Page 6 of The Estate
She’d recognized Cal for who he was right away. She hadn’t seen past Chris’ confident, polished facade when he started dating her sister. She hadn’t recognized his manner as arrogant and domineering. He was older and just seemed worldly.
She’d missed all the signals she should have picked up. It wasn’t until much later that she realized who he truly was and the suffering her sister had endured.
Shoving away the guilt that always accompanied thoughts of her sister Jess, Rachel made her way through the crowd. Today was a celebration, and it was time to get with the program. Like the boisterous table of ladies she was approaching.
They were all decked out in finery, complete with hats or flashy fascinators. They were toasting their long friendship, and of all things, their book club. She couldn’t even imagine what the story was there, but she had to admire their obvious affection for each other. Their laughter was infectious making Rachel smile.
As she passed them, she noticed a woman approaching, wearing a dusty blue dress. The style was a simple A-line silhouette with a vintage flair. The top was fitted with a sheer neckline and illusion sleeves and flared out dramatically at her waist. As the woman moved, it flowed and danced around her, making Rachel envious.
Glancing down at her knee-length, perfectly acceptable but predictably boring dress, she ran her hand across her stomach. This dress was fine but sometimes, especially seeing the woman coming her way, Rachel wished she were comfortable wearing something flashier or more formfitting. She admired the woman’s ease and style.
Giving her head a little shake, she continued walking through the ballroom. Already out of sorts, today was not the day to reexamine her fashion choices.
Looking around again, she spied Lisa’s short cropped hair and made her way over to their table.
“Rachel!” Lottie jumped up and hugged her tightly. Looking over Lottie’s shoulder, she cocked an eyebrow at Lisa.
“Lottie may be celebrating with somewhat too much champagne,” Lisa provided with a laugh.
“Oh Rachel,” Lottie gushed. “I have a client. A real client. You all were right. This is a business. Second Chance Bridal is really a thing!”
Rachel extracted herself from Lottie’s arms with a quick squeeze for her friend. “That’s amazing, Lottie,” she replied, sitting next to Lisa. “But we always knew it was a proper business.”
“What she means,” Lisa supplied, “is that she has another client. A new one, and a non-relative client, no less.”
“That’s fantastic news,” she replied before giving it a second thought. “Wait. What? How did you get a new client so fast? What did I miss?”
“She’s Alex’s friend, and she’s amazing!” Lottie exclaimed. “She’s been searching for a gown that incorporates something of Sweden. When she heard what I’d done for Alex with the Scottish lace, she knew I was the perfect person to consult.” Lottie settled back with a tremendous smile.
Rachel glanced at Lisa. “You didn’t let her talk to a client with this much champagne in her, did you?”
“Oh no,” Lisa laughed. “She stopped by the bridal suite just after you left. Speaking of which, we want a detailed account of the kitchen crisis,” Lisa shook her finger at Rachel. Apparently, Lisa had also been doing some champagne celebrating with Lottie. “But we only had one more glass before the ceremony.”
“It was so beautiful,” Lottie sniffed. “I love all weddings, but this one was so amazing. And the dress, Rachel. The dress. It was the perfect choice for Alex.”
“It really was,” Lisa agreed. “Anyway, Lottie might have been a little… happy when she met the new client, but it wasn’t until the cocktail hour that we had a celebratory glass…”
“Or two,” Lottie interrupted.
“Or two,” Lisa picked up the narrative. “That’s probably what tipped the scales into tipsy.”
“Where were you, by the way?” Lottie interrupted again. “You missed the fun church part with the gown making its way down the aisle and how it looked all spread out at the front of the church.
“The maid of honor did a beautiful job fluffing the dress,” Lottie rambled on her eyes bright with excitement. “She displayed the train perfectly. I wish every bridesmaid was that good. They should really teach a class on it. It’s so important. And the lace cut outs in the train,” she sighed. “All that artistry. The delicate lace surrounded by swaths of creamy white fabric looked incredible!”
God bless Lottie and her bridal gown obsession.
“Sorry about missing the ceremony. I hope Alex didn’t realize I was absent.”
“Oh, she’s too busy floating on cloud nine,” Lottie waved her hand dismissively. “But Lisa and I noticed. How bad are things in the kitchen that you took that long?” She looked around her before leaning in and whispering, “Should we order a pizza delivery?”
Rachel laughed and gave a little shake of her head. Tipsy Lottie was way too much fun. Making her cousin’s wedding gown had been especially stressful. With a very tight timeframe, Lottie had somehow taken a severely outdated vintage dress and turned it into a beautifully modern gown all while keeping the exquisite lace and embroidery work that made the gown so stunning. To have it completed and a success, Lottie was owed a fun night out.
Before she could assure Lottie no pizza delivery was needed, Adam, Lottie’s boyfriend, arrived with drinks.
“Hey Rachel,” Adam said. “Lottie, I told them to make your cosmo on the lighter side.”
“Smart choice,” Lisa stage whispered, sending all of them laughing.
