Page 9 of Friend Me

“Shame,” the assistant said. Was she staring at his ass?

Okay. It was a nice ass, lean and tight under his jeans. I cleared my throat. “Friends.”

Raised voices from the dressing room caught my attention. “Be right back, Tyler.” I ducked behind the pink velvet curtain.

Alicia looked pale, the way she had before her morning sickness subsided a few weeks before, and she couldn’t blink away all the tears that shone in her eyes. The Dragon Lady tugged at the zipper, frowning at the straining lace-covered silk.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, sliding the heavy curtain closed behind me.

“It—it won’t zip. I guess I’ve gained weight.” Alicia sniffled.

“No tears on the dress,” the Dragon Lady snapped. Her nostrils flared, reminding me of why I’d named her the Dragon Lady. Aside from her sparkling personality, she always looked like she was about to shoot flames from her nose. She snatched a tissue from a box nearby and shoved it into Alicia’s hand before she turned her attention to the zipper, which had stalled out at the dip in Alicia’s spine.

Now I wished I’d accepted the champagne her assistant had offered.

“Of course you’ve gained weight,” I said, clasping my hands to keep from clawing at the Dragon Lady’s rigid blond beehive. “You’re four months pregnant. Shouldn’t the seamstress have planned for that?”

“We did. This is more weight than we’d anticipated,” the woman snarled.

Alicia had the tiniest, most adorable baby bump. If it’d been mine and my true love’s, I’d have lit it up in neon.

“What can we do about the dress?” I asked. My normally unflappable friend, who normally would’ve been able to solve this problem, was…flapped.

“Let me look into some”—the Dragon lady peered down her nose—“options.” After she swished through the curtain, Alicia pressed the front of the dress to her chest. I could already tell the fabric wouldn’t cover there, either. Her baby bump wasn’t the only part of Alicia that’d expanded.

“See? It’ll be fine,” I said, taking another tissue from the box. “She said she had options.”

A tear spilled over onto Alicia’s cheek, dissolving some of her mascara. I blotted it away.

“They said I’d hardly show at four months. I should’ve eaten more salads.”

“No, honey, your body is wonderful. You’re growing a new life in there. Things are going to be a little weird. But it’ll be fine.” I’d make sure of it.

“Hey, y’all okay in there?” Tyler’s low voice came through the curtain.

“Yes,” Alicia said.

“No,” I said at the same time, making Alicia crack a smile. “We’ll be out in a few minutes. Maybe you could go grab some sandwiches…and chocolate?”

“On it,” he said.

Alicia had just finished blowing her nose when the Dragon Lady returned. In one hand, she held a scrap of industrial-strength white spandex. In the other, she clutched a hanger with a limp-looking stretch lace mermaid gown.

She shook the spandex at Alicia. “Tummy-trimming body shaper.”

Both Alicia and I stared at it in horror. If we ever got her into it, she’d have to be cut out with the Jaws of Life, which would drain the sexy right out of her wedding night. Assuming she didn’t pass out at the ceremony from lack of oxygen.

“Won’t it hurt the baby?” Alicia asked.

“We put these on brides all the time,” the Dragon Lady said. She hadn’t answered the question, but I wasn’t about to take prenatal advice from her anyway.

“What’s the other option?” I asked, eyeing the gown on the hanger.

“This is our emergency dress. It’s very forgiving.”

I lowered my chin and stared at it. Forgiving, maybe. Unflattering, definitely. That stretch lace would hide nothing. It was one thing to celebrate Alicia’s pregnant body and another thing to highlight only her baby bump and supersized boobs. Jackson would probably love it. His conservative mother would be less enthused.

Alicia’s fingers tightened on the bodice of her gown for a moment before she started pulling her arms out of the sleeves.

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