asked, the smile on her face letting us know she was teasing.
“Taylor’s even more obsessed with me than ever if you can believe it,” I joked.
“Well, who can blame me? With the way you clutter the bathroom with all your products and leave hair ties all over the place, who wouldn’t be charmed?”
I wrapped an arm around Taylor. “See, Mom? I have my very own stalker now.”
My mom let a small laugh slip, but my joke fell completely flat with Taylor, who tensed before pulling away to stand.
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m going to find a bathroom.”
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, absolutely. I’ll be right back.” She gave us a smile before turning and striding toward a sales associate, looking as cool and calm as ever.
For all intents and purposes, Taylor looked normal. But I knew Taylor almost as well as I knew myself, and something was definitely wrong.
When Taylor wanted to seem composed when she wasn’t, she overcompensated. Her confident gait became more of a strut, she held her shoulders unnaturally high, and her chin rose at an awkward angle. But while I wanted to chase after her and ask what I’d said so I could apologize for it, I also knew this wasn’t the place. Taylor would never open up if she had to face an audience afterward.
So I’d let it go until I could talk to her alone.
“Oh, how lovely,” my mom gasped.
I twisted my head quickly and saw Vee coming out from the fitting room wrapped in a beautiful white A-line dress. It was satin with an off-the-shoulder bodice. The dress was simple but elegant and fit Vee like a glove.
My mom rose and circled Vee as she stood on the small podium in front of floor-to-ceiling mirrors.
“I don’t remember pulling this one,” she said, “but it’s stunning.”
“Oh, uh, you didn’t,” Vee said as she smoothed her hands down the soft fabric. “The ones you picked were gorgeous but a little…extravagant for me. So I asked for one a little…plainer.”
I moved closer and locked my eyes on Vee’s in the mirror. “There is nothing plain about you in this dress.”
She offered me a small smile, but I could see the discomfort in her expression. When we arrived, my mom had been like a Versace-clad bull in a china shop. She’d never stopped to look at the price as she pulled ball gowns and plopped them into the waiting arms of Miranda, our bridal stylist.
Vee had tried to steer my mom to the clearance racks, but the effort was futile. Vee’s stress had steadily built until my mom had pushed her toward the fitting rooms.
I didn’t envy the position Vee was in. She’d agreed to go along with this ruse to help Brody—and herself, to a degree—but for obvious reasons, she was also clearly uncomfortable with my parents spending money on a fake wedding.
For once, I wished Brody had shacked up with some money-grabbing floozy during his conquests in the fall. That type of person would’ve been much better equipped for this scheme.
Taylor came back toward us, and when she caught sight of Vee, she stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth dropping open.
“Holy smoke show,” she said. “Vee, you look absolutely gorgeous.”
“Thank you,” Vee replied meekly, a blush staining her cheeks.
“So,” Miranda said brightly, “are we saying yes to this dress?”
Vee looked at my mom, who asked, “Are you sure you don’t want one that’s a little more…ornate?”
Expensive was what my mom meant, but I gave her points for trying to be tactful.
Vee gave herself another once-over and said, “I really like this one.”
My mom smiled at her and gently laid a hand on Vee’s biceps. “Then this is the one you’ll have. You do look truly beautiful.”
My mom’s words were heartfelt, and I felt a pang of sadness that this moment was contrived. When Brody came clean