Loving You (The Bridesmaids Club Book 2) (3 page)

Another sister laughed and held the dress she’d chosen up to her waist. “You just want Alistair to notice you.”

There was more laughter from the other sisters.

Annie looked across at Tess and smiled. They’d sat down yesterday and worked out how they could make this appointment work without it taking hours. From the look in Tess’ eyes, she was about to put that plan into action.

When everyone started talking at once, Tess held her hand in the air. It didn’t seem to make any difference. Holly’s family was so excited that it was a wonder Tess had managed to hold their attention for as long as she had. Sally put her fingers in her mouth and blew hard. A piercing whistle shot across the room and everyone stopped speaking.

Sally had grown up on a ranch surrounded by three older brothers and thousands of cows. Annie guessed the whistle blowing technique was one of the ways she’d learned to get everyone’s attention.

Tess smiled at Sally, then looked at Holly and her bridesmaids. “If you decide you don’t like any of the dresses you’ve selected, we can look at the catalog to see if there’s something else for you. Please don’t hunt through the main rack on your own. It will make it difficult to find the dresses if they get out of order.”

All ten pairs of female eyes shot to the long rack of dresses hanging against one wall. The silk and satin gowns glowed from under the pendant lights. The chance of everything staying in order were pretty slim, but if anyone could make this work, it was Tess.

“The changing room and bathroom are behind you. Is everyone ready?”

A chorus of voices said, ‘yes’, and Tess smiled. “Let’s get going then. We have exactly one hour to find everyone a dress.”

Annie waited for her two bridesmaids to join her. Beth introduced herself and her sister. She was short, blonde and blue-eyed. Lily was a few inches taller with dark hair and gray eyes. They looked about as different as two sisters could get.

“Who’s going first?” Annie asked.

The two sisters looked at each other. Beth stepped forward. “I will.”

Annie looked at the sheet of paper Tess had given her and pulled a soft peach colored dress off the rack. “This is going to look lovely.”

Beth held the dress against her. “And it might just fit. I’ll be back soon.” She darted across the wooden floor, disappearing into the bedroom they’d converted into a changing room.

Lily was next. Annie took a cobalt blue satin sheath off the rack. “I think this dress is going to be too big. Once you’ve got it on, come out here and I’ll pin it at the back so you can see what it looks like.”

Lily held the dress up to herself and smiled. “Mom and Auntie Janice are going to do all of the alterations. They brought their pins and measuring tape with them.”

Annie breathed a sigh of relief. She might be a good cook and receptionist, but she’d never used a sewing machine in her life. “I’m glad they know what they’re doing.”

For the next forty minutes, dresses, accessories, pins and measuring tapes zipped in and out of everyone’s hands. It was chaos with a capital C.

“Are you sure this looks okay?”

Annie looked across the room. One of Holly’s sisters turned in front of a mirror and looked at herself with critical eyes.

“You look beautiful,” Holly’s mom said. “I can’t believe we’re here today, getting all of this help.”

Tess put the dresses her two bridesmaids had chosen in a bag. “We’ve got another surprise for you.”

Holly looked up from the floor. She was on her hands and knees, pinning the hem on one of her sister’s dresses. “You’ve done so much for us already.”

“I’ll be back in two minutes.” Tess disappeared with Sally, then came back into the room holding two big white bags. “These arrived last week. Your mom said you can’t find a bridal dress. If you like either of these, you’re more than welcome to take them home.”

Holly’s mouth dropped open when Sally took the cover off one of the dresses. The satin bodice twinkled from hundreds of tiny sequins stitched into the fabric.

“The other dress is strapless, but just as pretty.” Sally lifted the cover off the second dress and smiled as the organza skirt floated to the floor. “They’re both close to your size.”

Holly’s gaze darted between the two dresses. She touched the skirt of the first dress and sighed. “They’re both beautiful, but this is my favorite.”

Holly held the dress in front of her and spun around so everyone could see what it looked like.

“You look so pretty,” her mom said.

Annie looked at the women in the room. Each of them had tears in their eyes.

Tess smiled at Holly. “Why don’t you try the dress on?”

Holly glanced at her watch. “Have I got time?”

Sally opened the changing room door. “The next bridesmaids aren’t arriving for fifteen minutes, so we’ve got time.”

“I’ll come too,” one of Holly’s sisters said.

“Wait for me,” another one cried as she pulled her socks on. “I’m not missing this for anything.”

Within a few minutes, all of Holly’s sisters had gone into the changing room. Annie could hear their excited voices, the hush when she imagined Holly had put the dress on.

Lily, one of the bridesmaids Annie had been helping, poked her head around the doorframe. “Are you ready for the big reveal?”

Holly’s mom and auntie nodded. Annie knew Holly’s favorite dress would look stunning on the petite blonde. When she stepped into the room, even Annie was amazed at how good it looked.

Holly’s mom wiped her eyes and her auntie pulled tissues out of her bag.

After a moment of stunned silence, everyone started talking at once. Annie found a seat at the side of the room and sat down. She hadn’t thought about her own wedding in a long time, but something about today brought back memories she’d sooner forget. She didn’t know whether it was the full tulle skirt, the pretty neckline or the sparkling beads that made her sad.

She’d been young when she’d gotten married, not much older than Holly. Unlike Holly, she hadn’t had any family to help make her wedding special. She’d bought her dress from the local thrift store, picked flowers from a friend’s garden, and married a man that would make her life miserable.

Sally sat down beside her. “Are you okay?” she whispered.

Annie nodded. “She looks beautiful, doesn’t she?”

“The dresses couldn’t be going to a better home,” Sally said. “I spoke with Holly’s mom on the phone the other day. She said they’d be happy to help other bridesmaids. If anyone needs alterations to their dresses, she’ll do them for free. All we need to do is give her a call and she’ll do the sewing right away.”

