Sealed With a Kiss

  ***

  The next afternoon, Rachel passed Tess an envelope. They were sitting in Tess and Logan’s loft, the space that had become the official Bridesmaids Club headquarters. “This letter arrived last week. Can we help the bride?”

  Tess read the letter and nodded. “The bride lives in Bozeman and can come in next week for a fitting. The only thing I’m not sure about are the bridesmaids’ dresses she wants. I’ve got a feeling the Cinderella Collection dress went to another bridesmaid last Thursday.”

  While Tess checked their database, Rachel walked over to a rack of dresses. They’d divided the bridesmaids’ dresses into four different collections. The Cinderella, Grace Kelly, Exotic, and Winter Romance Collections filled the room to overflowing with color and sparkle.

  Of all of the collections, the Cinderella dresses were Rachel’s favorites. With big, puffy skirts and pretty beads, the bridesmaids’ dresses were everything Rachel had dreamed about since she’d been a little girl.

  She pulled one of the dresses off the rack and sighed. “When Sally gets married I’m wearing this dress.” Sally was one of their friends and another Bridesmaids Club organizer. Her wedding was supposed to be before Christmas, but they’d postponed it until March of the following year.

  Tess looked up from her computer. “Isn’t that the dress that arrived two weeks ago?”

  Rachel nodded. The dress was made from a deep blue-green silk. With a full skirt and the loveliest sweetheart neckline she’d ever seen, it was romantic without being too gushy, feminine without being frilly.

  Tess walked across the room and touched one of the sleeves. “It would look amazing on you. Why don’t you take it home?”

  Rachel shook her head. “It wouldn’t feel right. What if someone else wants it?”

  “We’ve got plenty of dresses.”

  She bit her bottom lip. “Are you sure no one else will mind?”

  “Of course they won’t.”

  “I’ll bring it back after the wedding.” Rachel held the dress in front of her and looked in the full-length mirror. Everything about the dress was so perfect that she couldn’t believe she’d be wearing it.

  Tess pulled another dress off the rack. “You don’t need to bring it back. Here’s the dress one of our Bozeman bridesmaid’s wants to wear.”

  Rachel draped her gown over a chair and headed back to the letter they’d been reading. “I’ll find the other dresses and leave them in the closet for their fitting.”

  The next dress was from their Winter Romance Collection. With fur trim, capes, and full, heavy skirts, these dresses would have taken up most of the racks if they’d brought everything out.

  While Rachel looked for the next dress on the list, Tess hunted through the Grace Kelly Collection.

  “Tell me how it felt to catch Annie’s bouquet?”

  Rachel ignored the teasing note in Tess’ voice. She was determined not to spoil a perfectly good day by thinking about John Fletcher.

  “I didn’t catch the bouquet. Bella did.”

  “You were holding her in your arms. I’d say it was a combined effort.”

  “Maybe, but the bouquet never touched my hands.” She lifted a dress off the rack and put it over her arm. After they’d caught the bouquet, Annie had made a big fuss about her catching it with Bella. What Annie didn’t bother telling everyone, was that she’d told them to stand under the chandelier. The bouquet had been aimed straight at them, cruising at supersonic speed toward Bella’s outstretched hands.

  Rachel glanced at the rack of dresses, looking for gown number forty-six. “Bella was happy.”

  “Was her dad?”

  Rachel didn’t know if John had been happy or not. She’d felt his eyes on her the whole time she’d been with his daughter. She’d met parents who were overprotective of their children, but he took it to a whole new level. “Do you think it was odd that he kept Bella so close to him the whole day?”

  Tess pulled another dress out of the Grace Kelly Collection. “I didn’t notice what he was doing. But it’s winter and it’s been snowing. Bella was lucky you went outside. Otherwise, she might have been in trouble. While we’re talking about last night, why did you go outside in the first place? It was freezing.”

  “Jeremy wanted to get away from his ex-girlfriend.” Rachel picked up the dresses they’d taken off the racks and walked into their changing area. She hated stretching the truth, even if it was half true. But there was no way she’d tell Tess the other reason she’d been on the balcony.

