Chapter 9 #3
Catrina forces a smile. “No, we most certainly did not. But perhaps we should give the benefit of the doubt to these two lovebirds and let them explain to us why they wish to rush into marriage and family life.”
My dad watches Mom carefully before saying, “Luca, why don’t you start? Since you’ll instantly become a father to Zeke when you marry my daughter.”
Three weeks later, when Luca is forced to help Dante with whatever mafia business they’re up to, Nikki, Paige, Nova, and I go dress shopping for a wedding gown.
Of course, it’s not just the girls.
Like last time, Moreno is babysitting us.
“Can we really get a dress by February?” I ask.
It’s already December, and I keep hoping Nikki will come to her senses, talk her husband into pushing back the wedding, at least until we graduate.
That’s part of the reason I agreed to go dress shopping with his mom. But I didn’t expect Nikki to invite Nova’s mother along. At least Paige had the sense to suggest Nova join us too.
Nova hangs out with me in the dressing room while Paige and Nikki keep procuring dresses for me to try on.
“We can have a dress by the end of January if we order it from this shop,” Nikki says. “Of course, it’ll need alterations, but we have a seamstress who can make those adjustments within a few weeks. Which puts us at the end of February…” Her voice trails off.
“That’s fine. I was thinking the last Saturday in February.” Personally, I was thinking February twenty-ninth since it’s not a leap year, but I refrain from being a smartass.
Nikki is being pleasant, as is Paige, and I don’t want Dante getting wind that I’m causing trouble.
The last thing I want is to hurt Luca.
“I really like the first dress,” Nova says to me as I try on the fourth or fifth for the afternoon.
I’ve already lost count.
“No, the mermaid style doesn’t do my body any favors.” I don’t have the breasts to wear the dress, or the curves. I look like a lumpy tree.
“I agree with Harper,” Paige says. “We’ll find something better, something that suits you.” She shoves another dress at me to try on, pushing through the cloth barrier of a door.
Nova grabs the gown and helps me into the dress while the parents are outside perusing the store for available dresses to try on. She leans in close, whispering so that no one else can hear, “Are you really going to go through with marrying Luca?”
“Do I have a choice?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder at her.
I want to trust Nova, but her family can’t be trusted, which puts her in my uncertainty category.
I trust Luca, and his family can’t be trusted.
“You could tell them no,” Nova whispers.
I glance at her skeptically. “Do you think that will work with Dante?”
Nova shrugs and sits on the bench in the dressing room. “Probably not. I just hate seeing you two get married under these pretenses. It’s just not what either of you want.”
“Have you spoken with Luca?” I ask, wondering what he’s been saying to Nova about the upcoming wedding.
Luca and I haven’t done a single lick of wedding planning ourselves. We hadn’t specifically set a date yet either until today, when I just announced it to Nikki.
The two of us had talked about it privately, but we had been hoping the longer we waited, maybe we could push the wedding back a tiny bit longer.
“He avoids wedding discussions, but I kind of figured that was all guys. I mean, I know the reason you two are getting hitched—” She stares at me seriously. “Dante is forcing you. But there has to be another way.”
“There isn’t,” I whisper, “and we shouldn’t talk about this around your mother or Luca’s because whatever gets overheard will come back to bite us in the ass.”
“Well, at least Dad’s waiting outside,” Nova says.
Moreno drove us and insisted he come into the store, but the shop is already quite small and crowded between the dresses and the four of us, plus the two ladies working the shop. Paige told him to grab a coffee and give the girls some time alone.
He grumbled but hasn’t stepped foot back into the boutique. He’s outside, probably glaring at anyone who so much as thinks about coming inside the bridal shop.
Nova helps secure the back of the gown, which is much too big, but she cinches it with clips to get a feel for how it should fit. “What do you think about this dress?”
I pull open the purple velvet curtain and step out, standing in front of the full-length mirror. The dress is absolutely stunning, with long lace sleeves and an A-line frame that fans out at just the right place.
“This is the one,” I say, certain that if I were ever to get married, this would be the dress.
I chew on my bottom lip, my fingers grazing over the downy material. I didn’t even glance at the price tag.
“How soon can we get this one in her size?” Nikki asks the store clerk.
She comes up, glancing at the tag tucked into the back of the gown, and jots the information down before returning.
“We have two of those in stock in our warehouse in her size. It usually takes a couple of weeks, but we can put in a special request to have it delivered by Friday for a pick-up in store. Would that be okay?”
The way the girl who runs the shop looks at Nikki, I feel the hair on my arms tingle.
“Yes, we’ll come by Saturday next week to try it on and pick it up,” Nikki says, already deciding my schedule for me.
Next week is Christmas.
Nova holds the train of the gown while I saunter back into the dressing room and disrobe. She grabs the curtain, closing it for me before un-cinching the clips at the back, helping me out of the elegant gown.
“That’s definitely the one,” Nova says, smiling as I put my clothes back on.
“Will you be wearing a veil?” the store clerk asks while I put my coat on and then yank the curtain open.
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” I say.
“Yes, we’re going traditional,” Nikki says and then wraps an arm around my shoulders. “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to wear it, but we should at least have it for the wedding. Especially for pictures.”
“Right.”
So much for not having to wear it, if I’m being forced to have it on for photographs.
“Thanks, Mom,” I say, the words slightly forced, but I offer a smile, trying to show my appreciation.
If I can get on anyone’s good side, it’s definitely Nikki, and I’m going to need her in my corner.
Nikki’s smile brightens when she hears me call her Mom. She wraps an arm around my shoulders. “I’m so excited to have you as part of our family, Harper.”