Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Delilah squeezed Tom’s hand as they walked along the sidewalk together.
A gust of warm spring wind blew against their faces, and somewhere nearby a robin was singing his heart out in a flowering tree.
The air smelled fragrant with the blossoms as well as the scent of freshly mown lawns—and somewhere nearby, someone was baking cookies, adding a mouthwatering sweetness to the air.
“Slow down there, tiger.” Tom laughed. “I’m having trouble keeping up with you. We said we were going to walk to the post office together, not run there.”
Delilah laughed and forced herself to slow her footsteps. “I’m sorry. I’m just so excited to pick up this package. I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for a delivery before in my life.”
Tom chuckled. “I can imagine. Well, okay. I’ll run if you want to. Ready?” He braced himself as if preparing for a sprint, and Delilah grinned.
“No, that’s okay. We’re almost there, look!”
The post office was nestled on the corner of the street, surrounded by a few trees and tucked amongst gift stores.
It was a small building, and Delilah always felt a kind of thrill when she saw the brick announcing that it had been built in 1802.
She found old things to be inspiring, especially when they’d been well-maintained.
It seemed to her more proof that Rosewood Beach took care of its own—even the old post office had been lovingly looked after for generations.
They hurried inside the post office and Delilah made a beeline for the counter.
“Hi,” she said breathlessly to the smiling postal worker. “I believe there’s a large package waiting here for me. Delilah Bates?”
The woman nodded. “Yes, I’ve got it right over here for you!” She hurried to get a large box, looking almost as excited as Delilah did. “It came early this morning.”
Delilah could tell the woman was bursting with curiosity about the package, and she was only too happy to share what its contents were.
“This is a wedding dress for Noelle Calhoun,” she said, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, even though the only other person in the post office was Tom, who already knew all about the whole thing.
“I asked a fashion designer friend of mine in L.A. to recreate Noelle’s dress in time for her wedding.
Her original one got ruined in the storm, but this one should be a perfect replica, alterations and everything.
I had the wedding dress shop send Noelle’s measurements to my friend. ”
“Oh, that’s marvelous!” the woman gushed, covering her mouth with her hand. “What a wonderful use of your fame, if it’s not too forward of me to say, Ms. Bates.”
“Not at all.” Delilah waved a hand. “Hollywood is certainly full of connections, and I knew this would be the way to give Noelle the wedding dress she really wants for her wedding.” She looked down at the box, feeling an urge to tear open the cardboard right then and there and look at the dress, but she stopped herself.
Knowing Mimi, the dress had been wrapped elaborately, and she didn’t want to take away any of the fun of that from Noelle.
“Come on,” she said, turning to Tom. “Let’s go find Noelle. Mimi promised me this dress would be as close to Noelle’s dream dress as possible, and I just can’t wait to see the look on her face when she opens the box.”
“Come back and tell me all about it some time,” the postal worker said with a laugh. “I’m so excited for Noelle.”
Smiling and promising to do so, Delilah and Tom left the post office hand in hand.
“Now the question is,” he said cheerfully, “where is Noelle?”
“She should be at the Turners’ barn,” Delilah said after thinking about it for a moment. “Vivian told me that the family would be decorating the venue in the late afternoon and evening today. I’m sure they’re still there. They’ve got a lot of wooden railings to decorate.”
“Perfect! Then the whole Owens family will get to witness Noelle receiving this dress,” Tom said. “They’ll love that.”
Giddy like a couple of teenagers, they made their way to Tom’s car and drove out to the Turners’ beautiful property. The sun was beginning to sink in the west, casting a golden light across the farm.
Delilah hugged the package closely as she and Tom made their way to the barn.
She felt a thrill ripple through her as they reached the doorway, since not only was she excited to show Noelle the dress, she also couldn’t wait to see what kind of decoration magic the Owens had been working on the barn.
As soon as she and Tom stepped inside, she gasped softly.
Delilah had been on countless movie sets and in gorgeous locations all over the world, but there was something about the homey beauty of the barn that moved her deeply.
Beautiful hanging lights, swaths of white fabric, and garlands of flowers were hanging on the staircase banister and along the balcony railings.
It looked like some kind of fairytale space, and it made Delilah think of fairies and enchanted forests.
In addition to the fabric, garlands, and lights, the centerpieces had been set on a long table on the side of the room, waiting to be put out on the tables, and Delilah thought the beautiful and whimsical centerpieces looked marvelous.
There were also a few heaters that looked like antique stoves placed around the room, and Delilah thought they added an element of charm to the cozy atmosphere of the barn.
She quickly scanned the room for Dean and Noelle, and saw them a second later, standing by a ladder.
