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Boom, updated!
I know I said this a while ago, but this time I definitely mean it: by my calculations, there are only three to four chapters left of this book, including the Epilogue (yes, you get a glimpse of their future, you're welcome :D).
In other words, enjoy!
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Chapter 28
"I don't know. I'm not really sure it's my style," I wondered aloud, looking over my shoulder and examining how I looked from the back. After all, that's all most people would see as I walked down the aisle.
Angie tilted her head and Brittany pursed her lips. Haley, on the other hand, was standing next to me, fluffing the train so it was neatly flowing behind me.
L'Fay Bridal was full of exquisite dresses, each made by top-notch designers in France. In other words, no matter what dress I chose, it would make my previous paychecks from Andrew appear like I hadn't been paid at all.
"Are you sure I should even be picking out my dress here?" I asked them. "This place is so expensive and I can't afford it—"
"Natalie, you are picking a dress out here," assured Brittany. "This place is great. It's where I got my dress."
Haley had been strangely quiet the entire night, so I turned to her. "What do you think, Hales? Does this place have the perfect dress?"
Her eyes widened with excitement. "Let me look on the shelves again! Maybe I missed one..."
Brittany was amused at Haley's constant participation in the wedding. I thought it was sweet. The only wedding experience she had had was Brittany's, and she nearly fell as she walked down the aisle. Haley was determined to redeem herself by helping me pick out the perfect dress. It was the most important accessory to the audience, at least; for me, I didn't care if I was wearing a pair of sweats when I married Andrew. All I wanted was him standing next to me.
Angie and Brittany were my two bridesmaids attending the dress appointment with me. The other two—Desiree and Mikayla, who both worked with Angie at Callaway Publishing—weren't able to make it due to a last minute conference in Chicago. Angie somehow bullshitted her way out of going.
While I tugged at the tail of my dress, Angie decided to start a conversation that wasn't a disastrous wedding dress story. "So, Nattie, how are things with you and Mark?"
They were great. We'd gone out to dinner three times in the two weeks that passed since Mom's funeral. I'd gotten to know him much better. For instance, he eventually moved on from the situation with Mom and his brother and married a woman named Grace, who I had yet to meet. Together they had two kids, a seventeen-year-old, Carla, and a ten-year-old, Justin. Although I had only one interaction with his kids, I was working on ways for both of them to somehow be in the wedding. It only seemed fair; I was their "long lost" sister.
"He's really excited that his family is supportive of me," I continued, sipping from the complimentary white wine L'Fay offered. "It's a little weird to be meeting my real father, though. He's been out of my life for so long that it's hard to come to terms with it."
"Well, our parents are conceited and Amber's are shit so I'm glad Haley will finally have a set of grandparents that don't forget her birthdays," added Brittany. "Angie, do you want my wine?"
Angie, who was already on her third glass, was strangely more sober than drunk, so she accepted. "Why don't you want it? It's really tasty."
While Brittany was completely normal in the sense that she constantly voiced her opinion, her upbeat personality seemed to waver throughout the night. "Oh, I'm just...not feeling my best and I think wine would only make it worse."
Either she thought the excuse was reasonable or she thought Angie and I were stupid, but neither of us bought it. Even moderately tipsy Angie knew she was lying.
"You're not feeling well?" I asked, hoping it would make her rethink the lie.
Haley was preoccupied on the other side of the store, so Brittany uncrossed her legs and looked at both of us. "Well, the truth is...I'm not exactly drinking at the moment."
Angie gasped and nearly fell over from the weight of the dress, but we leaned forward. "Oh my God, Brit—"
"Let's just say that I will need my bridesmaid dress a few sizes bigger," she interrupted. "But Ben doesn't know yet so don't tell Andrew or Julian. They both can't keep a secret."
Angie blushed. She and Julian had been dating for a few weeks, but she really liked him. He was both silly and charming enough to sweep Angie off her feet. And it wasn't just Angie that seemed to be whipped—Julian had called Andrew in a panic the night they were going on their first date. I somehow kept the promise that I would find Angie a good man, and I didn't even have to search every bar or coffee shop in New York to make that possible.
To avoid questions from Haley, Angie and I kept our screaming to a minimum, but we couldn't stop smiling.
"Alright, Haley, it's been fifteen minutes. Find anything yet?"
I found her standing with the receptionist, both of them smiling extra widely. "She found a dress she thinks you'll like. It's hanging up in the back if you would like to try it on," she explained.
Haley ran toward me and grabbed my hand. "Come on, Natalie, it's perfect!"
A little girl's definition of the perfect dress was far different from mine. She was probably going to show me a dress that lit up, and that scared me.
Haley left the sales lady and I alone in the dressing room. On the rack I wasn't sure about the dress, but the second I was zipped into it, I felt like a princess. But not just any princess—my favorite. Aside from it being white, the dress came as close as it possibly could to being an exact replica. I didn't dare look at the price tag.
