Page 155 of Timber

It’s a white mermaid dress with black lace on the torso and on the bottom of the dress. On the top, there is a nude material on my arms and chest with the black lace overlaying parts of it. The nude material follows the lace, which I’m thankful for, otherwise if it were straight across my chest, it would have rubbed on some of my stitches that haven’t fully dissolved yet.

The nude material and lace go up my shoulders into a narrow strap and then on the back, it changes. There’s a small section that buttons up at the base of my neck, but the nude material and lace follow along my sides, leaving my back open until it meets the white material near the small of my back. There’s absolutely no way to wear a bra with it, so Kristy used something she called pasties to cover my nipples. Then she used some sort of similar tape to support my ample chest and prevent a wardrobe malfunction.

The white part of the dress starts at my chest and goes down to the bottom hem of the dress. The black lace dips down into a deep V at my chest, revealing more cleavage than I ever have before. There’s a slit in the gown that is darn near as revealing as Levi’s. For shoes, I chose black strappy stilettos with rhinestones and the straps go up to almost my knees.

Wearing this dress brings Timber’s words back to me. That I’m his Sunshine Goddess with a bit of darkness in me.

Kristy and Sasha bring over my dress. Carefully, I step into it, not wanting to tear the delicate nude material. They button me up right as there’s a knock on the door.

“It’s Smoke.”

I quickly glance at Levi and see that she’s changed into her bridesmaid’s dress, which Emily brought over for her last night as well.

“Come in,” I call out.

He quickly enters and shuts the door behind him. When he looks up, he stops in his tracks as his gaze sweeps over me.

“Fuck, Baby Girl. You look fucking gorgeous.”

Tears prick my eyes and I fan myself to keep them from falling. “Thank you, but don’t you dare make me cry, Dad! I almost did multiple times during Levi’s wedding, so I’m really on edge right now.”

He shakes his head and steps forward with a box in his hands.

“Levi and Sasha helped me pick these out earlier. I wanted to give you something to go with your dress but wouldn’t be too much since they said there’s a lot of detail to your dress, and fuck, they weren’t kidding around about that.”

Instantly, my nerves go into overdrive. “Too much?”

He shakes his head. “No, Baby Girl. This dress is fucking gorgeous on you and fits your personality perfectly. Until that one meeting, I didn’t understand Timber’s comment about you being his Sunshine Goddess with a bit of darkness in you. After that meeting, I totally understood his comment and this dress almost personifies that. It was made for you, Baby Girl.”

“Thank you,” I whisper as I blink back more tears.

He hands me the box and I open it, revealing drop diamond earrings, a diamond necklace and a diamond bracelet. There are also black rhinestones mixed in on all the pieces. My hand shakes as I stare down at them. “Dad...” I whisper, barely able to even get that out.

He clears his throat. “My Baby Girl only gets married once, and I wanted you to have something fitting for the occasion, so don’t you fucking dare tell me it’s too much.”

His words have all of us laughing and I pass him the box to hold while I put on my new jewelry.

As I’m clasping my bracelet, he clears his throat. “I have one more thing for you,” he says as he pulls another box out of his cut.

His fingers rub the edges of it as he stares at it, and I get the feeling that whatever is in this box is really important to him. When he looks up at me, my feeling is confirmed when I see his eyes are glassy.

“This...” He pauses as he clears his throat and Nikki comes up next to him, wrapping her arm around him. “This was our mom’s. Both of us would be honored if you wore it.”

Oh, fiddlesticks.

If they keep this up, I’m going to be a blubbering mess before I even get out there.

Nikki places her hand on Dad’s and together, they both hold out the box to me.

Hesitantly, I take the box and when I open it, my other hand flies to my mouth in shock.

Nestled inside the box is a beautiful, antique comb with diamond and black alternating stones across the top.

“As soon as Nikki showed me a picture of the black lace on your gown, we both knew that this was meant to be yours. Like you, Mom had a bit of darkness in her as well. Despite the fact that her dress was looked down upon at the time, Mom also had some black on her dress, though not as much as yours. With her being an Old Lady, Dad thought it was fitting. It seems like you’re carrying on the tradition without even knowing it, Baby Girl.”

Looking up at Nikki in shock, I remember what she had said last night, only to find her grinning at me.

“I told you that dress was perfect for you and that you’d be doing the family proud by choosing it.”

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