The Dream Dress

  “Aunt Rosa?” Bella rushed to meet her. “I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I know, I know.” Rosa groaned. “But Bobby has the flu, so they’re postponing until week after next.”

  “I’m beat.” Laz yawned again and headed up the stairs. “You girls don’t make too much noise. This old man needs his beauty sleep.”

  We spent the next ten minutes clearing our stuff out of their suite and moving it across the hall to one of the smaller bedrooms. I couldn’t quite figure out how the four of us—Bella, Hannah, Scarlet, and me—were going to sleep in one bed, but surely Bella had a plan.

  Turned out she had a plan for our entertainment that night as well.

  “We’re going to play a game.” She pulled out a little bowl filled with slips of paper. “Twenty Questions.”

  “Twenty Questions?” Scarlet wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “Yes.” Bella situated the bowl in the middle of the bed, and we all gathered around it. “I’ve got twenty questions written down on slips of paper. When it’s your turn, you reach in the bowl and grab one, then open it and answer the question. They’re fun. And perfectly safe.”

  “Are you sure?” Scarlet did not look convinced.

  “Very sure. I’ll even go first, to show you.” Bella reached into the bowl and came out with a slip of paper. After opening it, she read the words aloud. “What was the name of the first movie you ever remember seeing?” Her face lit in a smile. “You guys remember the old Marquee Theater off Rosenberg?”

  At once, the story I’d told Jordan about my father taking me to the theater to see Top Hat resurfaced.

  “That place hasn’t been open in years,” Hannah said.

  “I went there once,” I said and then shrugged. No point in sharing any more than that.

  “Me too,” Bella said. “When I was a little girl.”

  “Same here.”

  “Wouldn’t it be funny if it turned out to be the same night?” She laughed. “I’m trying to remember the name of the movie Aunt Rosa took me to see. I just remember it had Frank Sinatra in it.” After a moment, she snapped her fingers. “Ooo, I know. Anchors Aweigh.”

  “I went with my . . .” No, Gabi. Don’t mention your father tonight. “I went to see Top Hat, a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie.”

  “Well, duh.” Scarlet chuckled. “You’re crazy about them.”

  “Always have been. I used to dance around my bedroom and pretend to be like Ginger. Never really had a real gown, but I did have a ruffled slip that made a pretty good dance dress.”

  “So you never took dance lessons?” Bella asked.

  “No. I keep telling everyone I have two left feet.”

  Bella rolled her eyes. “Please. I’m sure you could learn.”

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “I remember my first movie.” Scarlet lit into a lengthy story about her favorite old Lucille Ball movie—something about a trailer. I didn’t hear much, though. My thoughts remained on the image of my father dancing with me at that theater. Why did this keep coming up?

  In the middle of Scarlet’s impassioned story about Lucille Ball, she stopped and glanced at Hannah, who looked ill.

  “Ugh. Sorry. I guess the pizza isn’t settling so well on my stomach,” Hannah said. “I haven’t been feeling so great lately.”

  Bella gave her a suspicious look. “What do you mean?”

  “Not sure. But all day long I’ve been queasy. Can’t seem to shake it.”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  Hannah reached for the bowl, clearly wanting to change the subject. “Let’s move on, shall we?” She opened a piece of paper and read, “What’s your biggest pet peeve?” After a moment, she said, “I guess my biggest pet peeve is having people crowd in around me. Must be the photographer in me. I like my space.”

  “How’s that working out for you now that you and Drew are married?” Scarlet asked.

  Hannah’s cheeks flushed the prettiest shade of pink. “Oh, I don’t mind Drew being close. He doesn’t count.”

  “Mm-hmm. Thought so.” Scarlet turned to face me. “What about you, Gabi?”

  “I hate the smell of nail polish, especially in confined areas. I guess you could call that a pet peeve.”

  “So I’m assuming you don’t spend a lot of time at the nail salon?” Hannah laughed.

  “No. I’d probably run screaming from the room, to be honest.”

  “Where did this nail polish fetish begin?” Scarlet asked. “I sense a story here.”

  “Alyssa Fairfield.”

  “Who’s that?” Hannah’s brow wrinkled.

