The Christmas Pact(18)

Eventually, when the taillights were no longer in view, I opened the front door and hurried inside. My mom and sister were sitting at the dining room table, exactly where they’d been sitting when I’d left to walk Kennedy out. Mom looked over at me.

“Did Kennedy get off alright?”

“Yeah.” I thumbed back toward the front door. “Umm…weren’t you…at the window a few minutes ago?”

My mom chuckled. “No, honey. I’m nosey, but not that nosey. I’m sure you two lovebirds needed a little private time to say your goodbyes.”

Hmmm…

“Was anyone at the window? I thought I saw the blinds move.”

Mom smiled. “No, sweetheart. None of us have moved a muscle since you left to walk Kennedy out to the car.”





Riley



“So there’s been a slight change of plans.”

Kennedy called me during my drive to Rochester. I was only about twenty minutes away.

“What is it?”

“I’m stuck at this tux fitting place with the guys from the wedding party. They screwed up all of the sizes, and now they’re trying to fix it. So I won’t be able to meet you at my mom’s shop.”

Kennedy’s mother was supposed to be giving him the keys to her boutique so he could take me to select a dress for the wedding. I wasn’t exactly sure what this news meant.

“Should I wait for you somewhere?

“No. If you wait for me, we won’t have enough time before the rehearsal dinner. I just got off the phone with my mom, and she’s going to meet you there.”

Panic started to set in. “Kennedy, I can’t meet your mom without you!”

“Why not?”

“We haven’t even discussed what I’m going to say or anything.”

“Honestly, Riley? Just be yourself. That’s more than enough. There’s nothing you could say that could make you better than you already are.”

His words calmed me down just a tad. Seriously, what a sweet thing to say.

“I guess I just thought maybe you wanted me to jazz things up a bit. You know, like how we met when I was saving you from a burning building. That sort of thing.”

He let out a hearty laugh. “Riley, that was never the plan. Tell the truth. Although, maybe neglect to mention that I lied through my teeth to your mother over Christmas. My mom doesn’t need to know any of that.”

I blew out a breath. “God, now I’m nervous. I thought you’d be with me.”

“Riley. You’ll be fine. And I’ll be there as soon as I can.”





Mrs. Riley’s boutique was basically a little house, situated at the corner of a residential street. A white lace gown with a champagne-colored sash was displayed in the window and a sign read: Suzanne’s Bridals. From what Kennedy told me, his mother’s shop also featured regular dresses and shoes, as well as the bridal gowns.

One-stop shopping to meet your fake boyfriend’s family.

A bell chimed as I opened the door.

“Be right there!” I heard someone call from the back.

My palms were sweaty as I geared up to meet Mrs. Riley. My eyes trailed along a line of white dresses sandwiched together along the left side of the room. On the other side were evening gowns and shorter dresses in a rainbow of colors.

“Riley?”

I turned toward the voice.

A petite woman with short brown hair and a huge smile greeted me.

“Mrs. Riley?”

“Please, call me Suzanne. Gosh, I can’t get over the fact that your first name is our last name!”

“Yeah. It’s a pretty funny coincidence.”

“Kennedy tells me that’s how you two met? He was being a wiseass after receiving some of your email messages?”

I blinked. It caught me off guard that he’d opened up to his mother about that.

“Yeah. That’s exactly how we met,” I chuckled and lowered my eyes, wondering how much she knew about those emails.

“Well, he seems very fond of you. I guess it was meant to be.” She smiled. “Anyway, I don’t mean to make you blush.”

I hadn’t realized I was.

She clapped her hands together. “Let’s find you a dress, shall we? Kennedy emailed me your size.”

Suzanne asked me what color I had in mind, and I told her I was particularly fond of deeper tones since anything too pale made me look washed out. She selected a few shorter dresses in red, blue, and plum.

“You can change in that dressing room right over there in the corner. Then come out and use the large mirror out here. Better lighting.”

“Thank you so much.” I ventured into the changing area to play dress up.

When I returned to the main room, someone else had arrived, a young, attractive woman about my age.

Kennedy’s mother introduced us. “Riley, this is my son Bradley’s fiancée, Felicity.”

“Oh you’re the bride! Congratulations,” I said. “It’s great to meet you.”

Felicity had long brown hair and reminded me a bit of the actress Katie Holmes in her Dawson’s Creek days.

“Riley is Kennedy’s date to the wedding.”

Felicity’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped a little, as if the news of Kennedy bringing someone home was a shock. “Wow, okay. How did you two meet?”