In Love by Christmas

by Cari Lynn Webb

  “It was the fabric, wasn’t it?” Josie asked before she could stop herself. These women drew her back in. Made her feel comfortable. She hadn’t felt that...well, ever. Josie took in Helen’s elegant, lean frame. Adriana Taylor had the same build and, like Helen, she’d make a beautiful bride. “They would’ve needed additional fabric to accommodate your height and that altered the cost of the gown.”

  “I’d think they’d have wanted a sale.” Jin shrugged.

  “Or to make a bride feel beautiful on her wedding day, no matter what.” Josie crammed a bite of cheesecake into her mouth, censuring herself. No one had asked for her personal opinion. Best to keep quiet, Josie. The parents here yell even more if you talk.

  Yet she believed every bride should shine on their wedding day. Mimi had taught her as much. The one summer Josie had lived with Mimi, they’d assisted more than two dozen brides inside the one-hundred-year-old chapel in Lake Valley.

  She wanted Adriana and Shanna to feel the same on their wedding days. It wasn’t about how lavish the wedding was or how much it cost. It was about the love between the bride and groom. Josie wanted every wedding dress she touched to showcase that love. Years later, the couple might not remember the details, but they’d always remember how they felt. That was the most lasting memory.

  “How I wish you were designing back then. My mother would’ve adored you.” Helen patted Josie’s arm again.

  Once again, her touch was warm, kind and comforting. Josie wished she could reciprocate, but it never came easy for her. After her third move to a new foster home, she’d skipped the hugs and resorted to simple handshake introductions. Even with her ex-husband, she’d never readily reached for his hand. Always aware of her surroundings. Always unsure of his reaction.

  Helen waved her fork in the air and continued her story. “My mother brushed off every negative bridal consultant and took me all over the state. We finally located a tiny family-owned boutique up north.”

  Mia rose and picked up a framed picture from the side table. “And you got your perfect wedding dress.”

  “I took on an extra job as a cashier at the ice-cream shop that summer to pay for my extralong veil and shoes.” Helen touched the picture frame. Joy and love softened her face. “I’ve never forgotten my mother’s words. ‘Always hold your head up, Helen, and you’ll be able to see over the ones trying to look down on you.’”

  Josie studied Helen’s wedding picture. Was it wrong to take the best parts about Helen’s dress and do a modern spin on the silhouette? Was that stealing? She had very little to sway Theo. Panic steam pressed into her skin. “It looks like you were married in a fairy garden.”

  “The redwood forest was simply magical that day.” Helen’s eyes widened and lit up as if a dial had been set to dazzle.

  There inside Helen’s vivid gaze, her breathless voice and unsteady smile was the love—that feeling Mimi had always insisted would be the most precious memory for any couple. Josie wanted to capture that in a gown. Weave it through the beading and pearls. Apply it with appliqués on lace. Extend it from the top diamanté button all the way through to the embroidered train. She wanted to give that gift to every one of her brides. That would fulfill her. That would be enough.

  Helen added, “Certainly erased all the tears and stress that led up to our wedding.”

  “Carlo and I had no stress.” Jin set down her fork and picked up Mia’s free hand. “We were having lunch at a quaint bistro in SoHo. He reached across the table, took my hand and said in his usual blunt way, ‘Let’s get married now.’”

  “James never really asked, either. He more or less told me we were getting married.” Helen and Jin laughed together.

  Would Theo plan an elaborate proposal or simply tell his girlfriend? He was too detailed not to propose in an extravagant manner.

  “I also laughed at Carlo. Our families didn’t much care for each other.” Jin traced the large ruby on her wedding ring. “But he never flinched. Instead he told me I was missing one thing and slipped this ring on my finger.”

  Josie leaned forward and searched Jin’s face. That same sort of love glowed inside her dark gaze—the same way Adriana’s gaze had glowed at lunch earlier. “What did your families do?”

  “We never told them.” Jin shrugged. One side of her mouth tipped up and time stepped back.

  Josie saw only the young woman, in love and willing to risk everything for one man. Love required a courage Josie wasn’t certain she possessed.

