Page 7 of All Dressed Up

Bethany’s eyebrow lifted way up. “At all?”

“Why would I?”

“No reason.”

Rachel smoothed her pink and white gingham sundress and began to tidy her work station. Sure. There weren’t many secrets that she kept from Bethany, but she wasn’t about to admit that her day started out with a cup of coffee, gazing over in the direction of the Belle Bridal Boutique in hopes of a glimpse of Will, and pretty much ended the same way.

“I’m excited for some wine,” Bethany said, patting her oversized brown leather purse. “I picked up a nice red during lunch. It’ll go well with our pizza.”

Rachel smiled over at her friend. Bethany always knew when to drop a subject. It was one of the things she was never good at. “I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like there are battle lines drawn between here and the Belle Bridal Boutique. It just ended between Will and me.”

“Because you wanted it to.”

“Yes.” She nodded and grabbed her counter cleaner, giving it a spritz and then setting it down. “Okay, fine. Maybe I didn’t want it to end.” Wow. She hadn’t admitted that to anyone, not even her twin brother.

“I knew it!” Bethany crossed her arms. “You have seen him. Are you sleeping together again?”

“No, I haven’t, and we’re definitely not having sex.” Both true. She hadn’t been with Will in months. “He doesn’t even know that I have feelings for him.”

“Why not?”

Rachel heaved a sigh. “Because there’s no end game. That’s why. I’m not his soul mate. The antique trunk confirmed it.”

Bethany gave her a blank stare.

“You know, Mary Reed’s old chest at the Lakeside Inn.”

Nothing on her friend’s face indicated she had a clue as to what Rachel was talking about. “Oh c’mon, you were there. You made me open it.”

Bethany scrunched her face. “There wasn’t anything in it for you but that card.”

“Exactly. No wedding dress.” And that to Rachel was a big, bright, neon sign pointing out her future. She thought back to that cold, winter day. Zoe and she had barged into the Christmas Corner ready to settle who was—or wasn’t—Will’s soul mate.

Zoe had been rattled when Adam had attempted the Batter Up spell on her and Will’s first name, Marvin, appeared in her batter. She’d been determined to prove that the full-of-himself auto mechanic and volunteer fireman was not her soul mate.

Back then, Rachel hadn’t been pleased to learn that the name of the guy she was having hot sex with nightly showed up in Zoe’s batter, but she wasn’t about to admit it. She was starting to feel something for Will, but he never once indicated that what they were doing was anything more than them both scratching an itch.

Bethany had been the one to suggest that they take a trip to the Lakeside Inn and open Mary’s antique trunk to settle things once and for all. Mary was a witch whose spirit had haunted the Majestic Theater for decades before finally crossing over last year.

Crossed over or not, she seemed to have found portals to play matchmaker among the living, and her antique trunk was one such way.

The magical chest had produced wedding dresses for Emma and Bethany. There was speculation among their circle of friends that the trunk was confirming impending weddings for bachelorettes.

As far as Rachel was concerned, it was true. Both were now engaged to the men they loved.

Bethany had had the idea back then that if Rachel and Zoe each opened the trunk, maybe they’d have their answer to who was meant for Will.

While Zoe stood in the doorway, probably praying that Will wasn’t her soul mate, Rachel had bent down and placed her hand on the handle, pretending that the last thing she wanted to pull out of the trunk was a wedding dress.

Of course, she’d wanted to see a wedding dress. She just wasn’t ready to share the news publicly about whom she’d like to meet at the altar wearing said dress—or to admit it to Will for that matter.

Every female in Buttermilk Falls would be on her side on that one. Will was Will. The self-proclaimed bachelor seemed only capable of having a good time. She feared her heart would break if she put it all on the line and he rebuffed her.

She never had to face that fear because when she lifted the trunk, there was nothing inside except a cream-colored card with some cryptic note from Mary instructing Rachel to open a wedding shop, whatever that meant.

“You mean to tell me you broke it off with Will because you didn’t find a wedding dress in the trunk?”

Bethany’s question snapped Rachel back to the present. “I didn’t find a wedding dress ergo I’mnotgetting married.” She couldn’t help but gaze over in the direction of the boutique. The store lights were off. She’d missed seeing Will leave once again.

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