Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“Just make sure you don’t wear that cardigan,” she says, nodding at me.
Katherine confirms her choice of veil and tells the tailor she likes the neckline and the length. There’s some discussion about the zip, then Katherine heads back into the changing room.
One of the assistants pops her head out from around the corner and beckons me into the changing area, where my bridesmaid dress is hanging. It’s a pretty, off-the-shoulder, pale-blue dress. It’s understated and elegant, just like my sister.
I change quickly and am pleasantly surprised at how well it fits and how the blue suits my skin tone. I was a little worried I’d look washed out, but of course, Katherine has picked the perfect shade. I turn one way and then the other, trying to see myself from every angle.
“Come out,” Katherine calls from the seating area. “I can’t wait to see you.”
The assistant brings me a pair of silver pumps, and they fit like a glove. I feel like the princess to Katherine’s fairy queen. It’s like traveling back a quarter of a century and playing dress-up again.
I step into the seating area and glance between Katherine and Mom.
Katherine and I grin at each other. “It’s such a pretty color,” I say.
“I’m so pleased you like it,” Katherine says, her eyes wide and happy. “You look beautiful.”
Mom winces. “Is it a little tight?” she asks the tailor. Then she turns to me. “Maybe you should size up.”
I glance down. It doesn’t feel tight. I check the mirror, but the fabric isn’t pulling or bunching anywhere.
“It’s not tight,” Katherine says. “It fits you just right.”
“It’s personal preference,” the tailor says. “But it’s cut on the bias, so it’s not meant to be loose. I’d say it fits perfectly.”
Mom raises her eyebrows but doesn’t say anything else. The excitement I felt when I first saw myself ebbs away. At least the tailor and Katherine like it, though I worry sometimes that my sister’s support is just her way of trying to protect me from the sharpest edge of Mom’s criticisms.
Katherine stands and we go back into the changing rooms together.
“You really do look beautiful,” she says as I go behind the curtain to change. “Just ignore Mom. You know what she’s like.”
“I know,” I say. “She wants me to be you. Sadly for both of us, I’ve never managed it.”
“I get her sniping too,” she says. “Just not as badly as you.”
“I guess,” I say, pulling the curtain open. “I just have to ignore it. It’s hard. She’s the voice in my head. God knows what she’s going to say about dinner at the bachelorette party.”
Katherine laughs. “Oh, you don’t need to worry about her, then. You know what she’s like when she’s got an audience. She has to put on the show of being the perfect family.”
“Right,” I say. “Except we all know we’re not.”
“You know what I always think?” Katherine asks. “Her parenting is a great manual of how not to bring up two daughters. When it’s our turn, we have to embrace our kids’ differences.”
“And let them grow and change,” I insist. “I’m not still the goofy kid I was at fifteen.”
“Right,” she says. “You have a great job. A great apartment. You’re an amazing friend and sister.”
Just not the perfect daughter.
“So have you met up with Hunter again since you went to his apartment?” she asks, a mischievous look on her face.
I shake my head. “Just been messaging.”
“He’s such a great guy, you know. He’s the best friend to Ed. He’s so loyal and supportive of this wedding and our relationship.”
“Does he need to be supportive of your relationship?” I ask. I think back to what Hunter said about Katherine not being perfect, and how he finds her irritating at times. I wonder how supportive he actually is. Sounds to me like Katherine isn’t his favorite person. Not that I’m going to say anything to her.
“It helps for your friends to be supportive, doesn’t it?” she asks.
“For girls. I don’t really understand how it works for guys.”
“I know Ed feels like Hunter’s been great—stepping in a few times when Ed’s been caught up with wedding stuff, that kind of thing.” Hunter strikes me as a guy who’s focused. When we met, he just . . . wasn’t focused on the bachelor party. But he found the house, and he responds to my messages the first time I send them. If he’s been filling in for Ed, too, that must add some pressure. Maybe I’ve been a little hard on him. He’s been pretty cooperative since that day at his apartment. That was the last time I actually saw him. He was so . . . kind to me. “He’s a good guy,” Katherine continues. “And . . . very good looking, don’t you think?”
“If you like that kind of thing,” I reply.