“She’s found a dress? I hadn’t even started looking for mine.”
“No, I’m making it for her.”
“What? You know how to do that?”
“Sure. I started sewing when I was a child, doll clothes and such. I always wanted to design my own wedding dress, but since it looks like that’s not going to be an option any time soon, I offered to make hers.”
“I still can’t believe you know how to do that.” That seemed like a skill far beyond anything I could do.
“It’s fun. Time-consuming, but fun. The only problem is that I can’t find a veil that goes with the dress I’m making. We’ve looked at dozens, and none are quite right.”
That made me pause right in the middle of the parking lot, a big box in my arms. “What kind of veil are you looking for?”
Maddie set down a stack of my pillows and blankets in Denver’s back seat. “It’s kind of like I’ll know it when I see it. It’s got to be soft and feminine. The dress has some floral detailing on it. But it needs to be full, too, and cascade down her back. She’s got the most gorgeous head of long hair, not curly like mine. I want something that looks perfect with it.”
“Stay right there,” I said, pulling boxes back out of Denver’s trunk.
“But there’s still more stuff in my car.”
“Just wait.” I found the box I was looking for. Hastily pulling it open, I shoved aside shirts and sweaters until I located a brittle, cream-colored box at the bottom. As I straightened up, I unwrapped the towels I’d padded around it to keep it safe.
“What’s that?”
“I didn’t have a dress, but I did have this.” I opened the box and carefully lifted the white, lacy veil.
Maddie gasped. “That’s gorgeous! I have to find one exactly like it for my sister. Where did you get it?”
“It was my mother’s.” It was one of the few things my grandmother had saved for me, and I’d dreamed of wearing it for my wedding since I was a little girl. But Clint had dashed that dream to the ground and stomped all over it. “I want you to have it.”
“No,” Maddie said instantly. “There’s no way I could do that. But if you let me study it, maybe I could—”
“It’s yours. Well, your sister’s. I don’t want it anymore, it’ll only remind me of Clint.”
Maddie’s green eyes were wide. “Seriously, Emma, I can’t. I—”
“I recently thought I couldn’t do something, and it turns out I really could.” I smiled at the memory of that breakfast in which the guys convinced me to stay. “You’ve been very nice to me and I’m glad we’re becoming friends. I truly want you to have it.”
I put the veil back in the box and handed it to her. She took the box with reverent care. “Thank you. My sister is going to be ecstatic. But if you ever decide you want it back, just let me know and I’ll return it instantly. Seriously, Emma, just say the word and it’s yours again—even on the day of the wedding.”
I laughed softly at that. It did hurt a little to hand over the veil, but right now it didn’t remind me of my mother. It just made me think of Clint and all the hopes and dreams I’d had about my life with him. “I hope your sister will be happy wearing it.”
“Me too, and I’m glad you’re staying in town,” she said as she helped me put the last of my things in the car. Then she looked at me with a twinkle in her eye. “And not just because you might introduce me to those strippers.”
6
Emma
“Thanks for helping me get all this stuff upstairs.”
“You said that already,” Tonio remarked. He was carrying two suitcases and a duffel bag, yet he seemed completely unaffected by climbing the steep staircase to the second floor—unlike me.
“Yeah, but you’re still helping me.” I dropped an armful of blankets and pillows onto Denver’s bed. “Are you sure that he’s not going to mind this?”
Tonio rolled his eyes, probably because I’d said that already, too. “I’m sure.”
“Maybe I should call him.”
“He and Austin are at the gym, and he’s probably teaching a fitness class right now. Neither their day nor their night jobs are the kind that can be interrupted with a phone call.”
That made me giggle. I could just picture the twins up on stage, half naked, women screaming all around them, when suddenly one holds up his hand for silence as he whips out his phone.
Tonio grinned at my laughter. He had a great smile that made my skin heat in an embarrassing way. Hopefully he’d think the flush on my cheeks was from carrying my stuff up here. “You should laugh more and worry less. Denver’s fine in the basement with Austin. They were roommates before they were even born, you know.”