Page 17 of Connected By Stars
Emma looks in the mirror and starts to cry. My mom walks over to her and brushes her hair back. She whispers something in her ear and hugs her. Emma nods and smiles through her tears. Placing the matching veil on her head, my mom smoothes it out over her hair and beams at her.
Emma looks at us and smiles. “I guess I found my dress.” She laughs. We all jump up to hug her and become a sobbing mess.
“Noah will pass out when he sees you in this dress. You are such a vision, Emma,” Mimi says, hugging her.
“Thanks, Mimi.” Wiping her tears away, Emma looks at us. “Okay, now it’s my turn to sit back and relax while my girls try on dresses. Let me get out of this dress. Have my champagne ready for me when I get out,” she laughs over her shoulder as she walks back to the dressing room.
“We’re on it,” Skye says, wiping her eyes.
We pick out about five dresses each to try on. Emma wants to go with black dresses, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s something we can all wear out again to a fancy dinner.
My mom helps Luna pick out a couple of styles she will like for her junior bridesmaid dress as we take our selections to the dressing room. Emma’s uncle and grandparents are flying in for the wedding with a few of her cousins, and Evie, her uncle’s three-year-old granddaughter, is the flower girl. They picked out her adorable white dress online and have already sent Emma pictures of how cute it is on her.
The first one we try on is a simple strap dress that goes to the floor. All three of us look in the mirror, and everyone agrees it’s too plain and needs a little something extra. The second and third don’t go much better. I slip the fourth on and smile. It’s similar to Emma’s with the thin straps and deep V down the front with the open back. It has a long slit up the side, showing off one leg. It’s elegant, and I feel super sexy. Maverick enters my mind at the thought of him seeing me for the first time in this.
We step out together, and all of us have grins on our faces. Loving that they feel the same, we turn to Emma, and she’s beaming. “I hope you all love this one as much as I do. You all look gorgeous.” She wipes her eyes again and laughs.
I turn to look at Sophia and Skye, and we can’t stop grinning. “I’m never taking this dress off,” Sophia whispers. “I feel like an elegant but sexy panther on the prowl.”
Skye and I laugh. “I agree. I can’t wait to see Cole’s face when he sees me in this.
“Do you like it, Bella?” Emma asks me softly.
“I love it.” I grin at Emma. “It’s just what I imagined.”
“Yay! Now, let’s get Luna’s picked out. Sage, have you found anything you like yet? They have a lot of dresses here that the mother of the groom could wear.” A sad look passesacross her face before she blinks back the tears and smiles at my mom.
“I would love to try on dresses for you, Emma.” She squeezes her hand and smiles. I know this has to be hard for Emma without her mom here. I swallow the lump in my throat. I can’t imagine shopping for wedding dresses without my mom.
“Mimi and Maya, you better join in on the fun. Dresses for everyone today!” I cheer and make Emma laugh. Emma may not have her mom physically in the room with her, but I hope she’s feeling all the love surrounding her today from us and her mom. If we can ease her heartache just a little bit, we will.
“I shouldn’t have eatenthat last sushi,” I groan. “I’ve got a bridesmaid dress to fit into, and I feel like I just ate the whole ocean.”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Emma laughs. “Just do extra yoga this week, and you’ll be fine.”
“Sushi is so addicting. I’m with Bella. I can down some sushi like no other.” Sophia takes a sip of her martini.
After dress shopping, we went to our favorite sushi place to celebrate everyone finding a dress they love.
“I think this calls for a cheer. We not only found dresses today but shoes and accessories.” We all hold up our glasses, “to a successful shopping day!” I cheer. Clinking glasses, we take a sip and grin.
“Tomorrow’s a big day, girls. Are you ready to head out?” Sage asks us.
“Are you, Mimi, and Maya sure you don’t want to come to the bachelorette party?” Emma asks them.
“We’re sure honey. I know Luna’s too young, and we’re tooold. You need to be with people your own age for this one.” My mom pats Emma’s hand.
“Plus, my son helped plan it, and there’s no telling how crazy it will get.” Maya starts laughing, and Emma groans.
“Good thing I was helping him and keeping him in line. Did you know you can actually rent tigers?” Skye asks, looking around the table.
“Oh my God,” Emma says wide-eyed. “Please don’t tell me there will be any form of wild animals tomorrow night.”
“I shut that one down right away. Don’t worry.” Skye puts her arm around Emma and squeezes her.
“It’s going to be fine. You heard Maverick last night. He said he would respect your wishes. He loves you and Noah and wouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t like.” I take the last sip and finish my martini.
“You’re right. It’s going to be fun.”
