Page 54 of All Dressed Up

“For?” Will asked.

“You said you made a mistake.”

“Yeah, I did.” He paused for a beat before saying, “I meant I pulled out the wrong dress. This one is still available.” He chuckled. “I suspect not for long.”

Pauline’s face lit up the room. “Can I really have it?” she asked the question with more hope than he was used to from the matter-of-fact mortician.

He smiled. “It’s all yours.”

“Oh, Will. Thank you so much.” She swished the train. “My mother is going to kill me.” Her lips curved up. “I can’t wait.”

“And I’ll make sure your flowers are beautifully gothic,” Rachel said. “I’m thinking a bridal bouquet of white and black roses would be gorgeous. I can start working on a sample one this week.”

Pauline and Rachel continued to make plans. They finished up with Will, scheduling some time for Pauline to come back for alterations in a few days. He suspected that, given where the dress came from, it was made-to-order for Pauline, but he went along with it.

Once alone with Rachel, he let out a heavy sigh of relief, falling back on the pink suede sofa.

“That was something.” She flopped down next to him.

Yeah, it was. He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. “I can’t believe she pulled out the dress she wanted. Do you think Mary had something to do with it?”

“Of course, she did.” Rachel draped the dress over her arm. “We didn’t put it in there.”

“No.” He shook his head. “I mean... it’s just weird that the dresses appearing aren’t the originals.”

Rachel lifted the train off the floor. “Who knows? I’m just happy that Mary came through.” She chuckled. “Although, I wonder how Pauline’s mother is going to feel?”

“Well, I’ve never seen Pauline so happy, and I’m sure Evan will love it.” He tapped her knee. “Isn’t that all that matters?”

“Hmmm...” She shot up.

What did he say? He stood, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” She hung up the dress next to Emma’s. “I’ve never seen this romantic side to you.”

Yeah, that was true. Romance wasn’t something he was particularly good at. He’d never been that guy. His gaze met Rachel’s. But he wanted to be. “There are a lot of sides you haven’t seen.”

She blinked and turned to fiddle with the dresses on the rack.

Dang.He didn’t mean to make things awkward. Not after the amazing thing that just happened. “Hey, do you want to celebrate?” He paused. “After we close up.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Maybe grab a bite at the Buttermilk Tavern.” When she didn’t accept immediately, he added, “We could invite Donovan and Zoe.”

“I can’t.” She brought her locks over to the side, looping her hair around her finger.

Nice going.Man, he’d assumed incorrectly once again that she’d want to spend time with him. “I understand. It’s last minute. You’re probably busy.”

“Actually, I’m making a special dinner tonight. Why don’t you come over?”

She wanted to cook dinner for him? He didn’t have to think twice before accepting that invitation. There was nothing more he’d like than to spend the evening in her home. “Sure. What time?”

“Seven o’clock.”

“I’ll be there. Can I bring anything?”

“Just yourself. It’ll be fun.” She motioned behind her. “I should get downstairs. I’ll see you later.”

“See you.”

He whistled as he fiddled with Pauline’s dress on the hanger. Things were finally looking up.

---