The Forever Girl (Wildstone, #6)(90)

Caitlin felt a hysterical laugh bubble up in her throat, but she couldn’t draw a deep enough breath for it because the dress was too tight. “No. I’m just kidding too.” She tried to smile.

Maze narrowed her eyes. “Okay, now I’m even more worried.” She came closer, the peach floor-length bridesmaid dress she was wearing looking more like a dull orange beneath the lights.

How had Caitlin missed that? The color was awful. “It’s fine. Everything’s fine. I . . . just need a minute.”

“Sure,” Maze said. “Use it to talk.”

Caitlin shook her head. Because suddenly she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. “It’s this dress.” She pulled at it, or tried, but there was no give in the fabric. It was fitted within an inch of her life. But she couldn’t breathe, at all, and she turned her back to Maze. “Unzip me.”

“Um . . .”

“I can’t breathe!” She tried tugging her little cap sleeves down and couldn’t get them to budge either. “Oh my God, Maze, I’m going to die in this dress!”

“I’m trying to get to the zipper behind all these damn buttons, give me a sec!”

“Second’s up!” Caitlin tugged harder. There was a tearing sound, but who cared because suddenly she had room to breathe. Gasping for air, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh my God, Cat.”

“I just needed a minute.”

“Well, I don’t know how many minutes we have, but there’s sure as hell not enough of them to fix this dress.”

Caitlin looked down. She’d ripped the dress wide open in the front. Her breasts were barely contained in her pretty white lace demi bra.

Maze eyed the damage. “Looks like your girls are making a run for it whether you’re with them or not.”

Caitlin laughed and cried at the same time.

Maze narrowed her eyes. “Are you drunk?”

“Okay.”

“Okay? What do you mean, okay? It was a yes or no question!”

“Oh, I thought you were making me an offer.” Caitlin plopped down on the floor and began working on unbuckling her complicated high-heeled sandals with shaking fingers that were not working. “But yes, please, let’s get drunk. That’s the only way I’m going to get through this day.”

“You no longer have a dress to wear. I think it’s a forgone conclusion, you’re not getting through this day, at least not on plan A.” Maze dropped to her knees in front of her, gently brushed Caitlin’s hands aside, and unbuckled the sandals for her. “We need a plan B, pronto.”

“Plan B,” Caitlin said. “Run like hell. I believe you suggested the window?”

Maze shook her head, looking shocked. “Why didn’t you get out of this sooner? Like any time before I had to spend two hundred bucks on this orange monstrosity?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how god-awful it was. And I don’t know! I’m not like you, Maze, I’ve never done anything impulsive in my life! And now there’s a whole bunch of people here. And cake.”

“Cat, honey.” Maze grabbed Caitlin’s hands and looked into her eyes. “Those aren’t reasons to get married when you’re not ready. Tell me this. Do you love him?”

Caitlin searched for the right words. “You know when Girl Scout cookie season starts? You love the Thin Mints so you buy like twelve boxes, but somewhere around box eight or nine you start to feel a little sick. Only you still press on because you paid five bucks a box. But somewhere around box ten, you never want to eat another Thin Mint again. Except you’re committed now, so you just plow through.”

Maze blinked. “Are you comparing Dillon to a box of Girl Scout cookies?”

“Yes, but specifically box ten.”

Maze stared at her. “He gave you a ring and you said yes.”

Caitlin sighed and massaged her already aching feet. Why had she chosen looks over comfort? She’d give just about anything for a pair of sneaks right now. “I know I said yes. He ticked off all the boxes. He’s got a good career and an involved family.”

Maze, kneeling in front of her in that horrid orange dress and a pair of beat-up red sneaks, stared up at Cat like she’d grown a second head.

“Okay,” Caitlin said, grimacing. “I just listened to what I said, and I heard it.”

“Good, because his mother’s so involved that she literally took over your wedding.”

“Can I have your sneakers?”

Without question, Maze kicked them off and handed them to Caitlin, which for some reason made her eyes fill with tears.

A knock sounded at the door and they both jerked around to stare at it.

“Honey?” came her mom’s voice. “Everything okay in there?”

Caitlin, who always knew what to do, found herself just gaping wide-eyed at Maze.

Thankfully, quick-thinking Maze calmly went to the door and opened it a crack. “Hey, so it turns out we need an extra few minutes here.”

“No problem,” Caitlin heard her mom say. “I’ll tell everyone. You two take your time.” She took a beat, lowered her voice. “Seriously. As in take as long as you need. You get me?”

Oh God, her mom knew. She knew and she approved . . .