I looked at myself in the large body mirror and I saw it—I saw my future. My shoes were moderately high but steady enough that I could walk easily; my hair was curled into a tight bun with only a few stragglers hanging loosely beside my ears; Haley was next to the bridesmaids, flashing her adorable smile. But most of all, I saw Andrew standing at the end of the aisle, hands cupped together in front of him as he patiently waited for me to join him. Wearing this dress, I saw the rest of my life.
This was it.
I nodded to the sales lady and she led me back out to the three anxious girls waiting for me. Angie's jaw dropped, Brit covered her mouth and Haley jumped up so quickly that I was scared she would fall over.
"You look just like Belle!" she screamed, bounding over to me. "Natalie, you have to get this dress!"
And that was when it happened. I bit my lip and released the tears I had been holding in for a while—stress tears, for the most part. Brittany and Angie weren't surprised by my sudden change in mood, but Haley was. She frowned and quickly wrapped her arms around my waist.
"Natalie, it's the perfect dress. Why are you crying?"
I giggled, although my vision of her was getting blurry. Kneeling down to her height, I cupped her head and kissed her forehead. "That's why I'm crying, Hales. It's the perfect dress. And you're the one that found it." She wasn't quite old enough to understand the full reason behind a bride's breakdown while wearing her ideal dress, and that was fine with me. I wanted her to stay young and cute forever.
Before long, the tears stopped and we all decided I was walking away with Belle's dress.
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We couldn't wait to break the news to Andrew that the dress was perfect and he couldn't see it, but we didn't expect to see Ben, Julian and, most astonishingly, Mark, standing around the bar. They were all holding an electronic of some kind, discussing something important.
"What are you guys doing?" Brittany asked.
Without looking up to greet her, Ben tapped on his phone and said, "We're comparing our Fantasy Football scores."
I lied, it wasn't important.
I was the last one through the door, seeing as I had the dress hanging behind me. Brittany, being his sister, grabbed Andrew's arm and shoved him into the kitchen while I sprinted to temporarily hang it up in Haley's room. To avoid Andrew's snooping and my constant swooning, Angie would take it with her before she left. It was best that way.
Julian happened to catch a glimpse and said very loudly, "Jesus, Natalie, did you spend Andrew's entire bank account on that thing?"
Angie slapped his arm. "It's not Andrew's money, it's Natalie's."
He snorted. "Who was the one paying her?"
She looked at him, defeated, but squeezed his shoulder anyway.
Haley ran up to Andrew and threw herself into him. "Daddy, guess what? Guess what?"
"Wh—"
"I picked out Natalie's dress and it looks just like—"
Thankfully Mark, who had barely said a word, covered her mouth. "No, no, Haley, he can't know what the dress looks like."
She looked skeptically at him. She had met him once since we'd been in touch, but she clinged to him almost immediately when she learned she had another grandparent. On the contrary, she'd already seen Mark more than she'd seen her biological grandparents in a year. "Why not?"
"Because it's bad luck," Brittany intervened.
Andrew smiled at Haley, peeking momentarily at me. "Nice job, squirt. She must admire your taste in fashion."
"She looked so pretty, Daddy."
"Yeah, I bet she did," he said, a wide grin sliding across his face.
From behind me, a voice said, "I can't wait to see you in the dress, Natalie."
I faced Mark, smiling. "I'm surprised you chose to hang out with these guys on a Saturday night."
"Well, your fiancé here gave me a call and wanted to sort out the housing deal," he quietly said, aware Haley wasn't to be informed just yet. "I think you guys are on the right track so far. There are two other parties interested, but they are offering too far below asking price."
Andrew, who had snuck up beside me, already knew how I would react. "Nat, you can't get your hopes up. We aren't in the stage where it's definite yet."
"I don't care, Andrew. This could be the next step in our life together," I argued, grabbing his hand. "With something as big as this I'm going all in."
"Okay, just...proceed with caution."
Brittany giggled. "You sound like a sign people put up in haunted house entrances."
"And you aren't supposed to be hearing this conversation," he snapped back.
Haley came running out of her bedroom and stopped in front of Andrew. "Oh yeah, Dad, guess what else?" I wasn't sure where she was going with this, but no one had time to cover her mouth once it became clear. "Aunt Brittany is going to have a baby!"
The entire room fell silent. Brittany especially stood in awe, but looked straight at Ben. His phone was on the ground, jaw wide open.
Most women would have been upset at the fact that their niece ruined the special announcement, but Brittany was no ordinary woman. Although she was in the midst of planning an elaborate reveal to Ben, she didn't seem to mind that Haley did it for her.
"Surprise!" she tried to say as enthusiastically as possible.
Ben could barely catch his breath, but after a moment of processing what she said a large smile wiped across his face. "We're having a baby?"
"We're having a baby," she confirmed, happily hugging his waist.
