Clara in the Caribbean (Clara Andrews Series - Book 6)

by Lacey London

  ‘Don’t change the subject.’ Snatching the offending dress out of her hands, Gina slams it back onto the rail. ‘I wouldn’t be any kind of friend to you if I let you get married in that.’

  ‘You don’t look like a princess.’ Madison mumbles, shaking her head and sticking out her tongue. ‘I don’t like it.’

  Sighing dramatically, Lianna folds her arms and pushes her way out onto the street. ‘How many times have I got to tell you all that I don’t care what I wear. It’s not about the dress.’

  I scratch my nose in a poor attempt to cover a yawn. ‘You do care, Li. You know you do.’

  ‘You do care! You do care!’ Madison chants, pointing at Lianna and giggling like a Gremlin.

  ‘What about Vernon?’ Gina pushes. ‘I’m sure he doesn’t want to see you walking down the aisle in a cheap, cotton maxi dress.’

  ‘Well, I think Vernon would marry you in a bin liner.’ Smiling sweetly, Eve takes Madison’s hand and shoots Lianna a wink.

  Li rolls her eyes as we walk along in the sunshine. Taking Melrose’s pram to give Gina a break, I pause to tie up my hair. Before today I didn’t think it was possible to tire of retail therapy, but after half a day of shopping with two girls under five I am starting question my beliefs. For the past three hours we have been scouring the shops in a desperate bid to find a wedding dress for Li. As soon as we left the villa this morning, Lianna made it quite clear that she didn’t want a traditional wedding dress and if we don’t find anything soon she is going to get her wish.

  Taking a sip of her water, Gina shields the sun from her eyes and pauses to look around. We must have been in over thirty shops and we haven’t come across anything even close to being wedding appropriate. Unless Li wants to say I do in a flimsy beach cover up she better find something and she better find it fast.

  ‘Let’s look in here.’ I point to a rustic looking store on the other side of the road. ‘If there’s nothing in there then we’re going to have to go back to the villa.’

  ‘I want to go back villa!’ Madison screams, jumping up and down and turning red in the face.

  ‘Let’s just try this last one.’ I offer her a tired smile which she returns with a frown.

  Not waiting for us to catch up, Lianna crosses the street and pushes her way inside. Deliberately staying a few steps behind, I tug Gina’s sleeve and pull her closer.

  ‘What are we going to do with her?’ I whisper, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. ‘I know that she’s going for the whole laid back Caribbean vibe, but not having a proper wedding dress? She will regret it. I know she will.’

  ‘Maybe she really doesn’t care what she wears.’ Eve muses. ‘I think it’s incredibly romantic.’

  ‘Well I think it’s stupid.’ Letting out a scoff, Gina looks both ways before dragging us across the street.

  Taking off my sunglasses, I slip into the shop and exhale gratefully as the ice cold air conditioning cools my warm skin instantly. Glad to be out of the strong sun, I run my eyes over the rails of dresses and try to pick out anything white. From beach dresses to simple kaftans, there seems to be everything you could ever want in here, except a wedding dress.

  Gina plucks out a strapless jersey dress and frowns before pushing it back into the pile. ‘How hard can it be to find a bloody wedding dress?’

  ‘Probably not very hard if you’re looking in an actual wedding dress shop.’ I yell as loudly as possible in order to ensure that Li can hear me.

  For some reason, Lianna has refused point blank to visit a wedding dress shop. Why? I have no idea. Flicking through a rail of wrap dresses, I bite the inside of my cheek and start to feel a little concerned. My best friend is getting married in a matter of days and she doesn’t have a wedding dress. Personally, I don’t know how she isn’t having a full scale melt down.

  ‘What about this one?’ Li’s voice pierces my thought bubble as I wander over to see what she has picked out.

  I shake my head and rub my throbbing temples as she shoves it back onto the rail. Melrose lets out a whimper and I rock her pram gently. Please don’t wake up. The last thing we need is a screaming baby on our hands. Diving back into the dresses, Li pulls out up a white satin maxi dress and holds it against her.

  A store assistant nods in approval and slips out from behind the till. ‘Very pretty and you’ve certainly got the figure for it.’

  ‘She has, but it’s for a wedding...’ I mumble enviously, taking a glimpse of her name badge. Delores, what a lovely name.

