Page 128 of No Rings Attached
Full bell skirt with four-foot train.
Mydress.
The one I’d dreamed about since I was fifteen, tucked in the pages of a secret wedding bookI knowI’d never shown her.
Celia twirled, basking in the gasps. “What do you think, Ellie?”
My mouth went dry. Tears burned my eyes, but I let everyone believe they were happy ones. I clapped politely, my nails biting into my palms. All I wanted to do was scream,That was mine!
I must have answered because soon the attention was back on Celia.
“You okay?” Angie whispered. “You look a little pale.”
I dragged in a breath. “Fine.”
I wasn’t fine, though. My heart was broken. I didn’t know how she was doing it, but somehow she’d systematically been choosing the wedding dreams I’d so carefully cataloged.
Celia returned to the changing room, and the dresses for the wedding party were handed out. One by one, the ladies walked out, twirled and were applauded. The dresses were perfect and they all looked beautiful.
Then came my turn.
Sally handed me a heavy, oversized garment bag and stepped away as I closed the privacy curtain. Dread pooled in my stomach before I even unzipped it. Something inside me knew today was about to get worse.
The dress was neon-green,with garish neon-pink flowers, like a bad wallpaper sample. I pulled the rest of it out, and the skirt was so poofy it nearly slapped me in the face.
A Frankenstein’s monster of tulle and bad taste.
“Oh, God,” I whispered.
This dress was not like the others.
It felt intentional. It felt crafted.
Like Celia had combed through clearance racks just to make me look ridiculous. My chest tightened as I dragged on the scratchy fabric, its weight suffocating.
“Ellie!” Celia sang. “Don’t keep us waiting.”
My skin crawled as I stepped out. Silence fell. Even the camera seemed to pause, its lens tilting like it was confused.
Celia’s lips curved into mock surprise. “Oh, no. What happened?”
Her eyes gleamed. Just for a second. The tiniest flash of satisfaction. Then she blinked and schooled her face back to faux concern.
“Maybe the wrong code?” Sally suggested, her hands fluttering at her side. “Perhaps the place we ordered the dresses from made a mistake?”
Jenna tilted her head toward me, oh-so-sweetly. “Or maybe you changed it, Ellie. To embarrass your sister.”
The air shifted.Suspicion. My stomach dropped.
“No,” Celia cut in quickly, her voice trembling just enough to sell the performance. “Ellie wouldn’t do that to me.”
And there it was—her genius. Villain and victim all at once.
And the camera loved her for it.
I squared my shoulders and faced my sister head-on. “This is not on me. I wasn’t here with you when you ordered the dresses, remember, Celia? Sally can confirm that.” I leveled a harsh gaze on my sister who was letting this happen and certainly had been the culprit behind the ‘mixup.’
Sally wrung her hands and frowned. “Yes, that’s right. I was with another client and you offered to call in the order, Celia.”
