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“Mom!” Caroline sputtered. Had Evelyn Armstrong just said “shacking up”?
Her mother patted her hand. “Sweetheart, your father and I were young once, too.”
Caroline sat silent in her seat. Where was the woman who had nervously told her about the birds and the bees, blushing furiously the entire time. Caroline’s engagement had suddenly elevated her from the baby of the family into the secret society of women.
Nick’s family had reacted differently to their announcement two weeks earlier. His parents had made it clear when he went off to college that they would not pay his tuition if he was living with a woman. He had thought that by getting engaged the situation would be more palatable. After his call home, he had reported that they had said little, except that they didn’t know if they’d be able to travel to both his graduation and a wedding that year.
A letter from his father had arrived later that week, detailing all the reasons why Nick needed to reconsider getting married at such a young age. Reading the first few lines, Caroline had become so angry, she had crumpled the sheet into a ball and tossed it across the room.
Nick had hugged her close, telling her that it didn’t matter what his parents said, they were going to get married. “I don’t need his permission, Caro. Let’s see what he says. We don’t have to agree with him.”
The letter had been addressed solely to Nick, her name never mentioned at all. Dr. Eddington had reminded Nick of the dedication that would be needed to complete his medical training. Being married would delay that and he wanted Nick to weigh his decision carefully.
“I’m not going to be a doctor,” Nick told her. “They want me to follow in their footsteps and I’m not going to do it.” He had tugged her close. “Instead of getting married at Christmas, let’s plan a May wedding. I can finish my degree on their nickel.”
She had reluctantly agreed. Now that she had decided to marry him, she wanted to get started on their life together. But he was right. It would be smart to let their parents pay for their last semester.
“How about we get married graduation weekend?” he asked, kissing her cheek. “They can’t complain about travel time that way.”
Her mother turned onto Main Street. The downtown area was being renovated and several new stores had sprung up over the last few months. Brightly colored awnings shaded the downtown sidewalk. Ornate lamp-posts identified the streets.
When her mother parallel parked in front of a shop with the name Radcliffe’s discreetly lettered on the glass door, she said, “I thought we’d stop in and see Lily’s shop first, and visit for a few minutes with her.”
Caroline did want to see her best friend. Lily’s aunt had bought the old dress shop that summer and from her mother’s letters, she knew it had become all the rage in their small town.
“I’m not buying anything, Mom. I have a white linen suit picked out that I can wear later for church and special occasions.”
“And I’m sure it’s lovely, dear. You’ve always had impeccable taste.” Her mother unlocked the car door and gracefully climbed out of her side. Caroline slid out and followed her mother across the sidewalk.
Her mother paused at the door. “All I want to do is see what she has to offer. You’re my only daughter and this is the only wedding I can truly help plan.”
A pang of guilt hit Caroline in the stomach. Her mom had been involved with the weddings of Caroline’s three older brothers, but only in a superficial way as the mother of the groom. “I’ll look, Mom. But that’s all I can promise.”
Lily rushed across the silvery-gray carpet as soon as the door opened. Her stunning red suit accented her curvy figure and slender legs. Caroline had only a second to wish she had put on something besides worn jeans and a peasant blouse before she was wrapped in a warm hug.
“Oh, Caroline! I still can’t believe you’re getting married!”
Neither could Caroline. Then Nick had asked her to marry him and she’d known she had to say yes.
Lily leaned back, her eyes roaming over Caroline’s face. Caroline stayed still during the scrutiny.
“You look happy,” Lily said.
“I am.”
“Then I’m happy for you.” She tugged Caroline over to an elegant gray sofa that sat perpendicular to the front door and perched on the armrest. “Let me see the ring.”
Caroline held out her hand. The simple round diamond caught the ceiling lights, sending shimmers of rainbows around the room. The brushed-gold band sparkled.
Lily smiled at Caroline. “We were going to be career women. We didn’t need men in our lives.”
“I can still be a career woman,” Caroline said.
Lily laughed. “Of course you can.”
Caroline wanted to say that she had fought her attraction to Nick. She didn’t have time for a romance. She was going to finish her degree and go on to graduate school. Shortly after they started dating, he had said something about their future together and she had broken up with him, alarmed at how serious he had sounded.
If she had been alone with Lily, she would have explained. How she had ignored him for two months, tamping down the feelings he had roused in her. Her plans didn’t include a man. She had watched her mother move from place to place, packing up their belongings and her four children whenever her husband changed jobs. Caroline’s father had been on a search for the perfect career and he had dragged his wife and children along with him.
But her mother was sitting with them and she couldn’t say anything in front of her. Her mom had never complained about the moves and had seemed content with her volunteer work and homemaker status in each of their new towns.