  ‘This is great for a wedding!’ Smiling brightly, Delores takes another dress from the rail and holds it up. ‘We also have this one. This colour will look great on you.’

  Giving the magenta skater dress a quick glance, I shake my head and take the white dress from Lianna. ‘It’s for a wedding, so it has to be white.’

  ‘White?’ Delores clasps her hands to her face in horror. ‘Oh, no! Only the bride should wear white.’

  ‘She is the bride!’ Eve giggles, leading Madison away from an intricate jewellery display.

  Delores looks back and forth between the both us, an alarmed expression on her face. ‘You’re the bride?’

  ‘I certainly am.’ Lianna smiles proudly and holds out her enormous ring.

  Delores whips her glasses off her head and plants them on the bridge of her nose.

  ‘Please tell her that she’s crazy!’ Gina interrupts crudely. ‘She can’t get married without a wedding dress, she just can’t!’

  ‘Your friend is right! You can’t get married without a decent dress.’ Motioning for us to follow her, she pushes her way through the rails into the back of the store. ‘That ring needs a dress that is equally as special.’

  Flashing Gina a confused look, I shrug my shoulders and hope for the best. As we snake through the small shop, I catch Lianna eyeing up a white wrap dress and slap her hands away. Shooting her the sternest stare that I can muster, I bite my lip as we come to a store cupboard. With a quick wink, Delores disappears inside, leaving the six of us stood around like a pack of lost puppies.

  ‘This was a stupid idea.’ Gina whispers angrily. ‘We should have bitten the bullet and gone straight for the wedding dress shops.’

  I am about to retort that this was actually her idea when the store cupboard door sweeps open. Smiling excitedly, Delores holds out a selection of dress bags. The top one is covered in dust and the others don’t look like they have seen sunlight in years. Feeling deflated, I smile uneasily at Delores as she ushers us into the changing rooms. Lianna pinches my arm and I know without looking at her that she wants to run in the opposite direction. Not wanting to be rude, I take a seat on an old sofa and pay attention as Delores unzips the first bag. It’s certainly a lot more formal than anything else that we have seen today. The art deco inspired, classic, ivory, shift dress screams Hollywood glamour, but it’s not exactly what I would call a wedding dress.

  ‘It’s fab!’ Gina squeals, pushing Lianna forward. ‘Try it on!’

  ‘Do you like it?’ Eve asks, shooting the dress a quick glance. ‘Is that the kind of thing you were thinking of?’

  Lianna takes the dress and runs her fingers over the fabric. ‘I’m not sure.’

  ‘Just try it!’ Delores begs, holding out the dress. ‘You can’t be sure until you try it.’

  Watching Lianna slip behind the curtain, I usher Gina in behind her to help with the zip. A quick glance at my watch tells me that we have just a few hours of sunlight left. I sincerely hope that Delores has something special hidden in one of these bags or Lianna is going to be getting married in a white beach towel. Hearing the distinct sound of a zipper being pulled, I look up as Gina pulls back the curtain.

  ‘It’s gorgeous!’ I breathe, motioning for her to spin around. ‘I just don’t think it says bride…’

  ‘I agree.’ Reaching out and picking a piece of cotton off the hem, Gina shakes her head and yawns. ‘Next one.’

  Delores frowns at our dismissive comments and reache
s for the next bag. ‘Well I like it.’

  ‘Me too.’ Eve gushes. ‘It’s really… unique.’

  I look at Lianna for her opinion, but she simply shrugs her shoulders. ‘I don’t mind it.’

  ‘But do you love it?’ Gina presses, leaning against the railing. ‘You are supposed to love your wedding dress.’

  Shaking her head, she rolls her eyes and retreats back into the changing room. Mentally kicking myself for criticising the one dress that could possibly pass as half decent, I fix a smile to my face as Delores takes the second dress from the bag.

  ‘Now that is a wedding dress.’ My eyes sparkle as the soft chiffon shines under the bright lights.

  ‘This definitely says beach wedding!’ Gina claps her hands together excitedly and takes the knee length gown off the hanger.

  Crossing my fingers that this is the one, I watch with bated breath as Gina hands the dress through the curtain to Lianna.