  Theo’s bride would be well-known, capable of standing on her own in his world. His family’s approval—that would be required.

  “We filled out the paperwork at the courthouse after lunch and headed upstate,” Jin added. “We discovered a tiny historic chapel in a forgotten small town on the backroads. Inside we exchanged our own vows—ones from the heart. A retired minister blessed the union.”

  Mia crossed her arms over her chest and eyed her mother. “But you were married at the courthouse in the city.”

  “That was to satisfy the state of New York and our parents.” Jin wiped at her damp eyes. “The real occasion was inside the tiny chapel.”

  Would Theo agree to a secret ceremony? One reserved for only his bride and himself. A romantic moment only the couple shared. Or would budgets and expenses dampen the storybook occasion?

  Jin continued, “I wore my pale pink suit ensemble and a feathered hat with a veil that reached my chin.”

  “You wore the suit at the courthouse, but not the hat.” Mia set down her cookie and brushed her hands together. “I have your picture—the one taken outside the courthouse on your wedding day.”

  “The veil belonged in the chapel.” Jin touched her cheek as if feeling the brush of the delicate fabric. “It was perfect. The minister blessed our union, Carlo lifted the veil and kissed the breath right out of me.”

  Josie smiled. She’d lost her breath only twice in her life: once after she’d miscalculated the distance to the wall during swim lessons—lessons she’d taken her first and only year of college. And after she’d signed her lease on the boutique space. That day, she’d escaped outside and thrust her head between her knees, gasping around her sudden dread. She’d never risked so much.

  But being kissed breathless? Josie wasn’t convinced that was possible. Theo looked capable of that kind of... Josie carved out a large bite of cheesecake and ignored the direction of her thoughts.

  Still, she hoped every bride experienced Helen and Jin’s kind of love. But the feelings were up to each couple. As for Josie, she’d add magic to the bride’s day and perhaps give her clients a wedding dress that left them breathless. “Do you still have the hat?”

  Jin nodded, a half grin on her face.

  “Mom, why didn’t you tell me?” Mia asked. “I could’ve used it in my wedding weeks ago.”

  “That was your day, dear.” Jin cupped Mia’s cheek. “Your chance to make your own perfect memories.”

  “Can I see the hat?” Mia asked.

  “It’s boxed up and safe,” Jin said. “One day it will be yours. For now, I want to hold onto the memory a little longer. Selfish, isn’t it?”

  Helen gripped Jin’s hand. Two widows who recognized what the other had lost. Who understood the grief and joy in revisiting the memories. Who leaned on each other now for friendship and support.

  Mia stood up and hugged her mom. “I like knowing there was more than the courthouse.”

  “There was so much more.” Jin rested her head on Mia’s shoulder.

  Josie’s wedding had been at a courthouse, too. Her ex had explained they were too practical for the expense and pomp of a fancy ceremony. She’d had no guests at her marriage. No secret chapel or fairy-tale forest setting. But she had her imagination, her sketches and her clothes. Josie looked at Mia. “Do you have your parents’ wedding picture?”

  “It’s in the fron
t room.” Mia walked out to retrieve the picture.

  Josie set her design book in front of her and picked up the pencil she kept stuck between the pages. “Jin, can you describe your hat?”

  Jin scooted closer to Josie then used her hands and words to form an image of her bridal hat. Josie drew the hat on the model, drawing Jin’s excited exclamation. “That’s it.”

  Josie continued drawing, covering the sketch model in a fitted gown that flared out at the knees. She added a lace overlay. Wrote the word lavender in the margin. Sat back, studied the gown and drew a fur capelet over the shoulders.

  “A muffler,” Jin suggested. “Unexpected.”

  Josie’s pencil skipped over the page.

  Helen leaned closer. “A bouquet of winter berries and branches. Rustic and enchanting.”

  Josie started again, drew her model sketch and covered her in the same gown. Only she replaced the capelet with a floor-length veil that fastened at the neck.

  Jin sighed. “It’s stunning.”

