Page 132 of Chasing Olivia (Trace + Olivia 2)

“I know you are,” I took her hand, trying to offer as much comfort as I possibly could. “I’m glad you told me, but I’m sorry you had to go through that. No one should ever have to suffer through a tragedy like that alone. I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, and that’s fine, but if it ever gets too har

d you know you can come to me. I love you, Avery.” I hugged her again. “You may be slightly crazy,” I laughed, wiping away a few stray tears, “but you’re my best friend.”

“I love you too, Livie.” Her chest shook as she fought tears. Shaking her head, she said, “Let’s find you a wedding dress.”

Leave it to Avery to be the one to change the subject.

I put on a brave face, knowing I needed to be strong for her…besides she’d kick my ass if I ever looked at her with pity.

I followed her into the fancy upscale store. Everything was white with shiny chrome accents. It kind of reminded me of a museum, where you could look but not touch. I frowned, wondering if I was really going to be able to find a dress I liked here. I mean, I knew they had loads of beautiful dresses, which was obvious from the mannequins scattered about. But would any of them be me? I stopped in front of a dress that looked so heavy a crane probably had to be used to lift it. And oh my goodness, it had feathers coming out of the back. Feathers!

“Uh, Avery,” I called out, “I think we should go somewhere else.”

A hastily cleared throat had me turning around to face Avery and a saleswoman. Oh crap. “Oh, um, I mean, the dresses are lovely, but you know…a bit much.” I blushed, wishing I could ram my fist in my mouth so I’d stop talking.

“Lily told me you’d be coming,” the sales woman said. Her dark hair was pulled back into a severe bun, reminding me of a schoolteacher from many years ago, and I feared she might pull out a ruler to smack me. “She mentioned you wouldn’t like some of the more…outlandish dresses we sell. I have a room set up for you with some dresses I’ve already pulled.”

“Oh…great. Are they…” I looked over my shoulder at the feather Cinderella style ball gown, “not so…big and feathery?”

She laughed and it softened her features. “You’re funny,” she reached for my hand and began pulling me along behind her.

“I wasn’t trying to be,” I mumbled.

She dragged me into a large room and once Avery was inside she closed the door.

“I also have some dresses laid aside for your Maid of Honor,” she wrinkled her nose at Avery’s shirt. “As well as your mother and Lily.”

“Are they coming?” I looked between the saleslady and Avery.

“Later,” Avery answered.

“Oh, and how rude of me. My name is Louise,” the saleswoman held out a hand.

“Olivia,” I took it, giving it a light shake.

“I hope we can find the perfect dress for you and make all your wedding dreams come true,” she smiled.

I tried to hide my laugh at her words. Avery shot me a glare, which made it even harder not to snicker.

“Come, come,” Louise took me over to a rack of gowns. “Browse through these and see if anything catches your eye.”

I flipped through the dresses, surprised that most of them were fairly normal looking. Lily definitely did tell her what I liked. I would have to thank her for that later.

“Let’s try this one,” I pulled out a dress with a small train with antique lace and short sleeves.

“Seriously, Livie, that’s the one you choose?” Avery wrinkled her nose, glaring at the dress.

“It’s pretty and I like it,” I held the dress close to my body.

“It looks like something my great-grandma would have gotten married in,” she scoffed. She pushed herself up from he chair and began to look through the rack. She pulled out a tight fitting mermaid style gown with a low neckline. “You should wear something like this. It’s sexy.”

I rolled my eyes. It amazed me that Avery could confess something to traumatizing to me one second, and be talking about sexy wedding dresses the next. I wanted to talk to her about it more, but I knew that would probably never happen. Avery had never been one to sit around and talk about her feelings.

“Yes, so while we’re saying my vows my boobs can pop out and Trace can get a preview of what’s to come,” I said sarcastically.

Avery rolled her eyes and put the dress back on the rack. “It’s not like he hasn’t seen them before.”

“And I’m sure the rest of the guests would enjoy the peep show as well?”

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