  “You mean you haven’t heard of Houston’s former Miss Teen USA? She came to Demetri for a wedding dress, which he designed. Next thing you know, she’s mine.”

  “Meaning? She needed alterations?”

  “The whole dress pretty much had to be made over to her specifications.” I shuddered at the memory. “But nothing I did satisfied her. The girl drove me out of my ever-lovin’ mind. She sat behind me and watched my every move. While talking about me on her cell phone to some friend of hers . . . and not in a good way.”

  “As if you couldn’t hear her?”

  “Yeah. But the worst—the absolute worst—was the nail polish. She apparently had some sort of fixation with her nails. The woman changed her polish every single day, and usually in my little alterations room. I can’t tell you how many shades of pink I heard about over those three weeks. I think the smell must’ve affected her ability to reason correctly. Mine too, actually. The longer I worked on her dress, the loopier I got. And she was downright unreasonable.”

  “What about you, Scarlet?” Bella asked.

  “I can’t stand the taste of fondant,” Scarlet said. “That’s my pet peeve. All of the bakers use it to decorate, and the cakes look great, but they taste icky.”

  “My pet peeve is people who interrupt,” Bella said. “They really get on my—”

  “Next question.” Scarlet laughed and then grabbed another slip from the bowl. “Favorite reality star.”

  “Ooo, pick me, pick me!” Hannah raised her hand. “Derek Hough. Dancing with the Stars.” For a minute there, she looked like she might swoon.

  Until Scarlet slapped her on the arm. “You’re married.”

  “I may be married, but I’m not blind. Besides, Drew knows about my fascination with Derek. He also knows that I plan to be on Dancing with the Stars one day myself.”

  “You’re a ballroom dancer?” I asked.

  “Nah.” She waved a hand and chuckled. “But a girl can dream, can’t she? Besides, I’d be willing to learn if Derek would choose me for his partner.”

  “Well, speaking of Dancing with the Stars . . .” I thought back to Jordan’s recent announcement. “Jordan and I are going to be in the audience when they come to town in a couple of months.”

  “Me too!” Hannah laughed. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. In fact, I was one of the first to get my tickets.”

  This led to a conversation about Bella and some of the others going to a live shooting of Dancing with the Stars in Hollywood.

  I turned to Scarlet, more curious than anything. “Who’s your favorite reality star?”

  “Hmm.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “That would be a toss-up between Duff on Ace of Cakes and Buddy Valastro on Cake Boss.”

  “Never heard of either,” I admitted.

  “Are you serious?” She appeared shocked at this admission. “Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss? Don’t you watch the food shows, girl?”

  “Nope. Not much, anyway. Only when Mimi has them playing on the TV, but even then I don’t pay attention.” Now, if she’d asked if I watched Project Runway or Say Yes to the Dress, I could’ve given her a better answer.

  I reached for the bowl. “My turn.” I pulled a slip of paper out and smiled as I read the words. “Ooo, this is a good one. Name your biggest supporter.”

/>   Bella laughed and then said, “Spanx.” She slapped her knee. “Kidding, kidding! But I am a girl who likes her Lycra. Wouldn’t leave home without it, especially after having two kids. Things just aren’t where they used to be.” She got control of herself and looked at me. “Sorry, it was your turn, Gabi. You answer the question.”

  “I think you guys are my biggest supporters. You’ve all been great to me. So encouraging. And Mimi Carmen and Mama too.” A long pause followed as I thought of the one person who, in recent weeks, had proven to be a huge support in my life. “And Jordan.”

  “He’s a great guy, Gabi,” Bella said. “I like him a lot.”

  “Me too.” I felt my cheeks warm as I said the words.

  “My biggest supporter would have to be Drew,” Hannah said, her hand moving to her stomach. “But my parents are great too. My dad is a typical Irishman through and through. Very dedicated to his family but a little on the stubborn side.”

  “Maybe I’m the only PK on the planet who would answer this way, but I’d have to go with my dad too.” Scarlet’s eyes grew misty.

  “PK?” I asked. “What’s that?”

  “Preacher’s kid,” Hannah and Scarlet said in unison.

