Page 24 of Everything I Desire

“Please. Adelaide Harper, you have been comparing every man since then to Porter. You still remember everything about him, and you want him. I can see it on your face whenever you see him. The love is still there. Wasn’t it you who not just a year ago toldme that I had to get out of my own way?” Scarlett points out.

“Ugh. I hate when you’re right.” I give her a weak smile and go back to sorting through the dresses on the racks.

“Oh. My. God. This is it!” Kayla screams holding up an emerald green dress. The satin gives it a simple shine. It has a plunging neckline, and a slight flow from the hips with off the shoulder straps.

I groan inwardly at the thought of Porter complaining about her shoulders and the low neckline.

Scarlett leans over, “Don’t worry, mom can definitely fix that neckline,” she winks.

“Thanks,” I say, happy she knew my worry.

“It looks amazing, let’s go try it on!” I take Kayla’s dream dress and her hand, pulling her toward the dressing room.

“I’ll be right out here, let me know if you need help.” I pat her hand and close the curtain behind me.

A few minutes pass before she pokes her head out of the curtain, with a radiant smile on her face. “Can you help me zip this, Addy?”

I sneak in, and I gasp. “Oh my gosh, Kayla! You look stunning!” I zip up the back of the dress, and it’s a little loose on her thin frame. Nothing mom can’t fix up. “This dress was definitely made for you!”

“I know it’s too low, and Uncle Porter won’t let that slide, but do you think you could fix it so it’s not so low?” She pulls the edgesof the neckline together, trying to make it reasonable for a sixteen year old with a larger than average bust. I’m sure that makes finding appropriate dresses next to impossible.

“Of course, my mom is an excellent seamstress. I think it’s loose enough that we should have enough fabric. But we can always facetime her from here before we buy it,” I say.

I put my hands on her shoulders and look over her shoulder at her face in the mirror. This is the happiest I’ve ever seen her.

She turns abruptly with unshed tears in her eyes, “Thank you so much, Addy. No one has ever made me feel so special.” She hugs me tight.

“Oh, sweet girl.” I hug her back, tears springing to my eyes.

“Hey, what’s the hold up!” Lacey asks, impatient to see the dress. She pokes her head in the changing room, “Scarlett! Quick, they’re hugging without us!”

Lacey and Scarlett come in and wrap their arms around us, making Kayla laugh. I hope she feels all the love we have for her.

“Okay, okay, enough sappiness. Come on, let’s go see this dress on the stand,” Scarlett says, pulling open the curtain.

We walk over to the room of mirrors with a stand in the middle for Kayla to get on.

We all gasp over how gorgeous she looks standing there with the fabric flowing down her slenderbody. Add in the makeup and the hair and she’ll easily be the most beautiful girl there.

I snap a photo on my phone, “Do you mind if I send this to Porter?” I ask.

“Oh no! Let it be a surprise! Plus, he’ll complain about the neckline.” Kayla answers. “I don’t want anything to ruin this dress for me. Can we FaceTime Ms. Lorelei?”

“Already on it!” Scarlett says, the familiar tone coming from her phone.

I shoot a text off to Porter without the picture.

Me: First dress, and we already found the one!

Porter: Send a pic.

I tell Lacey that Porter wants a picture, and that I want to find the ugliest dress possible to send him so she can keep her dress a surprise.

“Oh! What about this one?” Lacey holds up a hot pink, puffy sleeved, lace and bead covered dress.

“Oh that’s perfect. Hold it up higher!” I tell her.

I open my camera app and take a photo of this dress before adding it to a message to Porter.

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