“Three words. The wedding dress.”
She sighed, and a long moment of silence followed.
I didn’t want her to feel bad, but the dress had been the thing that had pushed me nearly over the wedding-prep edge. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate you both wanting to help, but the wedding dress is a perfect example of how that didn’t really work out. You guys are too close to this whole thing. You want me to have every good thing that exists, and I love you for that, but our tastes don’t always coincide.”
She responded with a little indignant snort. Then, finally, words. “I guess we did interfere with that a bit.”
“A bit?”
“We meant well.”
“I know you did. But I had a tiny little breakdown after that whole incident.”
“I’m sorry about that. We both are. Martha feels terrible about it.” She shook her head. “That dress was not you. I know that. Martha knows it.”
“Water under the bridge. And I’m happy to say LeRoy should have the new dress ready by tomorrow.” A thought popped into my head. “I’d really like Lila to come with us when I try it on. If that would be okay with you.”
She gasped. “Oh, Jayne, that’s a lovely idea. Yes, absolutely. That’s a marvelous way to include her.”
“Thanks. I appreciate you being so open-minded about that.” I was not going to tell her Birdie had already seen the dress.
She put her arm around me, leaning her head against mine. “Are you mad at me? About the wedding dress?”
“No!” I slipped my arm around her waist. “Mom, I could never be mad at you about a thing like that. I was just losing it from the stress of everything. And Birdie is only here to help me not go crazy. She’s great at organizing stuff like this. Plus, she’s got some distance because she’s not family.”
“Do you feel less stressed with her help?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’m glad she’s here, then.”
We stopped. We were at Birdie’s door now. I knocked.
She answered shortly, wearing a navy-blue bedazzled velour tracksuit that really set off her blue hair. “Hello there, Jayne.” Then she stopped and went into a little curtsy. “Your Grace.”
“Oh, Birdie,” my mom said. “You don’t need to do all that. We’re old friends. After everything you went through when the yetis infested your town, how could you not be dear to us?” Then she pulled Birdie into a hug. “Thank you for coming up here to help Jayne.”
Birdie looked at me over my mom’s shoulder, a slight hint of panic in her eyes.
“It’s okay,” I said. “She knows you’re here to help me deal with the wedding stuff.”
Birdie exhaled in relief as she and my mom separated. “I want you to know, Klara, that I’m really here for one reason only. To ease the burden on Jayne and help make this celebration something she and Sinclair can really enjoy. That all of you can enjoy, really.”
“Thank you.” My mom meant it too. I could tell, because she took Birdie’s hands in hers, something she did when she was a little overcome with feeling. “I’m afraid her aunt and I might have interfered somewhat with her wedding dress with disastrous results. So as much as I wish I could take charge of this whole wedding, I know better now. Having you here will help keep me—and Martha—on the straight and narrow.”
Maybe it was the arrival of Sin’s parents, maybe it was something else, but my mom was handling this remarkably well.
Birdie nodded, seemingly thinking the same thing, based on the somewhat stunned look she was giving my mom.
“Say,” my mom went on, “why don’t you come with us when we all go to Jayne’s dress appointment tomorrow?” She looked at me. “That would be all right with you, wouldn’t it, Jaynie?”
“Of course. Which reminds me…” I smiled at Birdie. “Family dinner tonight at seven, and we expect you to be there.”
Birdie’s mouth went into a happy little O. “That is so kind of you to include me, but if it’s just family, I don’t want to intrude.”
“Nonsense.” I knew where she was going, and I shut her down before she could get there. “You’re family. You’re coming.”
She smiled, a little teary-eyed. “I’m not sure I have anything appropriate to wear.”
My mom smiled. “We know people. We can work that out.” She gestured toward the interior of Birdie’s rooms. “If I could just use the housephone?”
“Of course, I’m sorry, come in.”
“Wonderful.” My mom strolled through the door. “Then you can show me everything that’s been planned for the wedding so far.”
If my mother had any doubts about Birdie’s ability to handle the wedding planning, that disappeared about three pages into the massive wedding binder she’d put together. There were sections for everything.
And I mean everything.
At a glance, I saw reception food, cake, drinks, wedding attire—which was subdivided into groom/groomsmen, bride, bridesmaids, flower girls, ushers, and ring bearer. There were more sections marked floral, transportation, seating chart (subdivided into ceremony and reception), time schedule, music, readings, colors, photography, video, officiant… I got a little dizzy looking at it all.
But snowballs, it was impressive.
Even my mother had gone a little googly-eyed at the level of detail. She blinked like she was trying to take it all in. “Birdie, I don’t even know what to say except…wow. You are clearly the right person to handle this. I am astonished by this. And filled with a new sense of joy at what an amazing day this will be. How could it not with someone taking such careful control of it all? We are fortunate to have your help.”
Birdie glowed with pride, but she shrugged like it was no big thing. “I’m happy to do it. Happy I can do it.”
“So am I,” I said. “Really, this is the best wedding present you could give us.”
My mother clapped her hands as if she’d suddenly landed upon an idea that had to be shared. “Birdie needs something to wear to dinner this evening. I need that housephone. If you’ll excuse me for a moment.”
