Chapter 12

12

SUTTON

I couldn’t believe I was going wedding dress shopping. Fiona insisted on picking me up for the big event. Daphne was already in the back seat with her daughter, Izzy, who wore headphones and was watching something on a tablet. Cole was watching Colson.

I climbed into the front passenger seat while Fiona rattled off her plans for the day. “I have the whole day booked. First up, is dresses. Then we’ll do lunch and finally, a spa afternoon.”

My stomach sunk. “Oh, you didn’t have to go to all that trouble. This isn’t real after all.”

Fiona waved a hand in my direction. “Nonsense. It’ll be fun.”

Daphne touched my shoulder from the back seat. “Wes insisted we spoil you.”

I shifted in the front seat so I could see her face. “He did?”

“Oh, yeah. This was all his idea. He said you’ve been working so hard on the wedding and your job; he wanted to do something nice for you. ”

My heart squeezed at the idea of Wes wanting to treat me. “I arrange tours for the house, but that’s about it.”

Fiona’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about? You have a big following online for your posts about the estate’s history.”

“You looked at that?”

“I was curious about this estate you wanted enough to marry my pain-in-the-ass brother,” Daphne said, and Fiona snorted.

“The space where you’re holding the wedding looks amazing,” Daphne said.

I’d filmed that room, mentioning that I was planning to get married in the space, and in the comments my followers asked about this mystery guy I was dating. I’d never included Wes in any of the videos before because it was mainly about the estate, the grounds, and the history. I rarely talked about my life. Probably because nothing was ever going on.

“They want to meet Wes, and he’d hate it. He doesn’t like social media.” But the response to my wedding had been so great; it would have been nice to keep filming the wedding preparations.

“What are you going to tell your followers?” Daphne asked.

Neither one of them seemed upset that I’d mentioned the wedding on social media, so I took that as a good sign. “I’ll tell them he’s camera shy.”

Daphne snorted. “I guess you could say that. I just think it would be sweet to see you on camera talking about your wedding.”

I turned slightly so I could give her a look. “You know it’s not real right?”

Daphne grinned. “Oh, I know. ”

“It wouldn’t make sense to talk about our relationship when we’re only going to break up. But I plan to hold more weddings in that space, so it’s good publicity for that.”

“I think you’ll get more interest if you include your groom,” Fiona added.

“You’re probably right.” But it wasn’t right. Not when we weren’t getting married for the long term. This was temporary, and I needed to remember that.

Thankfully, we pulled up to our first appointment for the day. When we got out, Daphne linked arms with mine. “We booked the place for the morning, so we can drink mimosas and enjoy the experience.”

“Aren’t you tired of wedding preparations after both of you got married recently?” I asked them as Fiona opened the door for us.

“Handling this for someone else is so much better,” Daphne said as we entered the shop.

“There’s no stress. It’s pure fun,” Fiona added.

Ryder sat on the edge of a long white leather couch in the center of the room. I think there was sweat on his forehead.

Faith was holding the skirt of a dress hanging on a nearby rack. A three-sixty mirror was set up on a raised platform just in front of the wall of windows where anyone could watch as they walked by.

“Oh, good. You’re here.” Ryder stood and crossed the room.

“You look good in a room of white wedding dresses,” Fiona quipped, but Ryder looked slightly pale.

“You’ve got Faith?” Ryder glanced over his shoulder where Izzy stood next to her with her headphones around her neck, chatting animatedly about something, probably the show she’d just watched .

“We’re excited to spend the day with her. We’re so happy you’re home for a bit,” Fiona said fondly.

Ryder sighed. “I need to find a place to live. Then I’ll need to pack and move.”

“Are Stacy and Faith coming too?” Daphne asked tentatively, and my stomach rolled at the tension that settled on his face.

Ryder winced. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”

“Well, we’re happy to have our brother living closer to home. I’m sure you’ll work things out with Stacy,” Daphne said.

Ryder moved toward the door with a wave. “Enjoy your day, ladies. Take care of my daughter, and please don’t corrupt her.”

“Humph. That’s what fun aunts are supposed to do,” Fiona called after him.

Even though he’d been living in Virginia, the siblings still seemed close.

A woman associated with the shop walked out carrying a tray of mimosas. “Morning, ladies. My name is Amy. I’ll be assisting you today. I have mimosas for the adults and orange juice for the girls.”

“Where should we start?” I asked after we’d grabbed our drinks and taken a sip. I wanted to have my wits about me. Dress shopping was serious business.

My gaze passed over the rows of white dresses and the few that were displayed more prominently. I hadn’t thought much about a wedding, but now that I was here and the bride-to-be, I was excited about the prospect. It would be a fun day of dress-up. The ultimate pretend game.

“First of all, congratulations on your engagement. I always say picking the dress sets the tone for the entire ceremony. ”

She might have been talking about the wedding itself, but I had a moment where I felt hot then cold. Does the dress set the tone for the wedding?

Amy wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Why don’t you tell me what you like, and we’ll go from there.”