  Keeping her distance from John wasn’t exactly a sensible and mature thing to do. Bella seemed happy around her dad. He looked after her, made sure she was okay. It was easy to see they were close. If Bella was lonely, it didn’t show. Her dad, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter. Rachel didn’t know what to make of him.

  By the time she left the changing area, Tess had put another two dresses aside.

  “Has Logan told you anything about John Fletcher?” Rachel asked.

  Tess picked up a pen and started crossing numbers off the list in front of her. “Only that he’s incredibly wealthy.” She put the pen down and looked at Rachel. “We don’t need Logan to tell us about John.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Tess walked across to her computer and started tapping on the keyboard. “John Fletcher is rich and gorgeous. There has to be something about him on the Internet.”

  Rachel stood beside Tess and watched pages open and close in quick succession. “You know what you’re doing.”

  “I was a model. I used to live and breathe the media. The girls I lived with were obsessed with making sure their photos were spread across as many sites as possible.” Tess pointed to the page she’d downloaded. “Here you go. It looks as though John Fletcher has been busy. He received the Businessman of the Year Award in New York last month.”

  Rachel read the news article. “His wife died in a car accident. That must have been terrible.”

  “It’s probably why he left the military,” Tess said quietly. “Bella would have been a baby.”

  Rachel read the rest of the story. She felt sad when she thought about what he must have gone through. “How did he manage to raise Bella and start a company?”

  “With a lot of hard work and help from other people. Did you know he’s looking for a tutor for Bella?”

  “And you’re telling me this, because…?”

  Tess rolled her eyes. “You’re working odd hours as a substitute teacher. Your full-time contract doesn’t start for a couple of months. I’d bet you anything that he’ll be paying a better hourly rate than Bozeman Elementary School.”

  “I like my job. Even if he is paying more, money isn’t everything.”

  “What about the deposit you’re saving for your first home? You could save a lot more money if you worked for John. Besides, you like Bella. What’s not to like about the job?”

  “I’m not working for John Fletcher,” Rachel said firmly. “He could choose anyone he wants to teach Bella. I don’t even think he likes me.”

  Tess’ eyebrows shot up. “Are you kidding? He didn’t take his eyes off you when you were holding Bella on the dance floor.”

  “He was watching Bella.” Rachel picked up the two dresses Tess had put aside. “Just because you’ve found your happy-ever-after moment with Logan, it doesn’t mean that the first man who looks at me is my happy-ever-after man.

  Rachel knew something would have come second in John’s life while he was building his company. That something must have been his daughter. “I’m not interested in someone who thinks money is more important than family.”

  “You don’t know if that’s true. He could be a good guy.”

  Rachel looked at the dresses in her arms. “There’s more chance that he isn’t.”

  “What about Bella? If she’s as unhappy as you think she is, then maybe you could help her.”

  “I don’t think she’s unhappy. And even if she is, the only perso
n who can help her is her father.”

  Tess sat back in her chair. “Are you sure?”

  Rachel knew The Bridesmaids Club helped women with more than dresses. They’d changed people’s lives with a little kindness and a helping hand. Bella was worried about her dad. The only person that could help Bella was John. A teacher with a soft spot for big brown eyes wouldn’t be able to solve Bella’s problems and neither would The Bridesmaids Club.

  She held the dresses tighter. “John needs to talk to his daughter. I can’t help them.”

  Tess picked up the list in front of her. “I think you’re being stubborn. Bella asked for our help and you’re the best person for the job.”

  Rachel’s eyes narrowed. “If you’re worried about Bella, you could always help her yourself.”

  Tess smiled. “Nice try, Ms. McReedy, but I’m not a teacher. If anyone can help her, it’s you. John Fletcher isn’t the only person who needs to work out what’s important.”

  Tess ignored the glare Rachel sent her way. Bella might be looking for a bride for her father, but Rachel wouldn’t be helping her.

  John Fletcher wasn’t looking for a wife. He was trying to conquer his habit of frowning to make his daughter happy. The only other thing he needed to do was slide a teaching contract under someone’s nose. With the money he’d be offering he could afford the best teacher in the whole country.

  Before he knew it, he’d have a happy daughter, the perfect tutor, and a face that didn’t get premature wrinkles.

  It was a win-win situation for everyone.