She went to make her call, leaving Birdie and me to peer at the binder.
Birdie grabbed the florist tab and pulled that section open. I stared down at a list of items on the front page as she started to read them off. “We need to get flowers confirmed pretty quickly. I talked to your florist and got a list of all the flowers the North Pole greenhouses are capable of producing. So not only do you need to decide on what kind of flowers so the florist knows if they have to be ordered, but they also need to know the kind of look you’re going for, what sort of centerpieces you want, how many bouquets and boutonnieres you’re going to need, and what your colors are going to be.”
“First of all, the bridal attendants and groomsmen are chosen from a lottery of all the eligible young men and women in the NP. I know that probably sounds odd, but that’s our tradition, and it’s considered a great honor to be chosen. There are ten of each, but Sin and I won’t necessarily know them.”
Birdie shrugged. “Sounds fine. I’m not about to argue with tradition.”
“Secondly, no outside flowers. I only want what the local greenhouses can provide. The etiquette committee wouldn’t like outside flowers anyway. Not for a royal wedding.”
“Right. Makes sense.” Birdie made a note of that.
“I should also probably introduce you to my styling team. I’ll need to bring them up to date on some of this too. Allene is my lady’s maid. I really only use her when I have a special event to get ready for, but obviously, I’ll need her the day of the wedding. Nesto is my hairdresser, and I haven’t even begun to discuss my wedding hair with him yet. He knows what works when I have to wear a tiara, though. Same goes for Benna, my makeup artist, in that we’ve had no discussion about what my makeup will be that day. And then there’s Davide, who handles my jewelry.”
“I definitely want to meet them.” Birdie flipped the binder back to the beginning and made more notes. Finally, she looked up
at me again. “How about colors?”
“Sin and I talked about doing a black-and-white wedding, I guess because those colors are sort of built in already if you go the traditional route of a white wedding dress and the groom in a black tux, which we are. But now I’m wondering if we don’t need a little color.” I rubbed my forehead. “I promise I’ll talk to him about it tonight after dinner, so how about tomorrow you and I finalize with the florist? After we see LeRoy?”
Birdie nodded. “All right. But we still have a lot of other things to finalize. Music selections. The seating chart for the reception. The list of pictures to be taken. The choice of a wedding favor. Speaking of which, the info you gave me shows you were still undecided between the carved crystal entwined rings ornament or the silver engraved snowflake ornament.”
With a sigh, I collapsed onto the couch. “I really need Sin’s input on some of this.”
“You do, I agree, but there’s a lot you can do.” She sat next to me. “I know it’s overwhelming, but we’ll get there.”
My mom finished her phone call and joined us again. “There’s a rack of clothes being sent up for you to try on.”
Birdie’s expression was pure shock. “You just happened to have a rack of fancy clothes lying around? Palace life is a lot different than what I’m used to, that’s for sure.”
My mom laughed. “We don’t usually, but with all the impending wedding events I need outfits for, our designers have been sending clothes daily for me to try on. Good thing we’re about the same size.”
“Good thing.” Birdie whistled, then broke into a big smile. “So I’m going to wear a dress made for a queen?” She looked at me. “You have to take a picture of me so I can show Jack.”
I grinned. She was so adorably excited by all this. “I will.”
She turned to my mom. “Thank you so much for letting me borrow something of yours too. That’s very generous.”
“You’re welcome.” My mom glanced at her watch. “I have a couple things to do before dinner, so I’m going to head out, but I’ll see you both in the dining room.”
“I should go too,” I said.
“Oh, no. Stay,” Birdie said. “I want someone’s opinion on what dress to wear. This is my first royal function. I want to make a good impression.”
“If you want my opinion, I’m happy to give it.” I sat on the couch. “See you at dinner, Mom.”
“See you at dinner, honey.” She gave a little wave. “See you, Birdie.”
“Bye. Thanks again.”
“Thank you.”
A few minutes after my mom left, the rack of clothing arrived. The footman wheeled it into the living room, then unzipped the cover protecting the clothes and removed it. “Is there anything else I can do for you or your guest, Your Highness?”
“No, thank you. That will be all.”
He left, and we immediately started pawing through the rack. Mostly dresses, but there were a few outfits with pants as well. We each picked out a handful of selections.
I held out a long cranberry number covered in spangles. “I love this, but it’s too dressy for tonight.”
Birdie gave it an appraising glance. “That is pretty snazzy. Say, what are you wearing to dinner this evening?”
“A little black dress with simple black heels.” I pondered that for a moment. “But now I’m rethinking that. I mean, Sin’s dad is a Vegas magician, and his mom is basically a showgirl. A little black dress is going to seem so boring.”
“A black dress is a classic for a reason, though. And you have the kind of figure that makes simple look great.”
“That’s sweet of you, but I’m really wondering if I shouldn’t go with more of a statement. I don’t want his parents to think I’m stuffy or boring.”
“They would never think that. But…how about this?” Birdie pulled out a zebra-print skirt suit. It was beautifully cut with clean lines, and the large black-and-white pattern popped.
I grinned. “That’s pretty fabulous. You need to try that on.”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit much for me?”