Dean was holding a gorgeous glass beaded chandelier in his hand, and it was clear they were working on hanging it from the center rafter, which ran at just above regular ceiling height across the lower level of the barn.
Delilah hurried toward them, and Tom followed closely at her heels.
As they moved across the room, the rest of the Owens family realized they were there with exclamations of surprise and greeting.
Delilah waved at them as best she could, but her arms were occupied with clutching the precious wedding dress box to her chest.
“Hey, Delilah!” Noelle said, hurrying forward to give her a hug. “Hey, Tom! What are you guys doing here?”
Delilah grinned at the happy couple, thinking to herself that she couldn’t wait to hand Noelle the box. She noticed the rest of the Owens family stop what they were doing and come toward them, quickly forming a circle of curiosity around Tom, Delilah, Dean, and Noelle.
“What’s going on?” Samantha asked in a whisper that was louder than many people’s speaking voices.
Delilah chuckled. “I have something for Noelle,” she said, handing her the box with a kind of emphasis that was almost dramatic. She couldn’t help it—not after so many years of performing. “Open it.”
“Okay,” Noelle stammered, looking intrigued and excited. “What’s in it?”
Delilah shook her head. “Just open it.”
“Here,” Dean said, taking his keys out of his pocket and offering Noelle the pocketknife he had attached to his key ring.
Noelle laughed breathlessly and set the box down on a nearby table.
With careful fingers, she cut open the tape and pulled back the flaps of the cardboard.
She gasped when she saw white and gold tissue paper arranged artfully in an overlapping pattern, and Delilah thought to herself with a chuckle that Mimi hadn’t disappointed in the special effects department.
“What could this possibly be?” Noelle said, staring at the beautiful design of the tissue paper as if unwilling to pull it apart.
She turned to Delilah, her eyebrows lifted in confusion, but Delilah just smiled and shook her head.
She wasn’t going to give it away. Noelle would know what was in the package in a few moments.
Taking a deep breath, Noelle pulled apart the artfully designed tissue paper wrapping to reveal what was underneath.
Delilah could see the lacy folds of the wedding dress gleaming softly in the twinkling lights surrounding them.
Noelle pulled the dress slowly from the box as if she was in some kind of trance.
“Dean, turn around!” Hazel cried out, laughing as her brother obeyed immediately.
The folds of the wedding dress unfurled, revealing a perfect, gorgeous dress that looked exactly like the one Noelle had originally picked out. Everyone around them gasped—except for Dean, who said, “What is it?”
“It’s a wedding dress.” Noelle immediately burst into tears of joy. She hugged the dress to her chest for a few seconds and then handed it to Hazel before racing over to give Delilah a hug.
“How did you do this?” Noelle asked, looking thunderstruck. Her eyes were shining like diamonds. “It’s—I mean, it’s my dress. But the dress shop said they weren’t making any more.”
“Just think of it as a little Hollywood magic,” Delilah said with a grin.
“A fashion designer friend of mine owed me a favor, and I asked her to replicate your dress. You should try it on to be sure, but it should have your alterations already done. Mimi made the dress based on your measurements, which the dress shop sent her.”
“I can’t believe it,” Noelle gasped, and Delilah thought to herself that if Noelle were an actress, in that moment she would have decided to cast her as Cinderella.
“Can I see it?” Dean begged.
“Absolutely not,” Hazel said, going over to her twin and taking him by the arm. “You and I are going to go for a stroll around the farm so that everyone else can look at it freely.”
Dean sighed. “Okay. At least I get to see it soon.” He grinned.
Hazel and Dean left the barn together, and everyone else crowded around the dress, gushing about the fact that it looked exactly like the first one and congratulating Noelle.
Vivian was crying with happiness, and Samantha was doing some kind of wild dance of joy that looked as though it had been heavily inspired by her cheerleading choreography.
In the midst of the celebration, Tom came over to Delilah and tugged gently on the sleeve of her sweater. She looked up at him joyfully, her heart full.
“I’m so grateful you’ve become part of this town,” he told her softly. “Rosewood Beach has always been beloved to me, and it means even more to me now that you’re here.”
Tears welled up in Delilah’s eyes. “I’m so happy to be here,” she whispered, squeezing his hand.
“Being a part of the Rosewood Beach community has been more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined. And even more than that—” She paused as she looked up into his eyes, feeling as though everything around her was slowing down and softening for a moment.
“Being with you is better than anything I could have dreamed.”
Tom blinked at her for a few heartbeats, grinning like a schoolboy in love. “Right back at you,” he whispered, and they shared a tender kiss.