Page 36 of Convincing Him
“I’m sure I have no idea!” huffed Naomi. “Britney! Britney Helena Crawford, I will not have you wearing a used item of clothing!”
“The dress was never worn,” pointed out Linda.
“Naomi, listen to the lady,” scolded Dotty. “The dress is a lovely vintage piece.”
Naomi was beyond listening. She screeched. “Britney!”
“Mom!” a horrified Britney approached from the back of the store, tailed by Tara. “What is going on?”
“Do you know what this place is,” hissed Naomi. “You need to get out of that dress right now. It could have bedbugs, or fleas!”
“I assure you, it does not,” an unimpressed Linda told them.
“Oh! You are a vision,” marveled Dotty. “I think it suits you perfectly.”
“There aren’t any mirrors in the change room,” mentioned Tara. “How is she going to see herself?”
“There is a full-size mirror right over here,” pointed out Linda. “I keep it here because I always like to see how the clothes look on customers.”
“Britney, this is not a designer gown!” whispered Naomi. “This isn’t what you wanted.”
“Let the girl decide for herself what she would like,” spoke Dotty. “She’s the one getting married.”
Britney paused as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her expression softened as she took in the length and delicate lace.
“One moment, I think I have the crowning touches,” mentioned Linda. She plucked a flowered headband off a shelf and a pair of white satin spool heels, bringing them over to Britney. “I hope the shoes fit.”
Quickly Britney put on the shoes. Linda gently placed the headband in her hair.
“It has blue and white flowers,” slowly Britney started to smile, looking at the completed picture in the mirror. She moved from side to side, admiring herself. “Just the right shade.”
Tara gave Linda a thumbs up.
“You look so darling,” cooed Dotty. “Gabe will just be amazed.”
“Britney, you can’t be considering this?” whined a concerned Naomi.
“This is my dress!” breathed Britney in delight. “I’m getting married in this dress. I don’t even want to take it off!”
Naomi gave a moan of disappointment.
Dotty gave Naomi a pat on the arm as she beamed at Britney. “This is just wonderful. I’m going to love her as a daughter-in-law. I’m looking forward to having three new women in the family.”
After paying for the dress and accessories, Britney had each of the ladies dropped off at their homes before the driver took her to Gabe’s condo. Careful not to wrinkle the dress, she happily took the items to her new home. The facial recognition software automatically unlocked the door for her, which Britney had to admit was handy since she didn’t have to fumble through her purse for any keys.
Humming, she opened the door to find Gabe working at his laptop. Britney gave a little twirl with the dress bag, grinning at him. “I found it.”
Perplexed Gabe looked at the bag she held. “It looks a little short.”
“The dress is tea length,” she explained happily.
“I have no idea what that means,” he admitted, setting aside his laptop. “Did mom like it?”
“She loves it,” beamed Britney. “Tea length means it goes just past my knees.”
“Are you going to show it to me?” he wondered.
“Nope,” replied a pert Britney as she put down her purse and bag of accessories.
