Chapter 25
“It’s so spectacular!” Anna cried in pure delight.
“I truly hate you for this.” Cassie threw an annoyed look at the bride-to-be, happily sipping champagne with her brown eyes shining, perched on the ottoman next to where Cassie stood getting fitted in the white dress that was doomed to disaster. Probably within ten minutes after she put it on, knowing her track record with white.
“I don’t suppose you would think about extensions for the wedding, would you?” Nathan piped up from next to Anna. “It would just look amazing. All that red hair cascading down with flowers — a little less elaborate than the bride’s, of course.”
“Not happening. I’ve grown it past shoulder length for you, Anna. That’s it.”
Three months had been more than long enough to take Cassie’s hair from chin to shoulder length, since it always had grown ridiculously fast. Anna envisioned Cassie’s hair swept up on one side with waves of curls falling down the other. Jewelry and earrings had already been selected in copper metallic swirls that went perfectly with the bride’s dress and her woven copper jewelry from the same artist.
“You look like a fairy sea goddess,” Nathan said with admiration.
Cassie sighed and turned. The dress — strapless, simplistic, yet so much more than just whimsical — wasn’t something she ever would have picked out. The bodice ran in a straight line across her chest, gathered right under the breasts in an Empire waist, and fell in a soft straight rain of silk and light gauzy overlay down to her toes. Tiny crystals in the palest orange — to match Anna’s dress — were scattered under the high waistline and gathered in the back to tumble down the skirt. It was quite simply stunning.
“The shoes,” Anna presented with a flourish.
Open-mouthed Cassie looked in the mirror at the coppery twists of straps that went with the heels that would add inches to her height. “You have to be joking, right? How can I walk on the sand with those?”
“Well, the ceremony is up on the terrace. You’ll be fine there, and you take them off for beach pictures later. The skirt will look fabulous draped across the sand. Besides, next to Brody’s height, you’ll need something extra,” Anna pointed out.
The heels weren’t exactly the point. She wore them professionally every time she stepped onstage. She was nervous about the man she would be paired up with. Cassie sighed internally at the idea. “What color is Brody wearing? Please, let it be white and humiliating as well.”
Anna laughed her off. “No, of course not. He has dove-grey linen pants and vest. Light blue button-down shirt. No ties. We’re having the guys leave the top few buttons open and sleeves rolled up for a very casual, laid-back look.”
Of course, no white for Brody Miller. Another internal sigh swept through her. He would look amazing in those colors, knowing Anna’s eye for fashion.
Brody looked amazing in anything. Especially on those rare occasions he’d dressed up to take Cassie somewhere special, like the night he’d taken her to the opera in New York. Brody had rocked her world that day when she had finished keynoting to a crowd of five thousand entrepreneurs and walked off stage to see him standing there with a thick growth of stubble, a tailored Fedora, and open arms to surprise her. He had been almost unrecognizable and Cassie had been blown away not only by the surprise but by Brody’s look of utter pride when he had told her how incredible she had been onstage.
She stared at the formal-gown-covered woman in the mirror and barely recognized herself from that vibrant, healthy time. Shadows that never quite went away anymore — unless they were carefully covered with makeup — rode under her eyes. Every bit of her still looked too skinny from the lost muscle tone she’d been so proud of. Now, she just looked… well… not as good. Cassie didn’t really know how to describe it. Taking another deep breath, she let it go.
Slowly climbing the ladder back to health took time Dr. Lane had said, and it would only be more so in her case since Cassie had allowed herself to get so rundown.
Finished with memory lane, Cassie turned, stepped off the measuring step, and thanked the seamstress. The gown would be incredible any way it was worn.
“You have outdone yourself as usual,” she told Anna. “Now it’s the bride’s turn. Let’s see this dress you and Nathan picked out while I was away.”
Anna jumped up and nearly bobbled her glass of bubbly. “It’s so perfect. Wait until you see it on me.” On a laugh, she practically danced into the dressing room.
Cassie sat down next to Nathan. “You could have helped her pick out something, you know, not this.” She accused holding up a handful of white skirt.
He flicked away her comment with an absent shrug. “What can I say, Cassie Bear? It’s fantastic on you. Anna has an eye for these things.” Nathan tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and took her chin to tilt her face right and left while he nailed her with vivid blue eyes. “Still not sleeping well, I see. No worries. We’ll have an expert makeup team on hand for the big day. You decide to take anything yet?”
It was an observation that only a best friend could make and one laced with concern. Cassie hadn’t slept well in a long time, and her old doctor had, a few months ago, hinted not so kindly during Cassie’s check up that she should consider anti-depressants, at least for the short term. That suggestion had been met with a single middle finger followed by her firing her old physician. Nathan and Anna had guided Cassie, in their own pushy and insistent way, to Dr. Lane, who was finally helping Cassie make progress.
“No, I don’t need anything. I hate the idea of the side effects, remember?” Never in her life had Cassie been good with medication of any kind.
“That meditative track Anna sent you to help with sleep. Have you tried it?”
“I have. It helps me go to sleep better, so thank you.” She was trying lots of things thanks to her two friends, and she was getting better, just slower than she would have liked. “I’m still waking up religiously at three a.m. every night.”
Closing her eyes in defeat, she laid her head on Nathan’s shoulder. His comfort had been there with her as long as she could remember. Someday she would get used to sleeping alone again. How could such a short time with someone leave you so lonely that even months later, you continued to ache to feel their arms around you? Brody Miller had done that to her.
Nathan wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “It’ll all get better soon. I promise. Now, let’s put on our happy faces. The bride should be out soon.”
As if on cue, Anna stepped out, radiant in her one-of-a-kind gown. The couture design suited her to a T. The bottom mimicked Cassie’s gown, though it was a little fuller and more trailing as befitted a bride, but the top… the top was a stunner. The silk overlay went in a square cut across her chest, and straps cannily wrapped and twisted over her shoulders to cross in the back. It exquisitely showcased Anna’s beautiful toned physique. And the color of palest orange against her honey-gold skin was perfect.
“Well, if Cassie is the fairy sea goddess, you sweetie, are the earth goddess.” Nathan saluted Anna with a flourish. “Chase is going to bow down with gratitude when he sees you walk down the aisle.”
Anna’s radiant smile was all Cassie needed to see, and she knew that she couldn’t let her friend down. There had to be a way to get through the wedding week, only a few short weeks away, and come out alive. Seeing Brody again might be for the best, giving them closure and a chance for a final conversation — for Cassie to apologize on her part. She took no pride in the things she had said to Brody that last night.
Wedding details swirled around them for the next several hours as they shopped for accessories, found lingerie for the bride, and spent lunch reviewing all the details of the trip ahead. Cassie just had to finish October, and after a brief trip back home to see her family, she would be flying to Santa Barbara for the yoga retreat. Deciding to table any more fun and bonding with her family for the year, Cassie had agreed to spend Thanksgiving with Nathan and Philip. The Island wedding would follow four weeks after, then she could sweep in the new year.