Page 3 of Fear of Love
Mila and I sat there talking for another few minutes before Tasha came back out, followed by Josie in another gown. Filling my champagne glass up again, I settled in for what would be a long morning.
For the next half hour, Josie went back and forth trying on dresses, each one beautiful but notthe one.I could tell Jo was getting frustrated, but we all kept reminding her that she wouldn’t find her dream dress in one try. If she didn’t find any here, there were plenty of other bridal stores we could go to.
When Josie went back to try on a different dress, my phone buzzed in my purse. I told my employees I was taking the morning off, but as I fished it out and saw my editor’s name, I knew it must be important.
Cursing under my breath, I excused myself and rose from the couch.
“Hello?” I brought my phone to my ear and answered, moving off to the corner where no one could hear me.
“Sorry, Lydia. I know you took the morning off,”my editor, Susie, immediately apologized.
“It’s okay. What’s up?” I glanced over to make sure Josie hadn’t come back out yet.
“So, you know how Zoe was supposed to go interview that little mom-and-pop flower store?”Susie asked hesitantly.
“Yeah?” I had a feeling I already knew what she was going to say.
“They are now having second thoughts about it.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose as I closed my eyes. Interviewing the shop was a last minute addition to the magazine, and we needed the article, or we’d have an empty page. This month’s issue needed to be done and fully edited by the end of next week, so there was no time for any mishaps.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time someone we were scheduled to interview wanted to back out, but it was still annoying when it happened. My mind was going a million miles a minute trying to come up with an idea to fix it.
“Okay,” I paced a few steps, “hold off on final edits for today. Tell Zoe to meet me at the flower shop later this afternoon so we can talk to them,” I rattled off. Maybe if I showed up and explained everything again, they’d be more keen to do it. It’s worked before.
“Sounds good. I’ll let her know,”Susie said.
With a quick goodbye, I tried not to groan. I swear something always happened right before our publishing date.
Turning back around in time to find Josie stepping back onto the platform in a new dress, she caught my eye in the mirror and raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, all good. Nothing I can’t handle.” I waved her off. Today was her day. She didn’t need to deal with work.“That dress is gorgeous,” I told her, easily flipping the conversation as I took a seat on the couch once again.
As Josie talked about how much she loved the style of the dress, I was mentally at work, trying to come up with a way to convince the flower shop to continue with the interview. They were a cute little shop that needed the publicity. This one article alone would boost their business. I’d seen it countless times—places becoming popular again all because of an article added into a popular magazine.
One of the main reasons I started my own magazine was to give spotlights to businesses that needed it. These small privately-owned shops whose business had slowed because of bigger, brand new ones opening down the street.
People who readFusion Weeklygot a wide range of recommendations—from cool places to take pictures for social media, to local concerts happening that month. We catered to everyone, which was why it did so well the last few years.
My hands itched to grab my phone and work, my mind going over everything I needed to get done. It wasn’t lost on me that I was a workaholic. I couldn’t help it. I threw myself into the daily grind years ago and had yet to resurface.
If it wasn’t for Josie, I probably would have worked everyday of my life. She’s the one that pushed me to go and hang out with everyone. Between her, Tasha, and Mila, I’ve become less of a recluse and overachiever—though, I would beg to differ on thisone. Put simply, I had them to thank for not cooping myself up in my office day in and day out.
Because of that, I put my phone on silent and slid it into my purse. Work could wait.
Josie sniffled. “This is the one.”
“It’s beautiful,” Mila added, a grin splitting her face.
“I love it.” Tasha had her hands up by her mouth as she nodded at Josie.
“Perfection,” I said teary eyed.
Close to fifty dresses later, we found the one. It was absolutely breathtaking. The moment Josie stepped through the archway, we stared with open mouths. The dress was pearl-white with gorgeous stitched flowers on the bust. Thin straps held up the gown with a dip to show off some cleavage. The way the lacey fabric cascaded to the floor was stunning.
“Wyatt is going to die when he sees you,” Tasha joked with a watery smile.
