“No, I think I’m the lucky one,” I said. “Now hang up so I can look at myself in the mirror.”
He sputtered and then yelled at me to tell him what my dress looked like. I hung up on him when he was halfway through his entreaties.
“He’s kinda pissed,” I said, handing Sloane my phone.
“Redhead pissed?” In our experience of dating redheaded men, there was a special kind of mad they got that we had dubbed “redhead pissed.”
“Close, but not there yet. I’m really enjoying this though.” I turned all the way around.
“I should probably practice walking in this right?” I asked.
“Which is why I have…” she said, running to her office and then coming back with a box, “these!” She presented me with a pair of absolutely stunning red pumps. They had red ribbons that Sloane proceeded to drape and tie around my ankles as I struggled to stay upright and not fall over as I stood on one foot.
“There,” she said, rising and panting a little. “We might want to practice doing this a few times before the big day. I’ll be like your Maid of Honor pit crew. Able to put on a shoe or adjust a garter in three seconds or less.” I took a step and found that Sloane had not only put insoles in them, but she’d put cushions in the heels so they didn’t rub.
I was used to walking in heels, so it didn’t take too much effort to adjust to these. I walked to the mirror and Sloane whistled.
“It’s going to be a miracle if you get up that aisle without him grabbing you and then running off to bang you somewhere close by.” Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past him.
“Yeah, but then my dad might fire him.”
“True.”
Lucah was still working for Clarke Enterprises, but after the wedding he was probably going to find something else. It was just too much of a conflict of interest for him to work there, on top of all the other shit that had gone down in the past year. I shoved those unpleasant thoughts aside and filled my mind with thoughts of my wedding.
I didn’t want to take the dress off. Sloane was still working on my second dress, which was vintage inspired with a high neck, short sleeves and a hem that cut right near my knees. I had the feeling it was going to make me feel like I was part of the cast of Mad Men or something.
“Okay, we should probably get it off,” Sloane said with a sigh, as if she was just as disappointed as I was.
I pouted a little in the mirror as she helped me. Since it was backless, I wasn’t wearing a bra, but there was plenty of support built into the dress, so the girls weren’t going anywhere.
Dressing in my regular clothes was lame and I began to question why I couldn’t just wear a wedding dress all the time.
“So, what are your plans with Mr. Ginger tonight?” Sloane asked as I slipped my feet into a pair of boots.
“He’s bringing home curry and then probably a movie and some serious fiancé naked time.” She made a face.
“I didn’t need to know that.” Like she was one to talk.
“Um, I didn’t need to know about that thing that Ryder does with his tongue. Although, I’m definitely going to ask Lucah to try it. Maybe it’s genetic?” Sloane moved her long black-dyed hair over her shoulder and zipped the dress back into its garment bag.
“One can only hope. I think we’re going to stay at his place and pretty much do the same thing. Except I’ll make curry from scratch.” She gave me a smug smile and I smacked her with my bag.
“Not all of us are amazing cooks and good at sewing things and good at pretty much everything.” Sloane sometimes gave me a complex. Whatever she set her mind to, she accomplished. Even getting Ryder. She wanted him ever since she found out Lucah had a brother who also had red hair.
“Being a genius can be such a burden,” she said, putting the back of her hand on her forehead. I smacked her again and then said I’d see her on Sunday.
I’d been going to dinners with my family ever since I’d moved out at eighteen to go to college and the tradition had grown to include Lucah, Sloane and Ryder. My mother said she loved having “young people” in the house and Dad said it made things more lively. I was just glad Ryder could curb his overuse of the word “fuck” for a few hours and not horrify my mother.
Since it was nasty out, I took a cab instead of slogging through the spring slush to take the T. April had arrived and brought with it a lovely combination of snow and rain that were still clogging the streets of Boston. This was not my favorite time of year. I couldn’t wait for it to be summer again, and not just because of my wedding. My friends and I had finally been able to schedule our long-awaited Girls Weekend and were heading up to my parents’ cabin in Maine in the middle of May. It was also going to serve as my bachelorette party, but I wasn’t supposed to know that.
Lucah was already unpacking the food when I walked in the door.
“Hello, Sunshine,” he said, coming to greet me. Every time I was away from him and we reunited, no matter how short our separation had been, we acted like it had lasted for years.
“Hello, Mr. Blythe,” I said, offering my lips up for his kiss. It zinged through me and I wondered how long the food would stay warm in those containers. Thinking about the wedding had me thinking about the wedding night and then the honeymoon and all the dirty things we were going to do to each other. Sloane was basically providing me with an entire suitcase worth of lingerie and not much else. Fortunately, we were going to someplace warm for our honeymoon. That was all Lucah would tell me. Since I got to keep the secret about the dress, it somehow entitled him to keep a secret from me as well. Guess old habits were harder to change than either of us thought.
We headed for the bedroom instead of the curry.