  Mia clapped her hands. “I want to wear that gown and have another wedding.”

  Josie laughed and turned to the next page. So many pages—a lot more than she had when she’d arrived for dinner. She kept sketching, outlining another gown. The scratch of the pencil tip silenced the voice of her inner critique. She glanced at Helen. “This one is for you.”

  Illusion sleeves, a scalloped border at the hemline and a chapel train filled the page. Clear crystals and sequins covered the medallion lace dress. A satin lining would complete the gown. Helen suggested juniper boughs and silver-dipped pinecones for a different wedding bouquet. Jin wondered about crystals to make the bouquet shimmer like snowflakes in the sun. The three women resorted to one-word exclamations. Stunning. Exquisite. Dramatic.

  Josie’s inner critic countered—Too basic. Not original. Had she truly captured Adriana?

  An hour—and almost a dozen designs—later, Josie walked to the door, her design book tucked under one arm, a to-go bag swinging from the other. She hadn’t given up. What would Theo think of her now?

  “Remember to lift your chin on Sunday and stand tall.” Helen cupped Josie’s cheek. “If you need a hit of whipped cream afterward, you know where to come.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “THANK YOU FOR meeting me here.” Adriana touched a garment bag draped over one of her empty office chairs. “I wanted to give you this since you gave me the idea at lunch yesterday.”

  Adriana had called Josie before she’d left her apartment that morning and asked her to meet at the Coast to Coast Living offices. Adriana hadn’t mentioned anything about a gown. Intrigued, Josie walked closer to Adriana and the chair. “What idea?”

  “Sorry. Let me start over.” Adriana laughed. Excitement wrapped around her voice, seeping into her bold green eyes. “This is my Grandmother Pearl’s wedding dress. And it’s in very good condition, too.”

  “If treated appropriately and cared for correctly, vintage gowns can be worn today.” Josie grinned. Finding an unexpected vintage piece always thrilled her.

  “You talked about upscaling vintage gowns at lunch. I thought maybe... I think Grandmother’s dress would fit me.” Adriana reached for the zipper. “I didn’t put it on. I just held it up. We were similar in our build. Mother says I got my height and eyes from my Grandma Pearl.”

  “Can we take it out?” Josie asked. “Look at it?”

  “Adriana.” Theo’s sharp voice ping-ponged around the office, vibrating from the office doorway. “Where have you been?”

  Adriana pulled her hand away from the garment bag as if she’d been burned, then stepped forward to address her brother. “I was up in the attic at your house.”

  “The attic?” Theo repeated.

  “I was looking for... Never mind.” Adriana shook her head and motioned toward Josie. “I was just telling Josie that I found Grandmother’s hope chest up there.”

  Theo inclined his head toward Josie.

  Josie nodded back—a slight tip of her chin, giving away even less than Theo. Although she was certain something sparked in his gaze. Almost as if he liked seeing her. As for her, that race in her pulse was only for Adriana’s discovery of her grandmother’s dress.

  “I forgot we had moved all Grandmother’s things to the attic in the main house.” Adriana’s words and her joy continued to tumble out. “I discovered all her china tea settings and the server table she loved so much. The spinning wheel that belonged to one of her great aunts. I even found her handmade wooden Christmas ornaments. Do you remember those?”

  “We have a meeting in five minutes.” Theo crossed his arms over his chest, his stance widened like a bodyguard prepared to deter the uninvited. Clearly, he wasn’t interested in joining the vintage club. “You’ll have to amuse yourself with a trip down memory lane later.”

  The edge in Theo’s voice startled Josie, pulling her focus to him. Pain flattened his mouth and his tone. That spark was extinguished. She recognized the hurt—she’d heard the same snags in her own voice as she tried to avoid her own past. Memory lane wasn’t pleasant, or a trip Theo took willingly it seemed. And Josie guessed his pain was from more than a missed vacation to Europe.

  But what could a man as successful and confident as Theo Taylor have suffered? People only ever show the finished side of every project, Josie. Often, the backside is just too messy. But there was nothing messy about Theo or his sister.