  “You’re clearly not up on the latest church lingo,” Hannah said. “We’ll have to remedy that.” She went off on a tangent about church-related chatter, but my thoughts were elsewhere. They’d lost me back on the conversation about their fathers. Must be nice to have a dad support you like that.

  Bella reached into the bowl and opened another slip of paper. “Most romantic moment.” A giggle followed. “I, um, well, I’m not sure I can share that publicly.”

  We’d just started to press her on the matter when the sound of a man’s voice raised in song filled the air.

  “Do you hear . . . singing?” Bella rose and walked to the window. “Doesn’t sound like it’s coming from downstairs. Not inside, anyway.”

  “I hear it too.” Scarlet joined her at the window. Together they opened it and the song grew louder.

  “Maybe Drew’s up to his tricks again,” Hannah said as she rose from the bed and walked to the window. “He wasn’t thrilled when I told him I wanted to spend the night here. This might be his way to get me back home again.”

  “Typical honeymooner.” Bella laughed.

  “Doesn’t sound like him, though.” Hannah leaned out the open window. “Nope. I don’t know who that is.”

  I pressed into the space next to her and gazed out into the shadows, the sound of the tenor voice clearer than ever at this point. Down below, on the far side of the lawn, I could see a man’s shadow. His voice, now familiar, captivated me.

  “Wait a minute. That’s Jordan.” Scarlet turned my way. “Did you tell him you were going to be here tonight?”

  “Sure, but I didn’t think anything of it.” I leaned forward to double-check. “Yeah, that’s definitely him. I can tell by the broad shoulders. Mmm. Quite a lovely shadow, I don’t mind saying.”

  His sweet love song filled the air. I couldn’t make out all of the words to the unfamiliar tune but managed to get “night and day, day and night” out of it. When the song ended, he called out to me. “Gabriella Delgado, your presence is requested on the front lawn.”

  I leaned out the window and did my best to shush him. “You’re going to wake up the whole Rossi family,” I said. “It’s after midnight.”

  “Yes, and we all know what happens to you at midnight. That’s why I came when I did, to see if you really turn into a cinder girl.”

  From the window next to mine, Rosa’s voice rang out. “What’s up with all of the singing out here? Don’t you know the old people are trying to sleep?”

  This was followed by “Can’t a fella get any rest?” from Laz.

  “Better go down, Gabi,” Bella said. “I don’t think Prince Charming’s going to wait all night.”

  I rushed down the stairs and opened the front door of her house, still astounded to see Jordan at this hour. “What are you doing here?”

  “Oh, just needed to see my girl.” He took hold of my hand and led me to the swing on the veranda.

  “At midnight?” I asked as I took the spot next to him.

  “Yep. Hope you don’t mind the interruption.”

  “I never mind when it’s you.”

  “Great line, Gabi!” Scarlet’s voice rang out from the window above, and for the first time I realized we weren’t exactly alone.

  Now Aunt Rosa chimed in. “Would you mind speaking up? The old folks are hard of hearing, and we’re not getting all of this.”

  Laz’s words, “Let them have their privacy,” were followed by the closing of a window.

  Jordan laughed. “I had an interview at the Galleria in Houston today and saw something in one of the stores that I thought you might like. Couldn’t wait to give it to you.” He pulled out a box and passed it to me. “Open it.”

  I unwrapped the paper and opened the little box to find the most intricate glass Cinderella carriage inside. I’d never seen anything so beautiful. Must have cost him a fortune too, based on the Swarovski tag. “Jordan . . .” I hardly knew what to say. The unexpected gift took my breath away.

  “Do you like it?” he asked.

  “Like it? I love it.” I turned the delicate piece around to examine it from the back.

  “Did you say love?”

  “Yes. It’s perfect.”

  He paused, and I could sense that he was struggling for words. “Well, um . . . speaking of love . . .”

  Love? Were we speaking of love?

  As his eyes met mine, I felt a surge of emotion. I placed the little carriage back in its box. When Jordan whispered the words, “I love you,” I realized the true reason for his visit. He hadn’t just come to whisk me off to the ball in a crystal carriage. He’d come to share his heart with me.

