“I doubt that,” Lily said as she looked at the dress again.
“I brought a couple of different shoe styles in two sizes because I wasn’t sure if you were having any problems with swelling.”
Tearing her eyes from the dress, Lily glanced over and saw the shopping bag by the door. “I can’t believe you went to all this trouble.”
“It’s no trouble. It’s what I do and I have to confess I love it. Besides, your fiancé made me promise that I would make this wedding as stress-free for you as possible.”
“Jack asked you to do that?”
“Mmm-hmm. He said it took some arm-twisting to get you to agree to marry him and he wanted everything to be perfect for you.”
Lily swallowed, unsure what to say.
“Come on, let’s see how it fits,” Felicity said, and after locking the door, she took the dress from Lily and waited for her to undress. Felicity held the dress for Lily to step into. Once she had it on, the other woman pulled up the zipper and then began fussing with the rosettes above each shoulder. When she was satisfied, she stood back. “Oh, Lily,” she said, and brought her palms together. Her expression softened. “You look beautiful. And the ivory color, it looks wonderful against your skin. Do you have a mirror anywhere?”
“In the bathroom through there,” Lily said, indicating the door at the far side of the office.
“Then come, see for yourself.”
Lily went into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. It was the dress. It was beautiful, and it made her look different. She didn’t even look pregnant because the design camouflaged her stomach. The off-the-shoulder neckline also exposed more of her than she was used to, including more cleavage, she realized, pressing her hand to her chest. She had never had a big bust and at best, her cleavage had been attained with the help of miracle bras. But her stomach hadn’t been the only thing that had grown since her pregnancy. And while she would never be as full-figured as Felicity, she definitely had more curves. “You don’t think it shows a little too much?”
“I think it looks perfect on you. Hang on, let me get the shoes.” She disappeared into the other room and came back with the shopping bag, then she took out a box that contained a pair of ivory satin pumps with kitten heels. “Let’s try these.”
Lily slipped her feet into the shoes. They fitted perfectly. The pointed tips peeked out from beneath the skirt.
“How do they feel?” Felicity asked as she stood.
“They feel great.”
“And they look wonderful with the dress.” She smiled again. “You’re going to make a beautiful bride, Lily. I can’t wait to see Jack’s face when he sees you walking down the aisle.”
Lily sobered. She met Felicity’s eyes in the mirror. “You don’t have to pretend. I’m sure you know this marriage isn’t a love match, and that the only reason Jack is marrying me is because I’m pregnant.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“What do you mean?” Lily asked as she slipped off the shoes and took off the wedding dress. She handed the gown to Felicity and retrieved her own clothes.
“I mean that I saw the way Jack was looking at you the other day and it wasn’t the way a man looks at a woman he’s marrying out of duty.”
“You’re mistaken.”
“Am I?” Felicity asked as she returned the wedding gown to the garment bag and zipped it closed. “I’ve been in this business for quite some time now and I’ve seen my share of weddings. Usually I can tell the couples whose marriage is being done out of duty or as a business merger from the ones who are marrying because they love one another. I would have sworn you and Jack were the latter.”
The knock at the door, signaling her next appointment, saved Lily from responding. But as she bid Felicity goodbye and ushered her next client in, she couldn’t help wishing that Felicity were right.
Jack waited impatiently at the front of the garden for the wedding ceremony to begin. Now he knew why people eloped, he thought. The stress leading up to the wedding was enough to cause a body to have a heart attack. Or maybe it was simply the fact that he didn’t quite trust Lily not to run. An eager bride she wasn’t. Despite her signature on the prenuptial agreement and the trusts he’d set up for her and the baby, he wasn’t going to be able to relax until he had that wedding band on her finger.
“I still can’t believe you’re getting married,” Scott Falcon told him in a low voice as he stood beside him to fulfill the duties of the best man.
“Believe it, because it’s happening,” Jack told him. He glanced at his watch and frowned. “Or at least it will be happening if they ever get the ceremony started.”
Scott chuckled beside him. “Never thought I’d see the day when a female tied you up in knots. This Lily must be pretty special.”
“She is,” Jack said. And she was. In the short time he’d known her, each day he’d learned something new about her that told him just how special she was.
“You do realize that by getting married you’re crushing the dreams of half the single women in Eastwick, not to mention the mothers who were hoping to snag you for their daughters?”
“Then it’s a good thing they’ve got your shoulder to cry on, isn’t it?”
Scott smiled. “Always happy to help out a friend.”
And he was a good friend, Jack thought. Pals since grade school, he and Scott had shared adventures, pranks and an occasional girlfriend over the years. Like him, Scott’s family had been among the first settlers in Connecticut and had amassed a sizeable fortune in real estate. A person could hardly walk down a street in Eastwick without seeing the Falcon logo somewhere on it. Scott had been among the very few people who had understood his decision to marry Lily and offered his support.
“Your mother and Felicity did a nice job,” Scott remarked.
“Yes, they did,” Jack responded. Somehow the two women had pulled it off. He didn’t know how much it had cost nor did he care. All that had mattered to him was that they’d put the wedding together in less than a week. He knew from his conversation with Lily that they had found her a gown and shoes. He also knew that Lily had been uncomfortable and reluctant to accept the expensive attire as a gift from his mother. That she had done so, he suspected, had been a concession on her part because she had feared embarrassing him. Of course, it had never crossed his mother’s mind that Lily might object to such a gift. As usual, Sandra had bulldozed ahead and set out to create the perfect wedding for him and Lily.
From the looks of things, she had succeeded. Even the weather had cooperated with his mother’s plans to hold the ceremony outdoors. The temperature was mild and sunshine had replaced the rain that had plagued Eastwick off and on for the past two weeks. He’d caught a peek of the sprawling patio on the south side of the house that had been transformed for the wedding reception. Twinkling lights had been strung from the trees. More flowers decorated the tables and entrances. Two ice sculptures had been placed on tables on either side of the patio. The six-tiered cake decorated with what looked like real flowers sat in the center of one table. He’d counted at least a dozen food stations, including three types of pasta, a prime rib station, grilled shrimp and salmon. Bars had been set up on either end of the patio and he could have sworn there was enough wait staff on hand for a hundredseat restaurant.
Yes, his mother and Felicity Farnsworth had outdone themselves, he thought as he looked around him. In addition to the reception area, they had managed to turn the garden of his parents’ estate into a small wedding chapel. Everywhere he looked there were peach and white roses and lilies. Vases and urns