Page 19 of Chance of Romance
Chapter Five
Sabrina followed her friends into the upscale Aurora boutique in wealthy Greenport for their second weekend in a row shopping for Mad’s wedding. Last Saturday they’d spent at the bridal shop for the bridal gown and bridesmaids’ dresses. Today they were shopping for shoes. Mad’s wedding was in June, and she wanted to get all the wedding stuff out of the way during her winter break from college. Mad had gone to college later in life and would be graduating in May at twenty-seven years old. Sabrina had graduated college young after skipping a grade in elementary school, so she’d had the exact opposite experience as Mad. She was thrilled for her all the same.
The boutique was elegant and filled with designer dresses, shoes, and purses. The air was scented with jasmine, and soft jazz piped through speakers in the ceiling. If you had money to burn, this was the place to spend it. Designer purses lined one wall, with designer shoes on the opposite wall. Hailey’s mom, Brandy, worked here, and they were all getting in on her employee discount.
“Welcome, ladies!” a woman who could only be Hailey’s mom exclaimed, rushing over to them. She looked like a model, tall and elegant in a royal blue close-fitting dress with an open front white bolero jacket. Her long strawberry blond hair and pale blue eyes matched Hailey’s, with smooth flawless skin. “So nice to meet you all! I’m Brandy. What an exciting occasion! Congratulations again, Madison!”
Brandy hugged Mad, who hugged her back. They must’ve met before, since Hailey and Mad were close. Then Brandy gave Hailey a light hug and kissed the air near her cheek.
“Thanks for having us, Mom,” Hailey said. She turned to the group. “Ladies, this is my mom. Mom, this is everyone.” She rattled off their names, pointing at them.
“Hello!” Brandy said warmly, giving them all a wave.
“We’ll just be browsing for a bit,” Hailey told her mom. “I’ll call you over when we’re ready.”
Brandy’s smile stayed firmly in place, but her enthusiastic expression closed. She was probably disappointed not to be included in their group shoe shopping. “Of course,” she murmured. “I’ll be here.”
Everyone followed Hailey over to the wall of shoes. Sabrina stopped to thank Brandy for letting them use her discount.
“Always happy to help with my daughter’s wedding planning,” Brandy said with a tight smile. “Enjoy yourself.”
Sabrina joined her friends and glanced over her shoulder, where Hailey’s mom was standing near the cushioned white settee in the center of the store watching them. Sabrina caught her eye and smiled. Brandy quickly looked away.
Hailey was busy pointing out the shoes she thought would best coordinate with their light blue bridesmaids dresses, basically white. Mad didn’t care if the styles were matching as long as everyone was happy. That was Mad for you, a total tomboy, the only girl raised in a house full of older brothers and a single cop dad. She was probably Hailey’s easiest bridal client ever. Mad was allyeah, sure, whateverto everything Hailey suggested.
Once they had shoes in hand to try on in their size, Sabrina sat on the long bench seat next to Hailey. “You look just like your mom.”
Hailey huffed and looked around for her mom, who was standing a distance away. “It’s so embarrassing. She tries to look like me. Her hair is naturally blond and white.” She lowered her voice. “She colors it to match mine. She gets regular botox too. She used to be a model. That was like the golden time in her life. I don’t think she ever got over it.”
Interesting. Hailey was a former beauty queen. Her mom must’ve put a lot of emphasis on looks. Brandy looked young and vibrant, but she had to be at least in her forties since Hailey was twenty-seven. “How old is she?” Sabrina whispered.
“Forty-nine,” Hailey whispered back. “Act your age, right?” A whimper from Hailey’s pink doggie purse had Hailey leaning down to the floor and opening the top of the purse. Rose’s white furry head popped up, her pink bow on top of her tiny scruff of wiry fur vibrating as she looked all around, sniffing the air, and then lay back down for a nap.
Sabrina kept her voice low. “I suppose there’s no harm in looking young if it makes her feel good.”
Hailey pursed her lips, but refrained from commenting further.
Someone cleared their throat loudly behind them. “Hello,” a masculine voice said.
Mad popped up from the other end of the long bench, teetering in white heels. “Dad! What’re you doing here?”
They all turned to look. Mr. Campbell, a retired cop, stood in the middle of racks of dresses, looking comically out of place in his faded red flannel shirt, worn jeans, and sneakers. He was tall and fit, probably in his fifties, with short brown hair that had some gray near the sides. He smiled, making his brown eyes crinkle at the corners. “I wanted to be a part of things. I couldn’t make it last weekend, but Hailey said it wasn’t too late for me to join in. Shoes, right?”
Mad’s head whipped toward Hailey, her brown eyes wide. Hailey pasted on her beauty-queen smile. It popped up in high-stress situations.
Mr. Campbell shoved his hands in his pockets. “You don’t want me here?”
Mad jerked her chin. “It’s okay. I was just surprised because it’s such a girl thing.”
“Go back to whatever you were doing,” he said, taking them all in. “Pretend I’m not here.”
The women all stared, not going back to what they were doing.
He kept standing there, looking manly and uncomfortable. Sabrina thought it spoke to his love for his daughter that he would brave such a feminine outing. Finally, Hailey’s mom, Brandy, walked over and greeted Mr. Campbell warmly, shaking his hand, and they had a short conversation. She must’ve made him feel more comfortable because he headed toward them, smiling. First he hugged Mad; then he kissed his two daughters-in-law on the cheek and raised a hand with a warm greeting for the rest of them. Finally he stopped in front of Hailey.
Hailey smiled up at him from where she sat on the bench next to Sabrina. “I wasn’t sure if you’d actually show up, so I didn’t mention it to Mad.”
“Course I’d show.” He leaned down to say in a low voice, “She’s my baby. My only girl. Tell me what the mother of the bride would do. I want to fill in as best I can.”
