Christmas on 4th Street (Fool's Gold #12.5)(36)

Isabel and Patience rushed over to join the group hug. Noelle let the love wash over her, filling her heart with happiness. This was what she’d been looking for, she thought happily. Closeness. Belonging. And she’d found it.

They finally disentangled. Isabel sniffed as she wiped away tears. “This was so great. But I think we should do our fittings independently or we’ll spend the whole time sobbing.”

“You’re right,” Felicia said. “The abundance of emotion is overwhelming.”

“What she said.” Patience waved at Felicia and brushed away tears.

“All right, I’m taking control,” Isabel told them. “You two go get changed.”

When the other two had retreated to the dressing rooms, Noelle turned to Isabel. “What about your dress?”

She smiled shyly. “I have it,” she said, then led the way into the back.

Noelle had seen the bridal shop storeroom before. It consisted of dozens of racks filled with beautiful dresses. But the construction had eaten into the area, cutting it in half.

“Part of the remodeling,” Isabel said, pointing to the makeshift wall.

“Where are the rest of the dresses?” Noelle asked, thinking storing a wedding gown wasn’t like storing extra paper towels. You couldn’t just rent a storage place and leave them there.

“At Dellina’s. She has a spare bedroom. The racks fit perfectly and it’s kept close to seventy degrees. You know, normal indoor temperatures. Perfect for my inventory.” She reached for a dress and held it out.

Like the other two, it was strapless, but Isabel’s skirt was full. Tiny flowers of lace and crystals covered the bodice, becoming more scattered closer to her waist before stopping just past her hips. The skirt was layers and layers of sheer fabric that rustled and swayed.

“There’s a matching veil,” Isabel said with a sigh. “The same flowers are sprinkled along the edge. I know it’s girly rather than high fashion, but I can’t help myself.”

“You’ll be beautiful.”

Isabel put the dress back, then turned to her. “Are you okay with this? We’re not making you want to slit your throat or something?”

Noelle grinned. “I don’t own a knife that fancy and I’m fine. This is great. I love being a part of the secret triple wedding.”

Isabel didn’t look convinced. Noelle shrugged.

“Look, if I had some long-term boyfriend who wouldn’t cough up a ring, I might be annoyed, but I don’t. I love you guys and I’m happy for you. Besides, you got me a great dress.”

In keeping with the strapless theme, Isabel had suggested a couple of different dresses for Noelle. Together they’d chosen a simple strapless cocktail dress with shirring at the bodice and an unexpected twist of fabric at the waist. The dress was short enough to be sexy but not so sexy that it was distracting. The blue-purple color flattered and it was the kind of dress Noelle really could wear again.

“I just don’t want this to be depressing,” Isabel told her. “I wish Consuelo had agreed to be a bridesmaid, but when I asked again, I got the sense she wanted to physically hurt me.”

Noelle laughed. “That sounds like her. Don’t worry. I’m happy to be the attendant friend. Really.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

They returned to the main room of the salon just as Dellina, their wedding planner, arrived with both arms full of flowers. She put down the bouquets, looked at all of them, then put her hands on her hips.

“What?” she demanded. “You’ve been crying. Don’t try to tell me you haven’t been. And I’d better not hear someone is breaking up.”

“They were trying on dresses and looked so beautiful, we lost it,” Noelle said.

Patience grinned. “No, Felicia looked so beautiful they started crying. I didn’t inspire any great emotion.”

“You were stunning,” Felicia told her. “Lovely and delicate. L-like those flowers.” Tears filled her eyes.

Dellina shook her head. “Was there wine involved?”

“No,” Isabel said cheerfully. “We did all this completely sober.”

“A frightening thought,” Dellina murmured. “Are we back together now? I can move on to flowers without anyone getting hysterical?”

The three brides nodded. “I was never hysterical,” Noelle pointed out.

“Good. Then we have work to do, ladies. These are some flower samples. I was thinking we’d pick a color scheme for the flowers and then each of you would have a variation of that color. That way you can have your favorites without clashing.”

Noelle listened as Dellina explained which flowers would work best in a bouquet, then showed them different groupings.

Less than two years ago she’d been planning her own wedding, she thought wistfully. She and Jeremy had wanted a summer wedding on the beach. Their biggest disagreement had been about the wedding gown. She’d wanted to wear her grandmother’s. She’d had the overlay of lace removed, leaving the fitted heart-shaped bodice in place. The seamstress she’d worked with had carefully reapplied the lace flowers and had added some draping. But when Noelle had tried it on for Jeremy, he’d said it was too old-fashioned.

In the end, it hadn’t mattered because then she’d gotten sick and eventually he’d left her. He’d told her she wasn’t enough of a sure thing for him.