  Unlike the hundreds of other dresses that we have dismissed today, this one is exactly what I would have picked out for her. Dainty, simple, floaty and flirty. What more could you possibly want from a wedding dress?

  ‘I think this is the one!’ I whisper to Madison as she flashes me the thumbs up sign.

  Suddenly feeling extremely optimistic, I sit back in my seat and feel myself start to relax. Maybe today won’t turn out to be a disaster after all. Tugging Madison onto my knee, I cover her eyes as we wait for the big reveal.

  I hear undefined mumbling from behind the curtain and find myself straining my ears to hear what is going on.

  ‘It’s perfect!’ Gina gasps. ‘I love it!’

  ‘It is?’ I yell, a little too loudly considering that we are in an enclosed space.

  ‘Let me see!’ Madison screeches, tearing my hands away from her eyes.

  Squealing in anticipation, I jump up and throw back the curtain. With a delicate scooped neckline and an empire waist, it is so simple yet beautifully elegant. Gina’s right, it’s absolutely perfect. It couldn’t be more perfect.

  ‘Li! You look like an angel!’ I clasp my hands to my face and try to stop the tears from falling. ‘It’s beautiful.’

  ‘Incredible.’ Eve confirms, wiping away a stray tear.

  Spinning around to Delores, I throw my arms around her and breathe a sigh of relief. ‘You are a lifesaver.’

  Shaking off my praise, she takes a handful of flowers from the vase in the window and shakes off the water before handing them to Lianna. My heart pangs as she holds the flowers in front of her like a bouquet. Now she looks like a bride. Madison’s cheeks turn pink and I know by her silence that we have her seal of approval too. High fiving Gina and Eve, I am about to breathe a sigh of relief when Lianna speaks up.

  ‘I don’t know…’ She mumbles, clearly not very impressed.

  Feeling shell shocked, my mouth drops open as we all turn around to face her.

  ‘What do you mean?’ I ask, my brow creasing into a frown.

  Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she scrunches up her nose and shrugs her shoulders. ‘I don’t like it.’ She shakes her head and motions for me to unzip her.

  ‘What do you mean you don’t like it?’ Gina yells furiously. ‘It’s stunning!’

  ‘It’s perfect!’ Delores chips in, obviously as perturbed as the rest of us.

  I wait for Lianna to explain further, but she just sticks out her bottom lip and sighs.

  ‘Wait a minute, I thought you didn’t care what you got married in?’ Folding her arms, Gina squints her eyes at Lianna and taps her foot impatiently.

  Ignoring our protests, Li looks down at the dress doubtfully. ‘Well, maybe I do.’

  Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, I lock eyes with Gina and shake my head.

  ‘Sorry, Delores. I really appreciate all your help.’ Attempting a small smile, Lianna hands her back the flowers and looks down at her feet.

  ‘Aren’t you going to try the last one?’ Eve points to the last bag on the rail hopefully.

  ‘Try it!’ Madison demands, stamping her feet in annoyance.

  Giving in to the peer pressure, she asks Gina to unzip her and takes the bag into the changing room.

  ‘It might be a little big, but don’t worry. I can sort that for you.’ Delores pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose and raises her hand in acknowledgment as a customer walks into the shop.

  We wait in silence for a moment, before Lianna finally speaks up. ‘I’ll take it.’

  ‘Really?’ I attempt to slip inside the changing room, but Lianna holds the curtain firmly closed.

  ‘No!’ She yells loudly. ‘I don’t want you to see it.’

  ‘Why?’ I shoot Gina a confused look as we both stand behind the curtain, ready to pounce the second that she lets go.

  ‘Because you’re just going to say that you don’t like it and this is one that I actually do like…’

  Her voice is so small that I suddenly feel a little bad. At the end of the day, it’s Lianna’s choice what she wears at her own wedding. Have I crossed the line from helpful friend to over bearing control freak? Picking up Madison, I ignore the glares that I am getting from Eve.

  ‘We won’t, Li. I promise.’

  Holding onto the curtain, she pokes her head out and squints her eyes. ‘I don’t believe you.’

  ‘We’ll be nice. Won’t we, Gina?’ I poke Gina in the ribs and nod furiously.

  Gina holds her hands in the air and smiles. ‘Cross my heart.’

