Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Oh my.” That’s all I say, looking at the top that goes into a V, but it’s covered in embroidered flowers all the way up to the shoulders, where they hold it delicately. “I think this might be the one.”
“I think it was made for you.” She smiles. “Now, if you are ready, I’ll open the curtain.” I nod, smiling. She walks over to the end of the curtain, and I hear chattering from the other side as I turn around to face them. The silk curtain moves away to see me facing everyone.
Their mouths all stop at the same time as they take me in. “Holy,” Sofia gasps, sitting on the side right next to Zoey, whose eyes are as big as saucers.
I take a minute to look at each woman’s reaction as they see me for the first time. By the time I get to my mother’s, she is wiping a tear away from the corner of her eye. At the same time, the butterflies start in my stomach. “That’s the one.”
2
ZARA
I put my hands to my mouth, feeling the excitement run through me. “Oh my gosh, is this really it?” I ask the room as I turn to the side so they can see the swoosh of the dress. “How can you find the dress on the first try?”
“I did.” Zoey holds up her glass, and I shake my head.
“You chose that dress to make him eat his heart out and for him to check out your ass,” I remind her of what she said.
“And he married me in it,” Zoey states proudly, holding up her hand with her rings.
“I didn’t care what I wore,” Gabriella says from the side, her camera beside her. “I would have worn jeans and a T-shirt.” As if she didn’t get married to one of Hollywood’s top leading guys in front of and behind the camera.
“I would have gotten married in a bikini on the beach a la Pamela Anderson,” Ryleigh adds, and we all laugh. “I mean, I would have pretended I didn’t want it, but we all know I would have wanted it.”
“We know,” everyone says at the same time. My cousin Stone took one look at Ryleigh and fell head over heels in love with her. Ryleigh, on the other hand, needed some convincing, especially since she was on track to become a district attorney in Chicago. Now, she lives in Nashville and is in family law, where she is thriving.
“I think this is the one,” I confirm, looking at Bianca.
“Should we put a veil on to get the full effect?” she asks, and I swear I squeal just like my cousins did not too long ago.
Zoey gets up and brings me my champagne glass, and I down the whole thing in one go before handing it back to her. When Bianca comes back, she looks at me. “I chose something that doesn’t have a lot on it since the dress has so much,” she says, pinning my strawberry-blond, almost-ginger hair at the nape of my neck before sticking the veil at the base of my hair, completing the look. I can’t help but put my hand to my mouth to hide the smile under it. My green-gray eyes shine as I take myself in.
“It’s so much more than I thought it would be,” I murmur, turning right to left to see the way it carries. It’s so pretty. The way the lights hit some of the flowers makes them glisten, and I can picture myself walking down the aisle in this dress. “It’s stunning.” I feel the tightness of my chest as the sting of tears comes to my eyes. “It’s beautiful.”
“That has to be the fastest shopping you’ve ever done,” my Aunt Zara says. “Usually, you are on the fence for weeks.”
“I know,” I answer her. If anyone knows how picky I am, it’s her since she dresses us all for events. She has the hottest personal shoppers on the planet on her payroll, who dress all the stars all around the world.
“Between us, it was Koda who sent us this dress last week,” she admits, and my eyes go to Koda, who is married to my cousin Christopher and now works for my aunt. She high-fives Zara and takes a sip of her drink. “She saw it on the runway and immediately started calling everyone.”
“Koda.” I say her name louder than I should, and she looks at me. “You chose this dress for me?” She shrugs. She’s gone through the ringer in the past couple of years. She lost her husband, who was Christopher’s best friend. They started as friends when Christopher began pitching in with her and the girls, and it worked its way to more. She just gave birth to their first child a couple of months ago. “She deserves a raise.” I point at my aunt, who nods.