“Very well, sir,” Nico said. “Let’s find out your measurements and then we can discuss customization.”
At the far end of the store, there was a raised platform in front of a full-length mirror. Sienna leaned against one of the nearby racks.
“My dear,” Nico said. “Let me get you a chair.”
“I’m fine,” she said, waving her hand. “We’ve been sitting for a while. I’ll let you know if I need to sit down.”
He looked at her as if he was trying to figure out if she was being polite or testing him. But he didn’t press the issue.
Nico got very familiar with my body while taking measurements. Sienna made several faces when Nico measured my inseam. It was the only time men didn’t fuss over someone getting intimate with their crotch. There was a man-code for a suit and tux fittings that we all had to suck up and deal with.
Nico brought me a sample to try on to get the correct length and fit for the pieces. Since Sienna was there, Nico suggested I go into the dressing room to try them on. He didn’t know that Sienna wouldn’t care about seeing me in my underwear, but after his reaction to having a girl as a best man, I decided to placate him.
Nico truly had an eye for this. The jacket, shirt, and pants fit almost perfectly.
I came out into the main space, and Nico was nowhere to be found.
“He had to take a phone call,” Sienna explained. She handed me an untied bow tie. “He wanted me to give you this.”
Even though my suits were expensive, I always opted for the tied bow tie; I never cared to learn since they were incredibly uncomfortable for me. I knew Rachel wanted to be traditional, though, so I agreed to it.
“You’re looking at that as if it's about to bite you,” she said.
“I don’t know how to tie this,” I admitted. “I’ll just wait for Nico to get back.”
Sienna stepped onto the platform. “It’s a good thing I did theater in high school and have experience with many types of dress. Let me.”
I lifted the collar of the shirt and wrapped the tie around my neck.
Sienna stood inches away from me. “It’s strange to be doing this,” she admitted, her hands tugged on the fabric of the bow tie as she worked.
“What do you mean?”
She took a breath and shrugged. “Did you ever think I’d be getting you ready for your wedding day to someone else?”
To someone else? Had she thought of us being together at some point?
It had crossed my mind in the past, too, actually—especially when we had come so close to dating after high school. In the summer before college, Sienna and I had taken a weekend-long road trip. After the drive, I’d felt something different between us and I could have sworn she’d felt the same. The last night of the trip, we slept in the car since I gambled away our money at a small casino where the legal age was eighteen. It had started to rain, allowing us to create our own little cocoon.
We’d been alone together before, but the tension in the air was unlike anything I’d experienced with her. We were so close to kissing, but I was the one who ended it. I didn’t want to ever lose Sienna, and if we crossed that line, our friendship would be at risk. Even after gambling away our money, I didn’t feel right about gambling with us.
That night had been a turning point in our relationship down the friends-only path. But I did reminisce about it sometimes, especially in between my own relationships. That “what-if” lingered in my mind until I could distract it with another girl.
“You were always going to be a part of my wedding somehow,” I said. “I had debated on making you a flower girl.”
She popped me in the arm, hard.
“Ow,” I said chuckling.
She was smiling, though. That rambunctious woman.
“Did you think I wouldn’t want you there?”
“No, but I didn’t think I would be in the wedding party. At least not on your side of it.”
It took a lot for Sienna to open up to people, especially other women. Which was why her other closest friend was Tony. It would have been a miracle if Sienna had become good friends with anyone I considered marrying, so I knew she would never end up a bridesmaid at my wedding.
Sienna finished with the tie and smoothed the edges against my chest. She took a step back off the platform as I smoothed my collar down over the tie. I tore my eyes away from her and glanced at myself in the mirror. Even without the proper shoes on, the suit was perfect. I knew I’d made the right choice to come here. Maybe I could take Sienna out to lunch to thank her for agreeing to come out with me.