Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
TWENTY MONTHS LATER
Adalyn spread out the cathedral-length lace train and smiled at the effect. It was beautiful. The dress was gorgeous, the veil was stunning, and everything looked perfect—so long as one didn’t look at the bride’s face.
“It looks like a tail.” Caryn Andersen’s nose scrunched up in disdain, and Adalyn repressed a heavy sigh, just barely refraining from rolling her eyes.
“It’s very classy. It will look perfect in St. Mary’s as you walk down the aisle. The effect will be very dramatic.”
If there was one word in the English dictionary that Caryn was familiar with, it was drama.
The woman was full of it. She was full of something else, too, but Adalyn kept that thought to herself.
Caryn came from money, and lots of it. Her great-great-grandfather had owned several steel mills, and her family had made a fortune over the last couple of centuries.
As the demand for U.S. steel died away, the family moved into other ventures, including technology. The woman never let Adalyn forget that she was “beneath” her, treating her like a servant more than a successful business owner.
Adalyn had been tempted more than once to escort the woman from the shop, but, unfortunately, Caryn had too much influence in the area.
One negative word from Caryn Andersen and Adalyn’s shop would fold within a month.
And she needed Caryn’s income now more than ever.
With that thought, Adalyn squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.
“Of course, we could go with a smaller train, something less… noticeable.” Adalyn knew the strategic wording of her statement would catch Caryn’s attention—and not in a good way.
Predictably, the woman’s head snapped toward her as she continued.
“Lauren—” Adalyn let out a small cough as if covering a mistake.
“Um, another bride had a train this length a few months ago.”
Caryn’s eyes narrowed. Lauren Weaver-DiDonato was the woman’s archrival, and she had just been married three months earlier to the oldest son of the current Italian president.
Lauren, unlike Caryn, was the sweetest person Adalyn had ever met.
Although both women were socialites, Lauren devoted her time to multiple charities and organizations. Caryn devoted her time to, well, Caryn.
Although she was the face of a local organization to end hunger, Adalyn had never seen the woman lower herself so much as to walk past one of the food banks.
They weren’t exactly in a part of town that Caryn frequented.
In fact, she was notoriously picky. Adalyn had heard that Caryn sent back meals every time she went out to eat, and local restaurants feared her presence.
They, like Adalyn and every other small business owner in the area, were forced to play nice or suffer the consequences.
A sneer curled over the woman’s face. “My wedding—and my dress—will be better than that tramp’s.” Caryn flicked the train behind her. “Everyone knows he should have been mine. I won’t let her steal my moment.”
She studied her reflection in the mirror for a moment. “More. I want it longer. I want the veil longer, too. And more crystals.”
Good Lord. The dress already weighed nearly forty pounds.
Caryn, with her usual dramatic flair and less-than-ideal sense of fashion, had demanded the most over-the-top styles for her dress.
The cathedral train extended six feet behind her, and the expensive, delicate lace flared around her feet in a mermaid style before skimming up her body, hugging her curves.
The sweetheart neckline clung to her generously enhanced breasts, dripping with hand-sewn Swarovski crystals.
Three thousand and eighty-two. Adalyn would know—she’d counted every one.
Her assistant Jenn and Adalyn had taken turns sewing them on two weeks ago when Caryn had made her latest demand.
Now she wanted more? She was going to blind every person in that church when she walked down the aisle.
Adalyn attempted to do some damage control. “We could add more, but I think this understated look is perfect, don’t you?”
It wasn’t understated by a long shot, but classy wasn’t exactly in Caryn’s vocabulary.
Caryn rolled her eyes. “Of course you would. You wouldn’t understand what someone like me needs. I’m held to a higher standard, you know. People look to me to set the bar. Everyone loves me.”
Everyone loved to hate her, that was for sure. Adalyn refrained from rolling her eyes. “What did you have in mind?”
“I just told you. More crystals, as big and as many as you can fit on here. All over the train, too.”
Adalyn’s eyes widened. “Well, if you want the train to be longer, I’ll need to order more lace. As for the crystals, we’ll need to stick to smaller clusters. If we put too much strain on the lace, it’ll rip.”
Caryn whirled on Adalyn, her finger hovering in her face. “You’re just lazy and incompetent. You don’t want to do any more work. All you’ve done since I walked through the door is talk down to me and tell me what I can and can’t do.”
