The Perfect Dress(77)

“I don’t believe it,” Mitzi said. “Not after that performance with Lyle.”

“That was pretend. This is real.” Tabby pointed to her forehead.

“Three minutes. Come on over here and get ready to go through the curtains,” the woman said.

Tabby started that way with Mitzi right behind her. “If I don’t trip or freeze at the end of the runway, will you ask Daddy out?”

“No, I won’t.” Mitzi kissed her on the forehead one more time.

“If he asks you out, will you say yes?” Tabby pressed.

“We’ll see,” Mitzi answered.

The lady held up one finger.

“Go on so I can see you in the crowd. That’ll calm me right down, and besides, you need to take pictures for Daddy.” Tabby nodded toward the side door.

“And now, from The Perfect Dress, a custom plus-sized wedding shop in Celeste, Texas, we have Tabby Harrison modeling one of their creations,” the man with the microphone said.

Mitzi had barely sat down in the chair beside Jody when Tabby stepped out with her bouquet in one hand and the other on her hip. As if she were born to be a model, Tabby slowly made her way to the end of the runway, flipped the train behind her as if she was doing the crowd a favor when she turned, and started back.

The applause was deafening, and a guy right behind them tapped Mitzi on the shoulder. When she turned around, he handed her a business card and asked, “I saw you hurry out just as they announced the model. Are you the owner of that place?”

“Yes, with my partners,” she answered.

“Want to make up a few dresses in various sizes on consignment? I’d love to sell them in my shop in Houston. Finding dresses in anything more than an eighteen is tough, and I’ve had to turn away customers in sizes twenty up through thirty.”

“No, thank you. We like to work directly with our customers.”

“Well, if you change your mind, just give me a call. That’s some gorgeous work and the fit is superb.”

“Thank you. Now I’ve got to get back to help my model out of the dress.” She stood up and offered her hand.

He shook hands with her. “I’m serious. If you get time to design a couple, I’ll be glad to sell them.”

“Well, how about that?” Jody said right behind Mitzi. “Next thing you know we’ll be offered a reality show.”

“Can’t you just see that?” Paula and Dixie fell into place. “One pregnant owner. One jilted one, two teenagers, a grandmother named Fanny Lou who pops in any old time, and Mitzi, who—”

Mitzi whipped around and butted in before Paula could finish the sentence by saying that she was in love with a high school crush. “I will turn down a reality show without even thinking about it for a second.”

“It’s been a day,” Jody said. “I’m ready to get a big cone of soft ice cream and go home. How about y’all?”

“Sounds good—I want rocky road,” Dixie said.

“Me, too.” Tabby had already removed the veil and the shoes. “I told Daddy that he has to ask you out since I didn’t fall on my face.”

Dixie pumped her fist in the air. “When’s he goin’ to do it?”

“I’m standing right here,” Mitzi said.

“Yep, you are.” Tabby grinned.





Chapter Twenty


They’d gotten home at a decent hour after the bridal fair, but all three of them were so wound up about all the appointments that had been made, there was no way they could sleep. They were still in the living room talking about how many dresses they could make in a month without losing quality when Mitzi realized it was three o’clock in the morning.

She yawned and stretched. “Girls, if we don’t get to bed, we’re going to fall asleep in church.”

“I vote we miss tomorrow,” Paula suggested.

Jody raised a hand. “I second that vote.”

“No argument from me,” Mitzi agreed as she headed off to her bedroom. She crawled beneath the sheets and shut her eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come. Were Tabby and Dixie having trouble settling down, too? Were they still talking about the bridal fair and planning their next wedding bouquets? They’d spent a lot of time going through the photo albums at the floral vendors.

It was well past five o’clock when Mitzi finally fell into a deep sleep, and she didn’t wake until almost noon. She crawled out of bed, made a stop in the bathroom, and then growled at her reflection in the hallway mirror. “I look like I’ve been run over by a Weed Eater and then thrown under a semi.”

Jody pushed open the door to her bedroom. “You don’t look that bad. Besides, you’ve got a couple of hours to get ready for your date. That’s enough to nap and still transform you into Cinderella.”

“Let’s go get a cup of coffee. That’ll make us feel better.” Jody tugged at her arm.

Paula was already sitting at the table with a cup of hot tea in front of her. “Good morning. I hope that y’all feel better than I do this morning. I’m glad we don’t do a bridal fair every weekend.”

“It’s kind of like the day after Christmas, isn’t it?” Mitzi said as she got a Diet Coke from the refrigerator. “I don’t want to go to the lake. Heat, bugs, and hot sun is not my idea of a great Sunday afternoon. I’d rather stay in my pajamas all afternoon and do nothing but lay up on the sofa and watch old movies. How about we call it all off and—”