Gone was the harried, whiny basket case from a week before, the one who was ready to toss herself off into the ocean with every perceived disaster. My bestie knew just what she wanted and just how to make it happen if people would just leave her to it, which made her a whole lot easier to please. “Absolute perfection,” Lucy replied.
“Good,” Deidre said. “We do have a few things to go over today, like the color coordination for the flowers in the chapel, as well as the music you’d like and any extras you may have considered.” She walked us into the chapel Lucy had already selected. It was stately and sophisticated, though small, and the lavender décor complimented her silver beaded wedding dress to perfection. In fact, it was so simply decorated that she would be the most dazzling focal point of the room, like any bride should be.
It was perfect.
“Have you given any thought to your color scheme?”
“Anything but puce,” she mumbled, which made me laugh.
But it did pose a problem. In all our planning, we hadn’t really talked about what color that I might wear for the ceremony now that I didn’t have to wear that drab monstrosity on order from Cabot’s. “What color would you want me to wear?” I asked her.
“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it, honestly.”
Deidre pointed to the two tall vases with lavender that sat on either side of the altar. “Anything goes with silver. You can use pastel tones like lavender, or a mix of pink, lavender and powder blue. Or if you’re looking for a more sophisticated ceremony, you could opt for something a little more drastic. Basic black for your bridal party, with white-on-white to contrast, which will go beautifully with the hydrangeas you ordered. Roses, lilies and orchids, all bundled together with special jeweled accents to tie it together with sort of a bejeweled theme. Then, if you’d like a little dash of color, you could add accent flowers in whatever color you’d like, including silver or gray silk roses with beading and rhinestones.”
Lucy nodded. I knew she’d like the sound of that. “Well, I guess we have to go shopping for your maid of honor dress,” she announced to me.
Deidre made a notation on her computer tablet. “Let me arrange a limo to take you to our local bridal shops.”
The minute we crawled inside the luxurious rented car, Lucy poured us more champagne. “You know that I don’t care what kind of dress you wear, right? Whatever color, whatever style, it’s your call. We’ll make the rest work.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve got my dress, which is silver. I’ve got my flowers, which are white. The guys are in black tuxedos with silver vests and white boutonnieres. Like Deidre said, that scheme goes with pretty much everything,” she said. “Except maybe earth tones. So, okay. We leave colors like mustard, moss or brown in the 1970s where they belong.”
We laughed. “It doesn’t matter what I wear. You’re going to be the star attraction.”
She shrugged. That didn’t much matter to her. She didn’t need a big spectacle. She just wanted a few of the things she loved surrounding her on her special day.
Finding something I liked proved a little more challenging. We went through four shops, each more frustrating than the last. While many had extended sizes, the selection was often limited to formal wear that didn’t flatter my particular figure. Short, stout and top-heavy, remember? One store in particular specialized in extended sizes, but what they had available didn’t exactly trip my trigger, and it would all require tailoring, even those dresses that technically fit.
With each new dress I tried on, I realized that having more choices rather than less left me further dissatisfied. Surely I could find something that I liked.
We ended up putting a few dresses on hold, just in case. One was a black tea-length dress with a simple V-neckline and beaded embellishments at the bottom. I didn’t feel beautiful when I wore it, but I made peace with the idea it wasn’t exactly my day, so it didn’t matter if I felt beautiful or not.
I also reserved a lavender dress with a black lace overlay, which fit properly, but its square neckline and flared skirt didn’t look as though it belonged to the same wedding as Lucy’s dress, nor did the pastel pink asymmetrical dress with a sash that draped behind in a small train.
Fortunately for me, Lucy was just as dissatisfied with the choices. There was nothing that made us both stop everything and shout, “That’s the one!”
We were both out of sorts when we met up with the men back at the hotel for dinner. Gus reminded us that his sister would be in town by Monday, and perhaps she could help us land the perfect dress when she chose hers. That didn’t make Lucy rest any easier, whose entire wedding plans were now on hold as we decided what color we’d include in the palette.
We took in another show that night, and parted ways shortly after to retreat to our private suites. Needless to say, after such a grueling day trying on clothes without finding anything I liked, I was a little more withdrawn when Devlin and I reached our hotel room. He poured me a drink before he joined me on the sofa in our sitting room.
“Come on. It can’t be as glum as all that,” he said as he wrapped an arm around me.
“How can it not be? Lucy is getting married in four days and I haven’t yet found a dress. She’s fought so hard to make this wedding perfect, and here I am gumming up the works because now I can’t make up my mind.”
“You deserve to feel as beautiful as she does,” he said as he cuddled me closer. “And that’s what she wants for you. Don’t worry. You’ll get it.”
I shook my head. “It’s not my day, so it doesn’t matter if I feel beautiful or not. We’re trying a few more shops tomorrow. No matter what I find, I’m going to make peace with something so we can finalize the rest of the plans.”
“So you’re going to settle,” he deduced.
I shrugged. “Story of my life. Why stop now?”
