Natasha ~ Present
“I’M SO GLAD WE COULD fit this in today,” I told Dru as we tried on our dresses for the wedding.
Millie and Jackson had decided against the traditional Maid of Honor and Best Man, and instead both Dru and I were standing with Millie, while Ty and Rob were standing with Jackson. Neither had wanted to have to choose between the four of us, instead wanting us to all be of equal importance.
Millie would be walking down the aisle with Kayla, since our father was as good as dead in our eyes, and our beloved mother couldn’t be there.
“Ohhh, I like this one,” Dru said. When I heard her dressing room door open, I opened mine to see which dress she’d tried on.
“That is lovely!” I exclaimed, stepping out and motioning for her to turn so I could see it all.
It was a fifties-style dress, falling just past the knees with a high collar and a flattering cut, in a pretty mint green.
“This color reminds me of Mick’s eyes,” Dru said, her tone just dreamy enough to have me snapping my gaze up.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked softly.
Dru’s eyes widened, like she hadn’t meant to say that out loud, then she cleared her face and shrugged.
“Yeah, sure, don’t tell me you haven’t noticed them, they’re pretty unusual.” She tried sounding nonchalant, but I wasn’t fooled.
Before I could call her on it, she added, “It sure was nice of Jericho and Hector to offer to hold the engagement dinner, and allow us time to look for dresses today. Everything’s going to go so fast with the wedding, since Millie and Jackson don’t want to wait and want to get married as soon as possible, it’s nice to be able to give up a little control, don’t you think.”
I narrowed my eyes at her change of subject.
“Mmmm, hmmm, it sure was,” I replied dryly.
“I don’t like that one,” Dru said, pointing to the floor-length olive dress I had on.
“Me neither, toss that one over to me so I can try it on. If it looks half as good on me as it does on you, I think we’ll have a winner.”
“I wonder how Millie’s doing?” Dru asked once we were both in our own dressing room.
Millie was in another section of the dress shop, trying on wedding dresses. We’d all broken off to find dresses that we loved, promising that once we had two or three that we loved, we’d meet in the middle to show them off.
Millie hadn’t wanted to do the parade of dresses that some brides do when they are searching for the perfect dress, choosing instead to only show us her favorites.
“Here you go,” Dru said, and I reached out to take the dress from her.
“I wonder how things are going at Prime Beef,” I commented. Now that she’d brought it up, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Usually, we were involved in every aspect of an event, and not being a part of setting up one of the biggest dinners in Millie’s life was a bit stressful for me. I was kind of a control freak, and although I knew Jericho would do a wonderful job, it was hard not to be there.
“I’m sure it’s great. Hector has a great menu planned, and Jericho has a full staff working nonstop to get ready. He closed the restaurant for the day to prepare, since just about the entire town will be in attendance, and although I may not be a hundred percent Team Jericho, I know he wants this night to be special for Jax and Millie.”
“You’re right, I know you are, I just get anxious,” I replied, zipping up the back of the dress and turning to look in the mirror. I turned to one side, then the other, before turning fully and checking out the back side. “I think this is the one.”
“Great,” Dru replied, “I have on our number two. Let’s go out and grab a glass of champagne while we wait for Millie.”
We exited the dressing room and headed for the viewing area, where there was champagne, dark chocolate, and wafer cookies waiting. We poured ourselves a glass of champagne and walked to the set of large, floor-to-ceiling mirrors to check out our dresses once more.
Dru was wearing a high-low burgundy dress, which had a plunging neckline and was quite flattering. We twisted and turned, sipping carefully as we discussed the dressed.
“Don’t the two of you look lovely,” Margo, the owner of the bridal shop, said as she entered the area. “Are you ready to see Millie’s choices?”
“Yes,” I said excitedly, mentally clapping my hands together, since I couldn’t actually do so with the champagne glass in my hand.
“So ready,” Dru agreed, looking anxiously toward the bridal dressing area for her twin.
My breath caught when Millie walked in, her face flush with excitement. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was in love, that this was the one . . . the dress she was going to be married in.
The sleeves and neckline were lace, delicately beaded, with an empire waist and a gorgeous cut that fit Millie beautifully.
“Oh my gosh, Mills,” Dru gasped.
“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” I added.
“You like it?” she asked hopefully.
“Love it,” Dru and I said in unison.
“Yay!” Millie exclaimed happily. “I love it, too.”
She walked to the mirrors and sighed.
“It’s just like what Priscilla wore when she married Elvis, except a bit more form fitting and modern.”
Dru and I started laughing at that, because only our sister would choose the most important dress of her life by basing it off of Elvis’s bride.
“Oh, I love the mint,” Millie cooed when she caught my reflection in the mirror.
“That’s our favorite, too,” Dru informed her.
“Looks like we’ve made our decisions, Margo,” Millie told the owner happily, then turned to face us and said, “Now someone get me a glass of champagne, please, this calls for a celebration!”