Page 17 of Take Me to the Wedding

She shrugged. “Mia tells me.”

“Mia usually tellsme.” Also, she wanted to fix me up with a desperate man? She was definitely going to hear about this.

“Well, I think she didn’t want you to judge him. I mean, he really is a nice guy. I probably just said too much, didn’t I?”

“I’m personally grateful that you did.”

“Well, I’m not a matchmaker, but I do know that you should never say never. When you least expect it—wham.” She clapped her hands together. “That’s when it hits.”

“I really don’t want anything to hit.”

She flicked her gaze up at me. “Why, Sam, how do you know?” I was taken aback. Before I could think about it, she said, “I have another confession. Something I haven’t told Mia. But you have to promise not to tell her.”

My imagination whirled—and not in a good way. More matchmaking shenanigans? “What is it?” I asked carefully.

“I don’t have a dress for Ani’s wedding. Everything I have is from before the cancer. You’re such a stylish dresser. Maybe you’d help me look online later?”

“Of course. But why don’t you want to tell Mia?”

“Oh, Mia’s always trying to get me to dress outside my comfort zone, be more fashionable, that kind of thing. She keeps saying that I should spend more money on myself. But for me the thrill is in the hunt. The bargain hunt, that is.”

A woman after my own heart. “We can fix this,” I said. Caleb planned to meet Lilly this afternoon, so maybe Mrs. D. could sneak away for a while? “Isn’t there a cute dress shop downtown?”

“I haven’t gone in. I’m afraid I’ll be pressured to buy if I’m by myself. You know how some of those places are.”

I reached over and patted her hand. “When would you want to go?”

She glanced at the kitchen clock. “How about right after lunch?”

“You got it.” If it got me away from discussing my love life—and from Caleb—that would be fine with me.

ChapterSix

Samantha

The downtown dress shop,Ms. Jessica’s, as the over-the-door sign in scrolly font announced, was high-end, judging by the designer names and the price tags I secretly checked as we browsed. I got the feeling that Mrs. D. was not going to go for this level of luxury. The hovering salesperson, Ms. Jessica herself, wasn’t helping her feel any more comfortable. She was a stunning-looking woman with dark hair and a lot of makeup who could have been forty-six or sixty-four, I couldn’t say.

“This is simply stunning and elegant.” She held up a navy-blue one-shouldered dress with a cute tulle ruffle going across the top of the bodice and then trailing down the front.

“Oh, that’s really pretty,” Mrs. D. said. As Ms. Jessica went back to the racks to look for more, Mrs. D. rummaged for the tags. She took one look at the price and blanched. “It’s eight hundred dollars,” she said in a horrified whisper. “This was a mistake.” She looked a little panicked.

“We can leave,” I said. “Or maybe just try it on for fun? It will give us an idea of what looks good.”

When I told Caleb that I was going shopping with his mother, he’d actually smiled. And I must admit, it was quite an experience being on the receiving end of that head-on smile. It was spontaneous and open, his teeth white and straight but with just enough imperfection to look boyishly attractive. “She never spends money on herself,” he said. And then he insisted on handing me his credit card.

“Are you sure you want to give me this?” I asked. “If you see a charge for a Caribbean vacation, it totally wasn’t me.”

“Ha ha,” he said. “Sneak pay for the dress, okay? Have her get a really nice one.”

“Can I get a really nice one too?” I looked up at him with feigned innocence. “If you see a duplicate charge, that was purely accidental. Also, I have no idea how I’m supposed to sneak pay for something. Maybe I can sneak pay my credit card balance, what do you think?”

He made a strange face.

I squinted and examined him closely. “Did you almost laugh or is that your constipated face?” I asked.

He didn’t answer, just shook his head and walked away. I didn’t know if I could pull one over on Mrs. D., but I did like that Caleb wanted her to have something that she didn’t feel comfortable buying for herself.

And also, I was definitely buying us ice cream on his tab.

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