  What was a girl to do? When a fella says, “I love you,” there’s really only one way to respond. My whispered “I love you too” was followed by the sweetest kiss we’d ever shared.

  Well, sweet until Scarlet hollered out, “Woo-hoo!” from the upstairs window.

  I heard the click of a window from Rosa and Laz’s room, and before long an unfamiliar song played over us.

  “Is that Frank Sinatra?” Jordan asked after a moment.

  “Sounds like it.”

  I’d never heard that particular song before, but the words “dancing in the dark” caught my attention.

  “I’m pretty sure someone is giving us instructions to dance.” Jordan reached for my hand, and I rose and let him lead me across the veranda and down the front steps onto the walkway. From there, the moonlight hovered overhead, a lovely orb in the sky, offering the perfect ambience. Jordan pulled me into his arms and kissed me soundly before leading me in a dance I wouldn’t soon forget.

  Okay, so I had two left feet, but who cared?

  Obviously not Prince Charming. He swept me away on a lovely cloud, the sweet croonings of Frank Sinatra floating down around us. From up above, my support team—stronger than any Lycra product—oohed and aahed, chiming in from time to time with their thoughts on how we were doing. As the song carried on, my friends disappeared from view, but they returned as the song came to an end. I looked up and had to laugh.

  “Do you see that?” I nudged Jordan, who glanced up as well.

  Bella, Scarlet, and Hannah all held scorecards in their hands. I could barely make out the scores at first, with the light from the bedroom shining behind the ladies and not in front, but finally realized the scores ranged from a 9.5 to a perfect 10.

  I had to give the moment a ten as well. Maybe even an eleven. And as soon as Jordan stopped kissing me, I would let him know.

  Royal Wedding

  When two people love each other, they don’t look at each other; they look in the same direction.

  Ginger Rogers

  The days before “wedding weekend” were filled with ups and downs. I fended off calls from Demetri, who w
as still anxious about Nicolette’s gown choice, and I took calls from new brides anxious to see my sketches. On Tuesday I met with a petite blonde from Houston to discuss a Hawaiian-themed gown, and on Thursday I took measurements for a bride in her golden years who was marrying again after years of being widowed.

  By the time Friday arrived, I could hardly wait to see Nicolette and Scarlet walk the aisle in their respective gowns. I arrived at Club Wed about twenty minutes before Nicolette’s ceremony and stopped by the bride’s room. I found her inside with her bridesmaids, putting finishing touches on her makeup. She turned, and I gasped as I saw her in the dress with her hair upswept and a flawless makeup job.

  “Oh, Nicolette.”

  “Gabi!” She hiked the skirt and barreled my way in a very unladylike fashion. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect. You’ve made my day . . .” She giggled. “Perfect!”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  “Like it? I love it. Oh, and so does Ashley. Have you met my friend Ashley?” She took me by the hand and pulled me across the room to meet a gorgeous young woman with red hair.

  “Ashley, this is her! This is Gabi. The one who made my dress.”

  Ashley grabbed my hand and squealed. “Oh, thank God! I’m so glad you’re here. I have to get your card. I just got engaged, and I’m getting married in January. It’s going to be the sweetest winter wedding you ever saw. Think snowflakes. Big, beautiful snowflakes!”

  She rambled on about her big day, but Nicolette interrupted. “Show her your ring, Ashley!”

  As the lovely redhead extended her hand, I glanced down and saw the most exquisite diamond I’d ever laid eyes on. “Wow.”

  “It’s gorgeous.” Ashley released an exaggerated sigh. “And the more I stare at it, the more I think my idea for a dress is perfect!”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. I want my gown to have a similar feel to the diamonds in my ring.” Her nose wrinkled, and for the first time I noticed her freckles. “Does that make sense? I mean, I don’t want a diamond dress, but lots of sparkle would be good.” She squeezed my hand. “Do you do lots of sparkle? Oh, and the cut of the diamond—did you notice that? All of the different facets put off different colors. Now, I’m not asking for a colorful wedding dress or anything like that, but maybe interesting cuts in the fabric? Different angles? That way the light could pick up the nuances. Am I making any sense at all?”