He said nothing as we sat together, his hand absently brushing my hair. Finally he took the drink from my hand and put it on the table, before he pulled me into his arms for another kiss. As hot as it was, I couldn’t shake the nagging dissatisfaction I felt that I couldn’t walk into any store and find something that made me feel good about myself. This was why I had begged and pleaded with father to provide extended sizes for our clientele. I knew how it felt to exist in a world where I didn’t quite fit. And every touch of Devlin’s hand, every kiss on my skin, only reminded me what an oddball I was, which made his ruse a little harder to swallow.
Finally he pulled back to look at me. “You’re not going to be happy till we fix this, are you?” Before I could answer he pulled me up from the sofa and dragged me by the arm to the door.
“Where are we going?” I asked, though I didn’t resist.
“We’re going to get you a dress.”
CHAPTER TEN
Despite my many questions, Devlin was tight-lipped as we piled into the cab he hailed outside the hotel at eleven-thirty that evening. Instead of talking to me, he was on his phone the minute the door shut behind us. “Hey,” he said into the phone. “You up for company?” There was a pause. “I have a fashion emergency. We need your help, STAT,” he added with a good-humored grin as he winked at me. “Great. See you in about twenty minutes.”
“Where are we going?” I asked again when he disconnected the call.
“I think I know someone who can help,” was all he said as he pulled me back into the crook of his arm.
The cab took us west, away from the bright lights of the strip, which made the towering neon behemoth of the desert look like any other normal city with neighborhoods and family homes and supermarkets and drycleaners. It all seemed so… ordinary. “Sometimes I forget that people live here,” I said, which made both the cabbie and Devlin smile.
We curved around on the Summerlin Parkway, before exiting to a suburb in the shadow of Red Rock Canyon. The cabbie finally came to a stop in front of a nice condominium. Devlin got out first, and then offered his hand to assist me to my feet. He then
paid the cabbie, tipping handsomely I might add, before he took my hand and led me to one of the townhome apartments.
I wasn’t sure what I expected when the door finally opened, but a robust redhead wasn’t it.
She stood about five-foot-five or six, with curly hair the dark color of rust. She wore purple-framed glasses and a wraparound purple dress covering her ample figure, which my trained eye could figure was at least a size 22 or better. She finished the ensemble with ballet flats on her feet. She appeared younger than Devlin by a good five years. There wasn’t a speck of makeup on her face, which made her look even younger still. She paused to wipe a stray bit of tomato sauce from the corner of her chin. “Dev! What are you doing here?” she asked Devlin before throwing her arms around him for a big hug where he picked her up off of her feet.
He squeezed her tight. It was clear his affection for this unusual woman was great. “How can I come to Vegas and not visit my sister?” he asked.
My eyes flew open wide as he turned to make the introductions. “Coralie, this is Darcy Masters. Darcy, this is my good friend, Coralie Cabot.”
I thought “good friend” was a bit much, but it wasn’t like he could call me a trick, or a john (Jane?) Clearly he didn’t wish to identify me as a client, which was fine by me. I extended a hand with a smile. “Lovely to meet you.”
Darcy wiped her hand on her dress before she reached for a handshake. “Miss Cabot, so nice to meet you too. Please. Come in.”
We both entered the townhome, which had mannequins strewn across the living room that clearly did double duty as a dress shop. There were various dresses in all sorts of states of production, from the newly cut and pinned, to the halfway sewn, to those near-completed items waiting for their final touches. Every color of the rainbow, every size that I could think of, there was an outfit in some process of assembly in the crowded room.
“I have some leftover pizza from dinner,” she commented over her shoulder as she tried to clear off a space for us to sit on the cluttered sofa. “You’re more than welcome to have some. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, thanks,” Devlin answered for us. “Another late night?”
“Oh my God, you have no idea,” she breathed as she carried all the patterns and books and pads of paper filled with sketches in one arm load towards her equally cluttered dining room table. “I have a quinceanera next weekend, along with weddings booked every single weekend through September. And of course, there’s the work at Sonora Wind,” she added, and Devlin nodded. Darcy then glanced at me with the same hazel eyes as her brother. “I’d apologize for the clutter and chaos, but that’s business as usual around here. Are you sure you don’t want something to drink or eat?”
We both shook our heads as we sat on the newly cleaned couch. “Actually, I was hoping that you could help Coralie find a dress to wear for her best friend’s wedding next week.”
Darcy chortled. “No pressure.” She turned to me. “What kind of dress were you looking for?”
“That’s just the thing. I’m not really sure. I don’t know if I’ll know it till I see it.”
“That does complicate things a bit,” Darcy nodded. “What does the bride’s dress look like?”
I pulled out my phone to show her a photo.
“God, that’s gorgeous. Love the old Hollywood glamor of it, with all the fringe and the intricate beaded design. And I especially love that it’s not boring old white. Get married in color, I always say.” Again her eyes met mine. “So what’s the problem?”
