I’m about to tell her that I can wear my flannel and jeans when Mom asks, “Is it easier if you have something to start with?”
Clem nods absentmindedly while making long strokes on her notepad with a pencil.
“I’ll be right back.” Mom rushes out of the room, leaving me and Kristy in confusion.
But a minute later, she’s back with a huge box. Kristy and I jump to help her while Clem continues with her scribbling.
“What’s that?” Finally, we have Clem’s attention, and she looks up from her notepad.
Mom opens the box and scrapes away the tissue paper to reveal a wedding dress.
We all gasp, and after a beat, Clementine expertly draws the dress out of the box and holds it up.
It’s an elegant silk dress without overflowing yards and yards of fabric.
Clem hangs the dress on the mannequin and starts inspecting the different layers, adding some pins here and there.
“It’s my wedding dress,” Mom says. “We found it while we were cleaning the attic during the renovation. Your dad put it in the trunk of my car today, in case…you’d like to try it on.” She fidgets, rubbing her hands over her pants.
Sparing me not even a second to overcome the emotions coursing through my heart, Clem claps loudly and throws her arms around Mom.
I’m surprised by the flash of anger that hits me. I don’t like when she leaves me on the sideline and gets all chummy with my mom.
But then she springs to me and pulls me into a hug. “I’m going to transform this dress into your dream, Rose.” Pulling back abruptly as if she remembered something, she turns to Mom. “I can modify the dress, right? Um, like major changes?”
Mom chuckles and waves her hand toward the gown. “Yes, feel free to use your magic, but only if Rose wants it.”
“I’d love it, Mom.” I speak through the ball of emotions welled up in my throat.
Kristy squeals with a wide dazzling smile on her face. “This can be your something old!”
Her words cause a foreign tingling in my chest. I never thought I’d have a wedding, let alone all the cheesy traditions. “My…something old?”
“Yes. One of your four somethings. As your matron of honor, it’s my responsibility to make sure you have all of them.”
“You’re my... matron of honor?” My pulse races in surprise. How much my life has changed in the past year. I have my mom’s wedding dress, a sister putting together my bachelorette party, and a fiancé at home taking care of wedding arrangements with my dad.
Everything feels like I’m in a dream, and I plan to never wake up.
* * *
“Get up, Mrs. Teager.” Zander strokes my face, and I open one eye ruefully.
He smiles and my heart does a little jump. Spread out next to me, sun kissing his beautiful face, he makes me wonder, once again, how I got so lucky.
This man, this handsome man, is going to be my husband.
As he tucks a stray hair behind my ear, I whisper, “It’s too early.”
“It is. But it’s only two days until our wedding. I can’t wait for Wednesday to come, Mrs. Teager.” His wistful voice drifts my sleep away.
“I love how it sounds.” My fingers glide over his short stubble. Zander knows how much I like it overgrown, and he’s seen that it grows to my liking.
“Mrs. Teager,” he repeats with a heartwarming smile.
I nod and pull a little on the spiked five o’clock shadow, making him groan. His eyes transition from dreamy to lustful in a fraction of a second.
“What do you do to me, Rose?” he whispers, closing his wild eyes as my fingers drift to his hair. I tug on it with more force.