  ‘I’ll keep them in check, Li. Don’t you worry.’ Taking control of the situation, Eve smiles confidently and motions for her to come out.

  Holding my breath, I bite my lip as Lianna draws back the curtain. Not knowing what to say, I resort to a silent gasp as she twirls around. Gina’s jaw drops open as she nods in approval. Despite our obvious appreciation for the frankly incredible dress, no one says a word.

  ‘Well?’ Li probes, resting her hands on her hips. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘I love it.’ Gina gushes. ‘It’s not what I thought you would want, but I do love it.’

  ‘Princess!’ Madison screams with delight and throws herself at Lianna.

  My eyes scan the dress, taking in each and every detail. The beaded fishtail gown hugs every curve and the plunging neckline makes her look even more statuesque than she usually does. The crisp white fabric looks striking against her golden skin, making it obvious to the world that she is most definitely the bride.

  ‘I love it too.’ I sigh, eyeing up the stunning gown. ‘You look absolutely incredible. It’s flawless.’

  ‘Flawless.’ Eve confirms, practically drooling over the beautiful gown.

  ‘Well, it’s not quite flawless.’ Spinning around, she points to the waist and pulls out a handful of fabric. ‘It’s a few inches too big.’

  Trying not to feel envious that a dress so small could possibly be big, I look at Delores for help.

  ‘I can deal with that.’ She trills, smiling widely. ‘Let me get my tape measure.’

  Watching her whizz off through the shop, I push myself to my feet and throw my arms around Lianna. ‘You’re going to be the most beautiful bride the world has ever seen.’

  A lump forms in my throat as I look at my best friend. I can’t believe that she is the same girl that flew out of the UK just a matter of days ago. All the stresses of Periwinkle seem to have melted away and in their place is a chilled out, loved up Li. My head might be asking a million and one questions about how she is going to make this marriage work when there’s over four thousand miles between them, but my heart is willing her to take a chance and go for it. I guess it really is true love when you genuinely don’t care what you walk down the aisle in. It’s obvious to anyone that Lianna isn’t doing this for the wedding, she is doing it for love. Mad, crazy, can’t be without each other love.

  Wiping away a stray tear, I step to the side as Delores returns with a sewing kit the size of Mount Kilimanjaro. Fluffing up her afro, she instructs Lianna
to stand still and gets to work at pinning the dress to fit her body. Humming away happily as she transforms the dress into a second skin, Delores pats Li on the bum as puts in the final pin. Standing back to see the final effect, Lianna lets out a squeal and twirls around like a little girl.

  ‘Now it’s flawless!’ Gina breathes, nodding in approval.

  ‘How soon can the alterations be done?’ I ask, bringing us back to reality with a bump. ‘The wedding is in four days…’

  I watch Delores screw up her nose and reach into her pocket for a little red notepad. ‘It’s going to be tough, but I think I can make it work.’

  A round of applause echoes around our group as Lianna throws herself at Delores gratefully.

  ‘You, Delores, are a superstar!’ Planting a kiss on her cheek, I rub my tired eyes. ‘Seriously, you have well and truly saved the day.’

  Brushing off our compliments Delores rushes off to serve a customer, leaving the three of us to talk.

  ‘Happy now?’ I ask, helping her out of the frankly fabulous gown.

  ‘Very happy.’ With a final glance at her reflection, she shuffles into the changing room and pulls the curtain behind her.

  ‘Now that we have found you a dress, can we please go for a cocktail?’ Gina crosses her fingers as she waits for a response.

  ‘I sincerely hope that you haven’t had enough?’ Lianna throws back the curtain and hands me the dress bag.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Gina and I ask in unison, my head throbbing at the thought of yet more shopping.

  ‘Well, now that we have got my dress sorted, we just need to buy yours…’

  How to get a beach body.

  Have a body.

  Go to the beach.

  Chapter 13

  ‘Well?’ I ask, spinning around in my newly acquired bridesmaid dress. ‘What do you think?’

  Oliver looks up from the television briefly and nods. ‘Fantastic.’

  ‘Is that it?’ I retort in annoyance. ‘Seven hours of shopping, a thousand dresses and all you can say is fantastic.’

  ‘It’s beautiful, babe. Perfect.’ He pulls me down for a kiss before returning to his football match.