Page 42 of The Wedding Ranch
A blond woman who had that Miss Texas look approached.Beautiful, very put together, and tall. She towered over both of them.
“Did I hear someone say color? You know color is the new black,” the saleswoman said.
“No it’s not,” Lorri said matter-of-factly. “It’s actually the absence of color.”
Pam elbowed her.
“Well, it’s not,” Lorri reiterated. “There is no replacing black.”
“We all have our safe colors.” The woman air-quoted the word “safe.”
“Is Ms. Travis here? She always helps us.” Lorri would give anything for that sweet old woman to help them today. She used to work with Gloria Vanderbilt back in the day. She was old, but she had the best taste, and she never let Lorri walk out of this place looking like less than a ten. This Miss Texas? She wasn’t sure about her.
“Ms. Travis retired.”
“Retired? She wasn’tthatold.”
“No? I never met her, but I happen to know that she found herself a very fine man who wanted to spend lots of time with her, so she left. I promise you’re in good hands with me. Trust me.”
Lorri gave Pam a look.
“We’re struggling with what look we’re even going for,” Pam said. “It’s a high-profile wedding. Not too flashy. Not too casual.”
“Excellent.” Miss Texas took note of their sizes and the style of dresses they’d already picked out, then darted off to pull other dresses for them.
They sipped champagne until the woman came back and led them each to their own dressing rooms. She’d already placed several options in each room. “And don’t worry. I didn’t pick the same dress for either of you.”
Lorri went into her dressing room and picked her least favorite dress to try on first.Might as well get this one out of the way.She wriggled into it and twisted to zip up in the back. “You ready for dress number one?”
“Zipping,” Pam called out.
Lorri stepped out of her dressing room and looked in the mirror. The hideous pattern wasn’t nearly as bad on, but as she’d suspected that ruffle down the front was not doing anything for her.
Pam opened her door and started laughing. “You look like there’s a snake crawling up the front of that dress. Why would someone put a ruffle there? That’s a definite no.”
“I agree. That one looks good on you though.”
Pam smoothed the skirt. “You don’t think it’s too short?” She hunched down a little. “I’d like it better if it was about two inches longer.”
“You’ve got the legs for it.”
“Maybe so, but I don’t have the confidence for it. I’d be self-conscious all night long.” She tugged at it dramatically.
“Then it’s a no.” Lorri twirled her finger, sending them both back to their dressing rooms. “Next.”
A couple of minutes later they both stepped out of their rooms again. There were more bad dresses than good ones, and Miss Texas seemed to be getting a kick out of the two of them.
“Okay, ladies. You’ve had your fun, but if you want to findthe right outfit for your big event, we need to get to work. I’ve been watching, and I think I’ve found the perfect dress for you.” She was looking right at Lorri. “Now, stick with me on this. I can see you’re a fan of the little black dress, but you have the perfect figure and complexion for this dress.” She pulled a dress in a black zippered bag off of a rack. “No peeking. Take it into the room and put it on. Then come model for us.” She handed the dress to Lorri, then clapped her fingertips together.
Lorri tried to hide her concern, stepping into the dressing room before she rolled her eyes. She unzipped the bag. The dress was almost emerald green. Sure, she’d warmed up to the color green since she bought her house, but that was a soft Zen-like sage green. Not top-o’-the-mornin’-to-ya emerald green. She stepped into the dress and fastened it behind her neck. The lines were clean and simple, and honestly the color did perk her complexion up a bit. There was intricate stitching along the shoulder line, and it fit perfectly. She opened the door and took a giant step out, not even chancing a look into the mirror.
“Oh wow.” Pam stood there staring at her.
“Was I right?” Miss Texas nodded. “Seriously beautiful. Stunning.”
“She’s right, Lorri. You look beautiful. Your eyes absolutely sparkle, and it fits like it was made for you.”
Lorri cast a sidelong glance toward Pam, not sure if she was teasing. She stepped out past the two ladies and looked in the mirror.