I snorted. “Asks the woman who dyes her hair blue.”
“True.” Birdie gave the suit a second look. “If I did a black shell underneath, that might be nice. Okay, I’ll try it.”
“What do you think about this?” I showed her the geometric-patterned sheath dress I’d just found.
She nodded. “I like that. Very modern.”
“It would be great with a black jacket. Any chance you brought one with you?”
“No, but there might be one on this rack.”
“Let’s keep digging.”
In the end, after trying on half the rack, Birdie settled on the zebra-print skirt and jacket. It was smashing on her. Not something she’d ever really worn before, but she liked to stand out, and that suit did that marvelously.
“Now,” she said. “Let’s go to your closet and figure out what you’re going to wear.”
“Sounds good to me.” It was more fun than working on wedding details, although that was getting a lot easier since Birdie had arrived. Truth be told, that binder was still intimidating. Maybe just because seeing in one place everything that had to be done for the wedding made it seem like such a monumental task.
We headed to my apartment and straight to my closet.
“Oooh,” Birdie cooed. “This is a great closet.” Then she laughed. “Apparently, Spider thinks so too.”
I turned to see. He was snoozing in a little upside-down circle on one of my cashmere sweaters. At least it was black and wouldn’t show the fur. I shook my head, only pretending to be mad. “Spider, you little stinker. That’s one of Mama’s good sweaters.”
He stretched and blinked at me without righting his head. “Spider tired. Sweater soft. Sleep good for Spider.”
“Yes, I’m sure it is. But it’s a shame you don’t have any beds of your very own to sleep in.”
“You should get him one,” Birdie said.
I gave her a look. “I was being sarcastic. He has three. There’s one in the living room, one in the bedroom, and one is on a kitchen chair.”
She chuckled and scratched his head. “But none of those beds are cashmere, are they, little fellow?”
Spider reached out with his front feet and made a few air biscuits, then curled up tight and went back to sleep.
“Hard life,” I muttered before turning back to survey the dress section of my closet. “I could wear pants, I suppose. But my mom would probably prefer me to wear a dress. It’s more traditional dinner attire, even for a more relaxed event like this family function.”
“What’s this?” Birdie asked as she pulled out an emerald-green selection.
“That’s new. I was going to wear that to the rehearsal dinner.”
“It’s very pretty.”
“I actually have a similar dress in plum.” I showed her. “But this skirt goes into pleats at the bottom.”
“Oh, this is cute. I bet it’s very swingy.”
“It is. Might be a little too sexy for family dinner, though.”
“Or not. Let me see the black dress you were going to wear.”
I took that out and showed her. “I know it’s simple, but I was going to pair it with some good jewelry.” It had a higher neckline too.
“Hmm.” She crossed one arm over her middle and leaned her elbow on it to tap a finger on her cheek. “I need to see them both on.”
“Okay, no problem.”
“Meanwhile, do you still have a fridge full of Dr Pepper?”
“Yes, although not the magical one from my Nocturne Falls apartment. I had that one moved into the employee breakroom.”
“That was nice of you. I’m going to get a Dr Pepper, and then I’ll be in the living room.” She strolled out of the closet. “You want one too?”
“Always,” I called after her. I slipped into the plum dress first, pairing it with some gray snakeskin heels.
I looked at myself in the mirror.
With my gray pearls, this would actually be a great look. Still a little more skin than I would typically show for a family dinner. I went out to the living room to collect my Dr Pepper and see what Birdie’s reaction would be.
I did a twirl when I reached her. “What do you think?”
“That is very pretty.” She held out a bottle of Dr Pepper to me. “What jewelry?”
I took the soda, which she’d already opened, and downed a long swallow before answering. “I have a gray pearl set that has some diamond accents.”
She nodded. “With those shoes, that would be pretty hot.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. This is a family dinner, not a private date with Sin.”
“Honey, his folks are from Las Vegas. The women dance topless there. Sometimes bottomless too. You think a V-neck is going to leave them gasping?”
“No, but that’s not what this is about. Royal protocol dictates I represent myself in a certain way.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with how you look. Have you worn this dress to any functions before?”
“Once. To a cocktail party put on by the Wrapping Paper and Ribbon Curlers Association.”
“And did your mother say anything to you about the dress?”
“No, but she didn’t go to that event. Just my dad and I did. And no, he didn’t say anything about it either. Just that I looked nice.”
Birdie shrugged. “Then I say wear it. Much more impact than the black dress.”
“You haven’t seen the black dress on me.”
“Don’t need to.” She sipped her Dr Pepper. “This is the winner.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“How about this? Put this dress on, and if Sinclair makes a negative comment about it, change. If not, wear it.” She sipped her Dr Pepper. “Betcha dollar the only comment he makes is how great you look.”
I put my hands on my hips. “How about this bet? If he thinks it’s too much cleavage, you do all the music selections for the reception, and I just have to approve them.”
“Okay. And if he just says how great you look, we get the rest of these wedding decisions finalized by the end of the week.”
I cringed. But stuck my hand out anyway. “Bet’s on.”
Miss Frost Says I Do: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 7) Page 16