Page 48 of Doing It for Love

“You’ll have to forgive the bride-to-be. She’s a littleon edge.”

The lady chuckles. “Yes, I remember what it was like.” She wiggles her ring finger at me, and sitting next to her engagement diamond is a wedding band. My stance relaxes, I blink, then I’m diving in to hug this woman I don’t know just because I’ve done near lost my mind…and I’m still talking and thinking in a thick Southern accent I haven’t used since I was inGone with the Windmy freshman year at NYU.

“Thank you, ma’am. You’ve saved my awful day, you have.”

As soon as I let her go, she sputters out a “You’re welcome” and shuffles off. I turn to Theresa with a squeal.

“First duty for you as maid of honor…we are going to do nightly voodoo rituals, pray our brains out, participate in rain dances or chants, or whatever we can to make thismydress. Wewillget it during that sale!”

“You got it, boss.” She laughs and helps me back up on the pedestal. I twist and turn in the mirror, feeling lighter than I have all day. Theresa steps up next to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Even though I don’t ever want to get married…I’m pretty jealous of you right now.”

“Because you haven’t found your Landon yet?”

She shakes her head and leans it against my temple. “Because you look happy. It’s adorable.”

“It’s the dress.” I clutch onto her waist. “Let’s go find yours!”

“Do you even know what colors you’re going with?”

“Nope. But if I get this dress, probably red and black.” I pause, letting the image of those colors sink into my wedding fantasies. Red and black drapes, white accents, snow falling outside big windows. I could have a red rose bouquet with black lilies…oh! And tiny jeweled snowflakes spread in the flowers.

“That’d be gorgeous,” she says, and I wonder how much of my fantasy I said out loud.

“Okay, so red bridesmaid dress it is.” I hop down from the pedestal, lift the dress, and start walking to the racks.

“You’re not going to change?”

“I’m going to stay in this thing as long as possible.”

But it turns out you’re not allowed to just walk around in the dress unless you plan on putting a deposit down or walking out the door with it. To my dismay, I have to strip out of the best thing to ever drape itself over my body and back into my jeans and off-shoulder tee. I’m pouty again until I see Theresa in a hilarious number that makes her look like a cupcake from a Tim Burton movie. Landon would love it, but she threatens to announce in her maid-of-honor speech that I have a regrettable tattoo that saysYOLOright by my crotch. Only she, Landon, and my ob-gyn know about that tattoo, and I’d like to keep it that way, so I let her try on something else.

After several dresses, and none that are awesome enough to even think about, I try on THE dress one more time, dance around, take pictures, and act out vows until they kick us out to close up. I eat half my Symphony Bar on the way back to the apartment. The other half I wait to start shoveling down till after I’ve thanked Theresa for excelling in her MOH duties for the day and she’s inside her door.

“Oh, sweet balls,” I say to the candy. Hershey, you know exactly what buttons to press. I lick the melted stuff from my fingers and dance in the hallway and unlock the door. Theresa was right. All I needed was some chocolate, orgasm cheesecake, and dress shopping. Sex is the last thing on my mi—

“Hey, babe.” Landon’s voice comes out with a slight musical tune, and I stay frozen in the doorway, staring at his bare chest, his flexed abs, his V, down his hips to his one pair of boxer briefs. He’s sporting a giant bulge, and the ruling lord over the Land of Liz peeks from the waistband as if to say “Hey, babe” as well.

As beautiful as Landon’s body is, it’s not the almost nakedness of him that has me clutching my Symphony Bar. It’s the basket of folded laundry on the table, the smell of cleanser emanating from the bathroom, and the spotless sink he’s currently wiping with a rag.

The Land of Liz should expect a rainy forecast.

“How was your day?” he asks with a wide grin. Damn him, damn him, damn him! I fumble with the chocolate wrapping, shove a large wedge into my mouth, and muffle out a “Great!” Ugh, this candy is doing nothing. I quickly move my gaze and try to find something to turn me off, get me mad, dosomething,but there aren’t any socks on the floor.

No socks.

Where are his socks?

“Liz?”

“Yearmmhuh?”

“I ordered dinner. I hope that’s all right.”

Dinner. Sweet. Oh so sweet. Clean apartment. Dinner. Half-naked fiancé.

I shove another piece of chocolate in my mouth.

Dinner. Money. Dinner equals money. Money we don’t have. Money. Yes. That’s bad. Bad Landon. He’s not sexy at all. Nope.

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