horror. “Are you insane? He can’t see it before the wedding. It’s bad luck.”
Fate rolled her eyes. “It’s the bride, Mel. He can’t see the bride before the wedding. Of course he can see the dress. Hold it up.”
Ignoring her friend’s disapproving glare, Fate snapped a quick picture and messaged it to Trevor. Her phone buzzed with his reply almost immediately.
Nice. Is that Melissa with you?
She texted back yes and that she was trying the dress on and would call him when she was done.
Fate slipped on the new dress with Melissa and Chantal’s help. It was a little too long, but it fit her body as if it had been made specifically for her. She glanced at the price tag after seeing it in the mirror.
“Oh. Wow. No.” The number had an extra zero at the end.
“It’s Vera Wang,” Chantal informed her. “Part of our exclusive collection.”
“Yeah. No, I can’t afford this.” Fate flushed with embarrassment, wishing she hadn’t put the dress on before checking how much it cost.
“Trevor would pay for whatever dress you wanted if you asked him to.”
Fate shook her head. “I know he would. But he’s already marrying me and my mountain of student loan debt. And his parents are paying the majority of the wedding expenses. I can buy my own dress.”
Melissa gave her a sympathetic head tilt before turning to Chantal. “Do you have something similar by a less exclusive designer?”
The girl nodded. “It won’t be similar as far as quality and craftsmanship go, as in the beading won’t be hand-stitched or anything. But we have this style in several other lines.”
“Grab a few of them, would you? Size four.”
“Um, or a six please.” Fate was grateful that Melissa was handling this humiliating moment, but she also wanted to be able to breathe on her wedding day. “Let’s just get this off before I damage it or something. It costs more than my car.”
Mentioning her car made her a little sad. Betty, her four-door Toyota Corolla, was being sold before the move to New York. Trevor said that no one drove there and the company was going to provide a car service should she need one. Betty wasn’t a luxury vehicle or anything, but she was Fate’s and she’d worked hard waitressing through college to pay for her.
Once they’d carefully removed the dress, Melissa stepped away to answer her phone. The obnoxious device had been ringing incessantly, as her friend’s phone tended to do. Melissa was a year older than her and worked for one of the most sought after even planners in the state of Texas, for which Fate was grateful. Her friend had handled the wedding details with such care and attention to detail as if it were her own.
Chantal brought three other dresses over to them, all with a similar style but less elegant than the first had been.
“This one is Maggie Sottero,” Chantal said, handing over the first dress. “Zayn.”
“It has a name,” Fate whispered to Melissa when she returned from her phone call. “A cool one.”
“Let’s give it a whirl.”
This time, Fate checked the price before putting it on over her nude, strapless bra and matching panties. It wasn’t cheap by any means, but at least it had the correct number of decimal places.
Once she’d returned to the pedestal, she immediately knew this was the right dress. While the Vera Wang one had been unquestionably beautiful, it had felt too fancy for her. The same way Trevor sometimes felt too fancy for her, with his family’s huge dinner parties and formal flatware. His mother had spent hours debating cake designers and the perfect champagne for the wedding toast. Fate was a simple girl who’d been raised by a woman with complex issues. She preferred to keep things as uncomplicated as possible. Part of her always wondered why Trevor had picked someone like her. He was the guy every girl wanted, wealthy, popular, the life of every party. His tastes were refined and specific.
She breathed a sigh of
Fate rolled her eyes. “It’s the bride, Mel. He can’t see the bride before the wedding. Of course he can see the dress. Hold it up.”
Ignoring her friend’s disapproving glare, Fate snapped a quick picture and messaged it to Trevor. Her phone buzzed with his reply almost immediately.
Nice. Is that Melissa with you?
She texted back yes and that she was trying the dress on and would call him when she was done.
Fate slipped on the new dress with Melissa and Chantal’s help. It was a little too long, but it fit her body as if it had been made specifically for her. She glanced at the price tag after seeing it in the mirror.
“Oh. Wow. No.” The number had an extra zero at the end.
“It’s Vera Wang,” Chantal informed her. “Part of our exclusive collection.”
“Yeah. No, I can’t afford this.” Fate flushed with embarrassment, wishing she hadn’t put the dress on before checking how much it cost.
“Trevor would pay for whatever dress you wanted if you asked him to.”
Fate shook her head. “I know he would. But he’s already marrying me and my mountain of student loan debt. And his parents are paying the majority of the wedding expenses. I can buy my own dress.”
Melissa gave her a sympathetic head tilt before turning to Chantal. “Do you have something similar by a less exclusive designer?”
The girl nodded. “It won’t be similar as far as quality and craftsmanship go, as in the beading won’t be hand-stitched or anything. But we have this style in several other lines.”
“Grab a few of them, would you? Size four.”
“Um, or a six please.” Fate was grateful that Melissa was handling this humiliating moment, but she also wanted to be able to breathe on her wedding day. “Let’s just get this off before I damage it or something. It costs more than my car.”
Mentioning her car made her a little sad. Betty, her four-door Toyota Corolla, was being sold before the move to New York. Trevor said that no one drove there and the company was going to provide a car service should she need one. Betty wasn’t a luxury vehicle or anything, but she was Fate’s and she’d worked hard waitressing through college to pay for her.
Once they’d carefully removed the dress, Melissa stepped away to answer her phone. The obnoxious device had been ringing incessantly, as her friend’s phone tended to do. Melissa was a year older than her and worked for one of the most sought after even planners in the state of Texas, for which Fate was grateful. Her friend had handled the wedding details with such care and attention to detail as if it were her own.
Chantal brought three other dresses over to them, all with a similar style but less elegant than the first had been.
“This one is Maggie Sottero,” Chantal said, handing over the first dress. “Zayn.”
“It has a name,” Fate whispered to Melissa when she returned from her phone call. “A cool one.”
“Let’s give it a whirl.”
This time, Fate checked the price before putting it on over her nude, strapless bra and matching panties. It wasn’t cheap by any means, but at least it had the correct number of decimal places.
Once she’d returned to the pedestal, she immediately knew this was the right dress. While the Vera Wang one had been unquestionably beautiful, it had felt too fancy for her. The same way Trevor sometimes felt too fancy for her, with his family’s huge dinner parties and formal flatware. His mother had spent hours debating cake designers and the perfect champagne for the wedding toast. Fate was a simple girl who’d been raised by a woman with complex issues. She preferred to keep things as uncomplicated as possible. Part of her always wondered why Trevor had picked someone like her. He was the guy every girl wanted, wealthy, popular, the life of every party. His tastes were refined and specific.
She breathed a sigh of
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