“That was kind of her.”

“They’re a great family. Talking of family, do you know Matthew’s got a new girlfriend?”

Annie smiled. Sally had three brothers. Nathan was already married, but Matthew and Sean were still searching for the perfect woman. In Matthew’s case, he frequently searched far and wide, changing girlfriends faster than anyone she knew.

“I know.” Sally laughed. “But this time he says it’s different.”

“He always says that.” Annie had met Matthew a couple of times. He was full of mischief, always laughing at the craziness of life. Each time he fell in love, he fell hard.

Sally turned back to Holly and frowned. “She’s so young. Do you think it will last?”

Annie watched Holly spin in a circle. She was happy, so happy that it brought tears to Annie’s eyes. “I don’t think anyone goes into a marriage thinking it won’t last. If they do, they shouldn’t get married.”

“You look sad. Is that what happened to you?”

Annie thought about her twelve-month marriage. “It was complicated. I think I was more in love with the idea of being in love. I didn’t have any family. I’d been on my own for so long that all I wanted was someone to love. I believed Paul when he said he loved me. I don’t know why he asked me to marry him.”

Sally squeezed her hand. “He married you because you’re kind and generous, and you care about people.”

“Maybe. But I think he was more interested in living with someone who would pay all of his bills.”

Sally looked shocked. “You’re joking?”

“No. He’s the most self-centered person I’ve ever known.”

Holly’s mom laughed at something Tess said and Annie looked at the bride-to-be. “I feel like the Christmas Grinch. Tell me something funny.”

Sally sat quietly, then grinned. “Do you remember Max, the Irish Wolfhound I’m trying to re-home?”

Annie nodded. “The one that looks like a miniature pony?”

“That’s the one. I took him to school yesterday. The children made him a cape and a hat.” Sally pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket. “I took some photos.”

She passed Annie her cell phone. Max was surrounded by about six children. He was wearing a blue and pink cape with a pointy red hat. Everyone, including Max, had a huge smile on their faces.

Sally flicked to a close-up shot of Max wearing his red hat. “You should have been there. I’ve got one little girl who’s terrified of dogs, but she cuddled up to Max like he was her best friend. Here she is…”

Annie looked at a photo of Max with the little girl. The girl’s face was glowing with happiness. She was totally besotted by the dog that was taller than she was. “Did Max stay all day?”

“No. Dylan picked him up and took him away for the afternoon. I don’t know where they went, but they both looked exhausted when they got back.”

Annie smiled at the next photo of Max. “Dylan’s training for a Half Ironman Triathlon. Maybe he took Max on one of the running trails around Bozeman?”

Sally’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t know you knew Dylan that well?”

“I don’t. Tess told me. Dylan hardly ever talks to me, and when he does, I can’t think of anything intelligent to say.”

“Maybe you need more practice?” The gleam in Sally’s eyes made Annie laugh.

“I stopped practicing five years ago when I left my husband. You never know, I might buy my own home and fill it with shelter animals.”

“They don’t make up for a man,” Sally whispered. “But a man who likes homeless animals is someone you don’t want to turn down.”

Annie wondered if anyone had ever turned Dylan Bayliss down. Apart from his touching issue he had a lot going for him. He was handsome, in a rough and rugged kind of way, and even though he never showed much emotion, she had a feeling there was a lot going on inside him.

But what he felt inside would only count if she was interested in him, and Annie definitely wasn’t.

***

Dylan checked his heart rate monitor, then kept pounding the trail toward the summit of Baldy Mountain.

“How long?” Logan huffed from behind him.

“One mile.” Dylan’s lips twitched at the groan he heard. “You’re out of shape.”

“I’ve been running nearly forty miles a week with you for six weeks. I’m as fit as you are.”

Dylan jumped a log that had fallen across the path, then slowed down to a jog. “It’s just as well we’re not going all the way to the top.”

The only sound he heard from Logan were his shoes, slapping against the dirt trail. He looked over his shoulder and managed a real smile this time. “You’ve been putting on weight.”

Logan grabbed hold of his waist, squeezing imaginary love handles under his t-shirt. “I’ve been eating too much of Tess and Annie’s home baking,” he moaned. “Each time I go to the café they want me to try a new recipe. I think they want to make me as round as a butterball for the wedding.”

Dylan snorted. “You’re going to have to eat a lot more if you want to rise to butterball status. How are your wedding plans going?”

“Tess has got it under control. Mom’s flying out next weekend for a run through of what we’ve planned. All we’ve got to do is choose where we’re going on our honeymoon.”

Just thinking about what a honeymoon involved made Dylan both as scared and envious as hell. There was no way he’d ever be able to go on a honeymoon or a vacation with a female unless he got his touching issue sorted out.

Logan must have been thinking the same thing. “Have you made any decisions on what we talked about the other day?”

He might have been thinking the same thing, but that didn’t mean Dylan wanted to discuss it. “No.”

“Okaaay,” Logan said. “Are you telling me to butt out of your life?”

Dylan came to a slow stop. He put his hands on his hips and took a few deep breaths. “I haven’t got much of a life to butt out of.”

“So who’s the mystery woman that’s going to help you?”

Dylan frowned. “I haven’t asked her yet.”

Logan nodded at the trail. “If you don’t keep moving I’m going to seize up, then you’ll have Tess to answer to.”

“Are you deliberately hinting at what goes on after the café closes?”

Logan started jogging. “No hinting involved. Go and see whoever you need to see. Life’s too short to hide away in a house with pink curtains.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my curtains.” He chased after Logan, dodging the rocks and tree roots scattered across the trail.

“Here’s a newsflash for you. Most men don’t have pink curtains. You’ve been living in your rental for how many months?”