She poked her finger at Adalyn, her long, manicured nail coming perilously close to Adalyn’s chest. Could Adalyn sue her for assault if she stabbed her with one of those things? “I’m the bride. I make the decisions here. I want more crystals, and you’re going to make it happen.”
Adalyn clasped her hands together at her waist and clamped down on her anger. “We can do whatever you’d like. I’m just trying to avoid you having to spend your wedding day with a hole in your dress.”
Caryn’s eyes narrowed, and her lips pressed together firmly before stalking off the small platform. “Fix this.”
“Can I help you take the dress off?”
“You’ve done enough.” The words were a snarl as she slammed the dressing room door behind her.
Adalyn gritted her teeth and curled her toes inside her shoes, forcing herself to stand still instead of barging into the room behind her and ripping every perfectly dyed blonde hair from her head.
She couldn’t wait for this wedding to be over.
It was still a month away, which was far too long in her opinion.
Adalyn wondered how the poor groom felt.
With a shake of her head, Adalyn made her way to the front of the shop, straightening gowns as she went.
Though they kept many designers’ samples, most people came to Adalyn for her unique designs.
A fiancée of a local baseball player had come to her a couple of years ago and, after trying on almost twenty gowns, had looked despairingly at Adalyn and said she just wasn’t finding the one.
Eager to help, Adalyn sat down with the young woman and sketched out some ideas. Two months later, the woman got married in Adalyn’s first gown made by hand. The bride sang Adalyn’s praises, and Something Blue was now sought-after for custom gowns.
Amy, the receptionist, popped her head over the desk. “Is it safe to come out now?”
A grin tugged at the corners of Adalyn’s mouth. “Not quite. She’s—” A commotion came from the back of the shop. “—on a rampage again, apparently.” Adalyn walked quickly toward the back.
“Stupid dressing rooms are too small. Ugh!” Caryn threw the dress on the ground just as Adalyn came around the corner. The woman glared at Adalyn. “And this fabric is cheap. It ripped right down the back as I was taking it off!”
Adalyn locked her hands together in front of her and squeezed tightly, drawing in a deep, calming breath.
Don’t kill her. She’s not worth it. Adalyn had to reorder more lace anyway to adjust the length of the train, so she would fix that at the same time.
She’d just tack the price on to Caryn’s ever-growing bill.
Thankfully, the bridesmaids had already purchased and picked up their gowns.
The only thing left for them to do was have a few minor alterations done, and they had those scheduled for just a couple of weeks prior to the wedding.
After this wedding was over, Adalyn would never have to see the supercilious, self-righteous woman again.
Caryn shot Adalyn a challenging look, and Adalyn pasted on a tight smile, refusing to let Caryn ruffle her feathers. “Just leave it there and we’ll take care of it.”
Aggravation flashed on the woman’s face; she was obviously disappointed that she hadn’t been able to get a rise out of Adalyn. With a huff, she stomped toward the front of the store, designer handbag swaying at her side. “I’ll be in touch. Maybe next time you can get it right,” she sneered.
The doorbell jingled a happy little tune as it closed behind her, and Adalyn shot a glance at Amy, who flashed both middle fingers at the woman’s retreating form.
“Good riddance.”
Adalyn laughed. “She’s a handful, that’s for sure. Can you imagine what the poor groom must feel?”
Amy shuddered. “She either has him completely whipped or he’s just as much a jerk as she is.”
Adalyn made a small sound of commiseration. “Maybe he’ll come to his senses.”
“Then what?” Amy turned to Adalyn. “Can you imagine having to deal with that woman a second time around?”
Now it was Adalyn’s turn to shudder. “God, no. I’d talk to the groom myself, convince him to keep her.”
Amy laughed. The sound was drowned out by the jingling of the bell over the front door. A familiar young woman walked into the salon, and Adalyn’s stomach dipped. She’d forgotten that Megan was coming to pick up her final paycheck today.
Megan had been Adalyn’s employee since the salon opened almost three years ago.
She’d been reliable—up until about a week ago.
Megan was getting married this summer, and Adalyn had gotten complaints recently that, when working with bridal parties, she talked more about her own wedding than the customer’s. Not to mention the money.
Megan was Adalyn’s third key—the backup to Amy and Adalyn. They rotated opening and closing the store each day. Unfortunately, the last several times Megan had closed by herself, Adalyn had found money missing from the drawer the following morning.