  “This isn’t a random trip, Theo.” Adriana touched the garment bag as if protecting it from Theo’s harsh words. Sadness muted the wonder in her tone. “I was looking for Grandmother’s wedding dress.”

  “Why?” Theo’s voice was implacable. Rigid. “You can’t wear it.”

  The bow on Adriana’s pale pink 1920s-inspired silk blouse wilted like her excitement. Josie wanted to comfort Adriana and kick Theo. Anger, not pleasure, made her pulse race now. Couldn’t he see that their grandmother’s possessions meant something special to his sister?

  Adriana set her hands on her hips and glared at her brother. “Why not?”

  Josie almost applauded Adriana’s boldness. Instead she dipped her chin in approval.

  “It’s a used wedding dress.” Theo glanced at Josie.

  How dare he? Josie stepped closer to Theo, not wanting any misunderstanding to be blamed on the distance between them. “If a vintage dress is customized by a skilled dressmaker, a wedding guest would have trouble discerning where the old ended and the new began.”

  Theo moved closer to her, as if to ensure his low voice reached her. “I won’t ruin my sister’s wedding with the past.”

  Stubborn, stubborn man. The dress could never upset his sister.

  “A new gown will be the start of new memories for Adriana. She’ll look back on her wedding day and want to revisit each and every single moment,” Theo said. “To accomplish that, Adriana will need to have a one-of-a-kind dress.”

  Josie acknowledged that he wanted the best for his sister. She appreciated that and how he wanted to protect his sister—he loved her. But his unfair distaste of used gowns was less than pleasing. “A modified vintage gown could be considered one-of-a kind.”

  Adriana stepped beside Josie, their shoulders bumped in solidarity.

  “Perhaps by the amateur eye,” Theo countered. “There is nothing amateur about the Taylors.”

  And there was nothing professional about a wannabe dressmaker with a hobby. Josie picked up the garment bag as if that would relieve the tension inside the room. “There’s nothing wrong with vintage gowns. But your own unskilled eye cannot recognize that.”

  Adriana’s voice softened into a plea. “You haven’t even seen Grandmother’s dress, Theo.”

  “She most likely bought it at a five-and-dime store. I’ve seen the photographs.” Theo walked toward the doorway. “It’s simply not good enough for you.”

&nbs
p; “Josie could make it perfect.” Adriana smiled at Josie. “Mia showed me pictures of your clients’ reworked wedding dresses.”

  Theo paused. His attention shifted back to Josie, his gaze intense and unsettling. “Josie has promised to make you an exclusive dress, Adriana. Forget about Grandmother’s.”

  How painful was your past that you’d opt for one of my gowns rather than your own grandmother’s? Shun your own family. Josie wanted to take Theo’s hand and comfort him. No questions asked. No answers required. But she knew little about comforting someone else. Even less about easy, natural affection. She stepped past him out into the hallway.

  Theo followed her as she walked away, his deep voice stopped her outside another office. “What is that by the way? In your hands.”

  Behind Josie, Adriana gasped then coughed.

  “This?” Josie met his gaze and tossed his words from their lunch meeting back at him. “It’s a possible business venture I wanted to share with Adriana. Nothing to concern yourself with.”

  Theo’s gaze narrowed on her as if he debated whether to believe her or not.

  Josie held his gaze and never flinched.

  “Theo, dear.” A woman’s voice splintered between Josie and Theo, breaking the connection.

  Theo winced and sighed.

  Josie shifted her attention to the striking pair of women weaving around the last desk toward them. She recognized Mrs. Taylor from the online photographs that clearly hadn’t needed to be altered to improve on the older woman’s timeless beauty. The photographs had only failed to capture Lilian Taylor’s movements, which were graceful, fluid and purposeful.

  His mother called to him again, revising her greeting to a simple wave. Then she pitched her son’s name higher, to float over his employees.

  Theo inclined his head in acknowledgment.

  Josie gaped at him, certain he’d released another sigh, only this one was curse-infused. He was a man anything but thrilled to see his mother.