Zoe came dancing into the bedroom. “Is it time for your dress now, Mummy?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes,” the beautician answered, satisfied with the result of her artistry.
“I love your dress, Zoe,” Nicole said, thinking how well the deep blue suited her dark colouring.
She twirled to show it off. “It’s the same blue as the Ulysses butterfly. I told Daddy that was what I wanted. And then we decided the bridesmaids should be like the Australian sky, light blue in the morning, bright blue in the middle of the day, and dark blue after sunset. Wasn’t that a good idea, Mummy?”
“A lovely idea, Zoe,” she agreed, and it had been transmitted by Jade and Jules into beautiful floor-length georgette gowns with the three shades of blue graduating down from the light colour for the strapless bodice to the deeper shades in the skirt.
“And Daddy had these butterfly clips in my hair made specially for me,” Zoe declared proudly.
“They look very pretty.”
As did the blue silk butterflies adorning the hair of the bridesmaids. Quin’s idea, Jade had told her, to mark a very special day.
Her mother, dressed in a very elegant deep violet outfit to blend with the bridal party, made a brisk entrance. “It’s twenty to three, Nicole. We’re not going to be late, are we?” she asked anxiously.
“No, Mum. I’m all ready bar for the wedding gown, and as you can see, the dresser is taking it out of its plastic wrapping now.”
The wedding planner Quin had hired, had staff running everywhere, ensuring everything was perfectly done; the hairdresser, the beautician, the dresser, the florist. Nothing was overlooked and each step of the preparation was on schedule.
The gown was unzipped and held out for Nicole to step into. She stood up and discarded the wrap-around she’d worn through most of the afternoon.
“Wow!” Zoe cried, her eyes popping at the sexy underwear.
Nicole gave a nervous laugh, hoping Quin would appreciate her own personal contribution to their wedding later tonight.
“Is that bride stuff, too, Mummy?”
“It sure is!” Jade answered, laughing at Zoe’s innocent remark. “I just hope you’re going to love the dress, Nic.”
She’d never seen it. She’d been fitted for it with the underlining for the bodice, not once with the dress itself. A froth of white georgette was pooled on the floor. There seemed like many layers of it. Nicole stepped into the space at the centre of it, careful not to snag her high heels in the fabric. She fitted her arms through shoestring shoulder straps as the gown was pulled up her body. Then the dresser zipped it into place and Nicole stared at her reflection in the cheval mirror placed ready for her to see herself.
The bodice was tightly fitted from her breasts to her hips and intricately and beautifully beaded with tiny crystals creating the shape of a butterfly. There was a centre split in the front skirt to just above knee high for easy walking up any stairs, which might have been difficult with so many floating layers of georgette. At the back, the skirt fell gracefully into a train, making it very bridal.
Her mother heaved a happy sigh. “You look wonderful, Nicole.”
“Spectacular!” Jade said with satisfaction. “Are you happy with it?”
“Yes. It’s…it’s stunning!” Nicole said dazedly. “Thank you so much.”
“The concept came from Quin. Jules and I simply translated it as best we could.”
Quin had gone to so much personal trouble to get everything right for her. Right in a very meaningful sense. Surely no man tried to please a woman so much if he didn’t love her, but he’d never said the words. He would today, in the wedding ceremony. Would he mean them, or would he just be repeating the traditional marriage vows?
“Now your flowers,” the dresser said, handing Nicole the three red roses she was to carry as her bouquet.
Not hot-house buds. These roses were in full bloom and strongly scented. As was the one that had been positioned in her hair, just above her left ear. Jade had told her Quin didn’t want a bridal veil to be worn—nothing to hide her hair, just a red rose to enhance its natural beauty.
Red roses for love.
Please let it be true, she thought, her heart yearning for a fairy-tale ending to all she had been through with Quin.
The bridesmaids’ bouquets were handed out, posies of roses in every colour. “Because butterflies like lots of pretty colours, Mummy,” Zoe informed her.
Nicole’s nerves were fluttering as they were all led down to the waiting limousines which would take them to the wedding venue—still a closely guarded secret.
It was another stunning surprise when they were driven only a short distance—to the Sydney Opera House!—and escorted up to the northern Concert Hall foyer which featured the fantastic arch of windows overlooking the harbour. Rows and rows of white-sheathed chairs had been placed on red carpet—all of them filled with wedding guests. White pedestals held spectacular arrangements of red roses. The whole scene was fantastic.