Page 32 of Finding Chloe

I tapped my finger on my chin. “Have you thought about a reception dress?”

Alex’s lips pursed in thought. “What’s that?”

“You know, a dress you change into after the ceremony that you wear during the reception.” I grabbed a poofy dress off a nearby rack. “Like this. It’s completely different than what you are wearing.” I put the dress back and picked up a short, sparkly dress. “Or this. It can be anything you want.”

When Alex’s eyes lit up, I knew her hesitation was just the dress, and luckily, that was an easy fix. “That’s a thing? I can change into another dress?”

“Of course. This isyourwedding. You can do your first dance in this one, then sneak out and change into the next one. It can be whatever you want.”

Alex’s smile stretched across her face, and she was practically hopping back and forth from foot to foot. “Sarah, can you grab that dress I sent you in the email?”

Sarah rushed off to grab whatever dress Alex had been dreaming about.

Another ten minutes later, Alex came out of the dressing room, and I gasped. “That is perfect.”

She gave me a little twirl, already lighter on her feet. This dress had a distinct country feel to it. The skirt flared out, in direct contrast to the figure-hugging one she just had on. “This one will be so much easier to dance in.” Alex did a quick two-step.

I clapped for her as she made her way to the mirror. With the way she sashayed from side to side and the constant smile on her lips, I knew this was her dream dress.

“Do you think we can have this fitted in time?” Alex asked Sarah.

“For you, of course. I had this set aside just in case. Chloe is right. To make you feel like you, you need a reception dress, and this one screams Alex. Pair it with some boots, and you will look fantastic,” Sarah said as she started pinning the dress to fitAlex’s size. “Only a few alterations and it will be perfect. I can have this done in a week for you.”

The Kingstons had set no budget, and I knew they wanted Alex to be happy. I checked my planner and added in another fitting on the schedule. “Is next Friday okay?”

Sarah grabbed another pin. “Absolutely. I’ll put you on the schedule. Just stop by whenever you can, and we’ll do a final fitting. In the meantime, I’ll have the ceremony dress cleaned and steamed.”

“Perfect,” I said. “Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you so much, Sarah. You’re a lifesaver!” Alex giggled and did another spin in the mirror while Sarah got up and marked us on her calendar.

We left the dress shop and headed to our next stop, the flower shop. On our way out the door, the owner asked for us to stop by when we could to discuss the final flower arrangements. She had to custom order out-of-season blooms, and she needed the final approval before she placed the order.

The tiny bell jangled as we entered the tiny shop. Sweet flowers perfumed the air, and I took an extra-deep breath. The combined scents reminded me of summer.

Mrs. Meadows had ownedWildflowers Flower Shopsince before I was born. Her trademark was putting Texas wildflowers in the bouquets. She had a huge field in which she planted a lot of her own flowers and used what she had during the various seasons.

For the Kingston arrangements, we wanted classic red roses, but also to incorporate bluebonnets and some baby’s breath. Give the subtle nod to the red, white, and blue for Texas. We had other wildflowers for decorative table and aisle arrangements, but we needed a decision on boutonnieres.

Since we’d discussed it on the way here, Alex had a firm idea of what she wanted. She skimmed over the pictures and gave herapproval. It was an easy visit, and I already knew the flowers were going to be lovely addition to the reception. Just the right pop of color.

“Would you like to grab some lunch, or do you need to get back to the office?” I asked Alex, checking the time.

She glanced at her cell and frowned. “I need to get back. Are you okay with finishing up in town?”

I’d taken her away from a slow morning at the veterinarian clinic she owned. It was hard for her to get away during the day.

“Of course. That’s my job,” I laughed. “Go to work, and I’ll get back to mine.”

Alex engulfed me in her arms and squeezed me. “Thank you so much for helping, Chloe. I don’t know what I would have done without your dress save, the fact that you’re so organized, and have such amazing ideas. It’s made things much less scary. I’m glad I have you.”

My chest tightened, and the back of my eyes burned. This was exactly why I wanted to do this. To plan important events for people. It felt amazing to help someone make their dream a reality.

“Okay. Go to work before you make me cry.” I pulled away and sniffled.

Her eyes were watery too. “I’ll see you at the ranch. We have a meeting set for tomorrow night, right?”

I nodded as Alex slipped into her car. I watched as she drove away and headed toward her clinic. I had a few things left on my to-do list I could finish while I was in town. Since it was just me, now was the perfect time to visit Lacey. It helped that her mom owned a bed and breakfast, and I needed to speak with her at some point about rooms for wedding guests. Two birds, one stone and all that. I could spend time having lunch with my friend and check off part of my list.

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