Loving You (The Bridesmaids Club Book 2) Read Free Page A

I’m Tess. Sally’s standing by the window and Annie’s by the door.”
    Sally and Annie waved to the crowd of women.
    It was just as well they’d moved their bridesmaid’s dresses to the loft above Logan’s huge garage, or they wouldn’t have been able to fit all of Holly’s family in one room. Up until a few weeks ago they’d been using Tess’ apartment to store the dresses. When the number of dresses outweighed her available floor space, Logan had offered his home as an alternative office area. And when he’d asked Tess to marry him, it turned out to be the most romantic thing Annie had seen in a long time.
    Tess pointed at one of the small clothing racks they’d set up in each corner of the room. Emily, a friend who owned a fashion boutique, had loaned them the racks until the ones they’d ordered arrived. “We’ve put two bridesmaids’ selections on each rack. Sabrina and Hannah are with Sally. Beth and Lily are with Annie, and Desiree and Tina are with me.”
    Annie and Sally moved to their racks. Even with all of the forward planning that had gone into this appointment, it still looked like a disaster zone.
    Sally held a bright pink shawl in the air. They’d organized all of the dresses, but there were a few accessories that they didn’t know where to put. “Who liked this shawl from the catalog?”
    A woman in her early twenties stepped forward. “Me,” she said with a cheeky grin. “And I want to tell everyone now that I love the color. So no complaints about how bright it is.”
    Another sister laughed and held the dress she’d chosen up to her waist. “You just want Alistair to notice you.”
    There was more laughter from the other sisters.
    Annie looked across at Tess and smiled. They’d sat down yesterday and worked out how they could make this appointment work without it taking hours. From the look in Tess’ eyes, she was about to put that plan into action.
    When everyone started talking at once, Tess held her hand in the air. It didn’t seem to make any difference. Holly’s family was so excited that it was a wonder Tess had managed to hold their attention for as long as she had. Sally put her fingers in her mouth and blew hard. A piercing whistle shot across the room and everyone stopped speaking.
    Sally had grown up on a ranch surrounded by three older brothers and thousands of cows. Annie guessed the whistle blowing technique was one of the ways she’d learned to get everyone’s attention.
    Tess smiled at Sally, then looked at Holly and her bridesmaids. “If you decide you don’t like any of the dresses you’ve selected, we can look at the catalog to see if there’s something else for you. Please don’t hunt through the main rack on your own. It will make it difficult to find the dresses if they get out of order.”
    All ten pairs of female eyes shot to the long rack of dresses hanging against one wall. The silk and satin gowns glowed from under the pendant lights. The chance of everything staying in order were pretty slim, but if anyone could make this work, it was Tess.
    “The changing room and bathroom are behind you. Is everyone ready?”
    A chorus of voices said, ‘yes’, and Tess smiled. “Let’s get going then. We have exactly one hour to find everyone a dress.”
    Annie waited for her two bridesmaids to join her. Beth introduced herself and her sister. She was short, blonde and blue-eyed. Lily was a few inches taller with dark hair and gray eyes. They looked about as different as two sisters could get.
    “Who’s going first?” Annie asked.
    The two sisters looked at each other. Beth stepped forward. “I will.”
    Annie looked at the sheet of paper Tess had given her and pulled a soft peach colored dress off the rack. “This is going to look lovely.”
    Beth held the dress against her. “And it might just fit. I’ll be back soon.” She darted across the wooden floor, disappearing into the bedroom they’d converted into a changing room.
    Lily was next.