Page 55 of A Protector For Phoebe (Love will OUT 2)

“Easy. You’re thin and tall. A textured and thicker fabric will create a fuller figure. Also, a closed neckline is more suitable.”

Hailey gapes at me. “I don’t know what most of those words mean. I mean I know what they mean individually, but put them together?” She shrugs.

Darra returns with another load of gowns. “You’re going to stay this size, aren’t you?”

Oh wow. How rude. Hailey doesn’t seem bothered, though. She laughs. “I’ve been this size since eleventh grade. I don’t think I’ll be changing anytime soon.” She leans forward and whispers to Darra like she has a secret. “And I eat whatever I want. Hamburgers, fries, cheese. You name it. I eat tons of food.”

Darra’s eyes widen as she takes a step back. “I didn’t mean to offend.”

Suzie snorts. “Sure, you did.” She looks the sales assistant up and down. “I get it. You’re jealous. Trust me, I understand.” She motions to her body with her hand. Suzie is short but she’s got curves for days. She looks like a pixie with her red spiky hair and short stature compared to Hailey’s long, lean dancer body.

Darra’s face is bright red, but she carries on. “Here’s a dress I thought you might like.”

Hailey takes the dress and immediately searches for the price tag. Her eyes widen when she finds it. “No way. I am not trying on a dress I can’t afford. What if I love it? I still can’t afford it.”

“I’m sure we can arrange a discount.”

Hailey hands the dress back. “No. I read all about avoiding steep discounts in wedding dresses.”

“What did you do?” Suzie asks. “Research how to buy a wedding dress?”

“Of course, I did. I’ve never bought one before. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“What’s your budget?” I ask as I walk over to the rack of dresses.

“Two-thousand.”

Huh. I expected her to say a few hundred dollars. “Not a small budget then?”

A light shade of pink dusts her cheeks. “I’ve been saving for a while.”

“She wants her dream wedding with her dream man,” Suzie teases before putting her finger in her mouth and pretending to gag.

I ignore Suzie to study the rack of dresses. I find what I’m looking for with the third dress. I check the price to make sure it fits the budget before taking it off the rack.

“Here.” I shove the dress in Hailey’s hands. “This is the dress.”

Hailey drags her feet as she follows Darra to the changing room.

I take a seat on the sofa to wait. Suzie skips over. She flops down on the sofa and nearly bounces right off.

“How many glasses of champagne have you had?”

She burps. “Not enough. Is there any alcohol in bubbly?”

I giggle. Oh, there is definitely alcohol in bubbly, and it will give you a killer headache if you over-indulge. I quickly learned to sip the stuff when I was a teenager and glasses were constantly being forced in my hand at family events. If you’re wealthy, things like laws about legal drinking age don’t exist.

“I’m going to find a bridesmaid gown.” Suzie wobbles as she gets to her feet. I reach out to steady her, but she bats my hand away. “I’m fine.”

Whatever. I lean back and take a sip of my champagne. It’s not the good stuff, but I don’t expect a wedding boutique in the mall to serve Bollinger. Oh wow. Rich girl Phoebe is still alive and kicking and apparently renting a room in my head. Shut up, I tell her. We don’t need $400 bottles of champagne.

Hailey walks out of the dressing area and I gasp. “It’s perfect.”

The ivory wedding gown is strapless with a high bateau neckline and classic A-line dress with structured pleats. Hailey twirls around. Oh my. Aiden is going to love this. The dress is backless with a detachable train. The train flows outward with covered buttons and crystal trim detail.

I stand and approach her. She looks unsure. “If you don’t buy that dress, I’m going to be extremely upset. It was made for you.”

“Okay.” She takes a deep breath. “I guess I found a wedding gown.” She looks around. “Where’s Suzie?”

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