I leaned forward. “My friend Lucy, the bride, has really given me free reign to pick a dress that I like best. But you know how it is with extended sizes. You can find a dress in your size, but it’s not always the proper fit, especially with formal wear.” Darcy nodded. “For instance, me in a strapless anything, forget about it. Taffeta, no thank you. I really want to complement Lucy’s overall aesthetic, with the right neckline, maybe a bit of bling but not too much. Something like you said, old Hollywood glamor. And it’s not that easy to find the right balance of bling before heading over into Tackyville.”
Darcy kept nodding as she listened. Finally Devlin interjected, “Coralie is the friend who wore the burgundy velvet number I requested.” He then pulled out his phone to cue up a photo I never even knew he had taken, before he had even reached me at the bar that night.
“Oh, right. I remember. That’s actually a very flattering look on you,” she said as she studied the photo. “Did you want to go with something along this style?
“Maybe something similar but nothing as sexy. I mean, it is a wedding after all.”
Darcy laughed. “So glamor over bombshell. Got it. Do you mind if I take your measurements?”
I shook my head and stood while she fetched the measuring tape. Devlin watched silently as his sister took the necessary measurements, and noted them on a piece of paper. “You’re not going to believe this, but I think I actually might have something that might work. Stay right there,” she instructed before she disappeared up the darkened stairs to the second floor.
I turned to Devlin. “I can’t believe that’s your sister.”
“What can I say? She got all the looks in the family.” I laughed and his face split into a proud smile. “She’s an amazing designer, but you know how it is. You need money to make money. Mostly she does alterations, that kind of thing. She really shines when she can create, though. Thankfully she’s able to do that more and more. It helps that she lives in the wedding capital of the country.”
I nodded. If the velvet dress was any indication, she certainly had a knack for fitting dresses to enhance different body types. That she was a larger woman herself was probably why. I honestly had no idea what kind of dress she’d bring downstairs when she returned, but when she finally unveiled three possible options, they all took my breath away.
The silver floor-length formal satin dress was a few shades darker than Lucy’s wedding dress. The bodice featured pleated fabric that gathered from beaded center of the sweetheart neckline towards the matching beaded waistline, an hourglass design that sparkled and shined under the low light from the room that would clearly enhance a fuller figure. It was strapless, which I didn’t care for, but there was no question she hit the “glamor” part on the head.
“Obviously there are a few changes I can make. I could have added a halter strap with the same beaded design as the bodice if there was more time. As it is, I can just use a simple satin sash on both sides. We’ll have to hem it, of course, but that’s no problem.”
Before I could examine it further, she yanked it out of my hands to offer me another floor-length dress, this time in pale silver chiffon, with a dramatic black beaded bodice with a plunging neckline and spaghetti straps. “I know this one is probably a little sexier than you were thinking, but I have a chiffon wrap almost exactly this color of silver. You could wrap it around your shoulders and secure it with a brooch for the ceremony, then do what you will for the reception.” She gave me a wink. I had to laugh.
Finally she produced another chiffon beauty, this time in rich navy blue. It had a halter strap around the neck, with sheer matching fabric on either arm that gathered in the back towards a graceful train dotted with crystal rhinestones. The dazzling empire waistline was likewise beaded with rhinestones, and the skirt flowed to the floor in a flattering A-design. It, too, had a plunging neckline, but it looked far more glamorous than sexy.
It reminded me almost instantly of the song Delvin had played for Lucy, dazzling stars in a dark blue sky. It just felt right. I knew when I held it that it was the one I wanted. “Can I try it on?”
Darcy grinned. “Absolutely.”
She escorted me upstairs to her bedroom, where she cleared more clutter from the unmade bed, tossing it all in a heap in the corner of the room near her sewing machine. There was yet another mannequin standing nearby, with a tape measure hanging around the neck, and pins sticking out of the soft fabric of the plus-size model.
I drew closer to examine the photo in detail. Devlin couldn’t have been more than six or seven at the time, and he stared up at someone I could only presume was his mother with a look of absolute adoration on his face. It tugged my heart a little. As the children in the photos aged, that smile faded. Pretty soon there were only photos of Devlin and Darcy. My brow furrowed as I processed what that meant.
When I emerged from her bedroom, the long skirt dragged the floor behind me as I padded barefoot down the stairs where Darcy and Devlin waited. Darcy was beside me in a second, primping and fussing as she figured out what she could do to make it perfect. “I don’t think I’ll have to hem it that much if you’re wearing the right shoes. How tall can you stand your heel?”
I shrugged because I didn’t know. I may have sold fine fashion, but it wasn’t as though I had ever been encouraged to wear it. After getting my shoe size, Darcy sprinted back up the stairs and I turned to Devlin, whose eyes poured over me in warm appreciation. “That’s the one,” he assured me, and withdrew his phone so we could take a photo for Lucy. I knew at once he couldn’t have been lying, because there were several other options from which to choose.
Masters for Hire Page 15