"We're having a baby!" he yelled and cradled her close. If this wasn't pure happiness, I wasn't sure what was.
I was beyond pleased for Brittany and Ben. I was even more excited to meet the bundle of joy. Maybe, by the time their baby is born, Andrew and I will be trying to have one of our own. Or three, according to the plan I made for myself since the day I knew I wanted to have kids. Even if she wouldn't legally be my child, I thought of Haley as partly my own. Was that bad?
"Haley, how did you know I was pregnant?" asked Brittany.
She shrugged. "Easy. You have a loud voice just like Dad does."
Andrew covered his mouth. "Well, Haley, I know this is a good cause but I think you need to apologize—"
"Why do I need to apologize? I'm going to have a cousin, Daddy!"
Brittany hugged Andrew. "It's alright. It's better than what I would have come up with on my own. She did me and Ben a favor."
The small celebration continued well past Haley's bedtime, but Andrew made sure she was able to say goodbye before leading her to bed.
"WAIT!" I yelled and took his place. "My dress is in there. No way you are 'putting her to bed.'"
He grinned. "Well played. Night, Hales."
"Night, Dad."
I quickly read her a story from her Disney collections and tucked her in. Angie interrupted to bring the dress back to her apartment, but other than that I had Haley's full attention. She couldn't stop staring at me. "What are you thinking about, kid?"
"I can't wait for you and my dad to get married."
"Really? Why's that?"
She shrugged, holding back a yawn. "I'm excited for you to be my step-mom. Cinderella has it wrong. You're going to be an awesome step-mom, Natalie!"
To spare questions I wouldn't be able to answer, I did my absolute best to hold in the tears. Instead, I pulled her to my chest and held her tight. I was sure I would never let her go, not for a second.
"And you're going to be an amazing step-daughter. I love you, Haley." I kissed her head and shut off her lamp. From somewhere in the darkness, I heard her say the same to me.
Once I shut her door, I jumped nearly a foot in the air when Andrew appeared next to me. "Jesus, Andrew. Were you eavesdropping?"
He sweetly smiled, rubbing my waist. "Maybe."
I leaned against him, taking in the scent I would be smelling for the rest of my life. He ruined the moment, though, by saying frightening words.
"Natalie, I need to tell you something," he whispered.
My brain went into immediate overdrive. He didn't want to get married, he thought I'd gained too much weight, but most of all, I was worried his news would wreck our relationship. I was worried he cheated on me.
"What is it?" I asked, hiding my fear behind a thin layer of hope. Maybe it wasn't bad. The last time he said that he had proposed to me; perhaps this was something about the wedding. Stop overthinking it and just listen, I told myself.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped a few times. After an agonizingly long ten seconds, he played a message. "Good afternoon, Mister Garfield, my name is Will McGavin of McGavin Headquarters. Recently a position at my office opened up and you will be working alongside me and my personal assistant. I think you would be perfect for the job. Please get back to me as soon as possible, as the position could be filled quickly. Have a nice day."
I stared at the phone and then locked eyes with him. "Will McGavin, the richest entrepreneur in the country, personally offered you a job at his headquarters? Oh my God, Andrew, you have to take it. That's an amazing opportunity!"
He placed the phone back in his pocket. "An amazing opportunity that I have to pass up."
"What? Why? Are you crazy—"
"I called him back earlier this evening," he began, moving closer, "and while the pay is substantially greater, the quality of the job is lower. Nat, if I take this job I will be in practically any city except New York. I haven't traveled for works in months and it feels great." He cupped my head. "I don't want to start our marriage by constantly traveling. You and I both know that it would be terrible. I've made sacrifices to get to where I am today, but this one will be for the sake for my family. I would much rather stay here and watch shitty Disney movies with you and Haley than sit in a crowded conference room in various cities. You and Haley are far too important to me."
And suddenly, I felt extremely guilty for the horrifying thoughts I had only minutes ago. Andrew would have never cheated on me, and he would have never called off the wedding. He was one of the few good ones. "Andrew, are you sure? I mean, your job..."
"...Isn't as bad as that one would be. Trust me, Natalie. I want to be around while Haley grows up. I want to meet my sister's kid." Lacing his fingers through mine, he smiled and gently kissed me. "I want to fall even more in love with you every single day. I can't do that if I take this job."
I was convinced I'd never let him go, either. It would take every bone in my body to remove myself from him. "You're the best, you know that? I can't wait to call you my husband."
"In two months you'll have to have to start calling me McHusband."
I punched his stomach. "I almost forgot. How did you find out about that?"
He grinned, shrugging. "I have my sources."
"Angie," I growled. She was dead to me.
"My question is, why McHottie? It doesn't flow."
I rolled my eyes. "Well, McSteamy and McDreamy were already taken, so..."
He playfully tickled my waist and kissed me again. "I think I like McHusband the best."
Just two months and that was what he'd be.