Page 130 of Wingwoman
HOPE
This is hell.
Like, I’m actually, literally in hell… and it’s lined with pink taffeta.
Maggie had swung by my dad’s condo to grab my dress for me on the way to the fitting. Why the hell didn’t I take a look at this dress sooner? It washideous.
I sneezed and several pink feathers flew into the air, drifting down toward the floor like a puff of dust.
Yep, you heard that right.Feathers.
A week ago I’d been wearing couture at the gala and now I was in the cheapest gown known to man.
Half my designer wardrobe was gone… and I’d never felt better about it. Those items helped bring in five more figures than they would have without them. But the real boon was Willie Freaking Nelson.
He even performed with Josh.
A whole week had passed since the gala. Even though I hadn’t heard any of his new songs, he was hard at work. His worn, leather notebook was always tucked into his back pocket and even as we sat on the couch, watching TV at night, he would randomly pull it out and start scribbling furiously, every now and then glancing up at me with a smirk.
“Is everything okay in there, darlin’?” Viv called through the curtain of the dressing room.
“Y-yeah,” I called back. “I just, um, don’t remember your bridesmaid dress being so … floral themed.”
I literally couldn’t think of a nice way to word it.
The dress was Pepto Bismol pink. The form-fitted satin corset was lined with feathers and was so tight I could barely breathe. It tapered down to my waist, then flared out with what I could only describe as a tufted, poofy skirt.
I basically looked like an upside down cupcake.
“Well get your cute butt out here and let me see all my girls together!” Viv said.
“Yeah!” Maryanne echoed. “We need to see how they all look.”
I took a final deep breath, giving up on trying to fix myself. With a sigh, I threw open the curtain.
I was met with Vivian standing there in her jeans and leopard tank top… and my future stepsisters wearing dark navy understated dresses. They were, in a word,gorgeous.
And the complete opposite of what I was wearing.
“Gotcha!” they all shouted at once and then peeled into shrieks of laughter.
Even the sales women were in on the joke, surrounding Viv and my stepsisters and all clapping and jumping up and down with glee.
I glanced at where Maggie sat off to the side, covering her grin with her hand. Vivian had invited her to join us after the bachelorette party, although something told me that was more for my benefit than theirs.
Even still, it was really sweet of them to include Maggie so I’d have one of my friends present.
“I’m sorry,” Maggie said through her laughter. “I couldn’t convince them not to… but you should see yourself!”
Oh, I’ve seen myself.
“So… wait.” I blinked, still somewhat confused. “You’re telling me Idon’thave to look like Princess Bubblegum Barbie puked all over me at your wedding?”
Viv waved a hand. “Oh, god no, honey. You’ll be wearing this.” She held up another one of the understated navy gowns her daughter’s were wearing and shoved it into my hands. “Now go get changed. And hurry. We’ve got some bottomless mimosas to get to!”
* * *
Two hours later, we were finishing up brunch and bottomless mimosas and I hadn’t looked at my phone once. Which for me? That was saying something. I was usually tied to my phone, constantly checking for work calls and new clients.