Caroline wanted more. She had made it clear to Nick that she wanted a career, that she couldn’t be happy staying home. He had agreed and she had accepted his ring.
“Do you have the drawings?”
Her mother’s question interrupted her thoughts. “Drawings?”
Lily hopped up from her seat. “I have some drawings I want to show you. I’ll be right back.”
She disappeared through a light gray curtain at the back of the shop.
“What is she talking about?” Caroline asked her mother.
“Be patient.”
Drapery in the same muted gray as the sofa flanked several alcoves, a simple backdrop for the dresses and suits that were displayed on faceless mannequins. Caroline had a feeling she couldn’t afford any of the clothes in this shop. Her childhood friend had moved from giddy schoolgirl to savvy retailer.
Lily came back into the room and sat on the couch next to Caroline, a large book in her hands. “The sketches are still pretty rough. When Evelyn mentioned that you were coming home, I immediately thought of all our conversations about weddings. I couldn’t draw fast enough.”
She bent the cover back, creating an easel, and flipped through the pages. She rested the book on the low glass table in front of the sofa. “What do you think?”
Caroline took one glance at the page and knew she was in trouble. “Oh, Lily!” she breathed.
“Do you like it?”
At the tremor of uncertainty in her friend’s voice, she reached over and touched the back of Lily’s hand. “It’s wonderful.”
“I knew you wouldn’t like a lot of frills and ruffles so I kept the lines clean and simple.” Lily ran a finger over the pencil drawing, trailing across the long skirt that flared out just before it touched the floor.
Lily had drawn two views, the front and the side. The sleeves were long and fitted, ending at the wrists with a tiny flare on the top that matched the hem. The smooth lines flowed over the natural curves of the body, without being too suggestive.
“I remembered you didn’t like veils, so…”
Lily flipped to another page. The cape was as simple as the gown, a sheer column that flowed down the page. Caroline knew she wanted this dress. She would marry Nick at a wooded altar, forest animals their only witnesses, if that was what he wanted. But she would meet him in this dress.
She could feel her mother’s satisfaction emanating from the seat across from her. She didn’t care. The gown was gorgeous. Exactly like the dress she had always imagined she would wear when she met her prince.
Only better. Much, much better.
“I’ll use soft, draped material, very sheer, for the cape,” Lily explained. “And I found the perfect lace to edge it with. A delicate design with tiny purple violets tucked into every few inches. You always wanted violets at your wedding.”
Caroline was touched at how much her friend had remembered from those late-night whispers. “I don’t know where that thought ever came from. Something I must have read in a story or saw in a movie. I always thought violets would be the perfect flower.”
Just like this was the perfect dress.
She glanced at the dresses hanging in the window, their elegance visible to anyone walking down the street. Lily and her aunt had brought city chic into their little town.
And with that, no doubt, they had brought city prices.
She sat back on the sofa, her head resolutely turned away from the sketches. “It’s lovely, Lily, but Nick and I are going to have a simple wedding. No fancy wedding gowns.”
“She has a white linen suit she can wear after the ceremony,” Evelyn explained.
Caroline nodded, a lump in her throat. Her suit seemed terribly unromantic next to that lovely dress. But she had promised Nick.
“You won’t have to pay a dime,” Lily said into the silence. “We’ll want to take pictures, of course, and have it featured in the Living Section of the newspaper. This will be our first major design and could set us up for lots of commissions.”
Caroline dared another peek at the dress. “Not a dime?” she whispered.
“Not a dime.” Lily gave her a bright grin. “I know I shouldn’t be helping a traitor to our cause, but you still are my best friend.”
Caroline sighed. “I want the dress, Lily. But this doesn’t change anything, Mom.” She sent her mother a long look. “No big wedding.”
“Of course, dear.” Evelyn picked up one of the fashion magazines that were tucked into a basket next to her chair. “Now go with Lily and be measured. Your father and Nick will be home soon and we don’t want to keep them waiting for their dinner.”
Caroline followed Lily into a backroom. “I don’t trust her,” she said quietly.
Lily picked up her measuring tape. “I wouldn’t either.”
“Do you know something?”
“No.” From beyond the curtain, they could hear Evelyn chatting with Lily’s aunt. “But you’re the only daughter and I can’t see her letting you get away with a simple wedding.” She nudged Caroline’s shoulder. “Go in there and take off your clothes. We need to get you home so your menfolk don’t go hungry.”
“You wait,” Caroline grumbled, stepping into the small changing room and closing the shuttered half door. “I’m going to be dancing at your wedding before long, too.”
Lily chuckled. “Someday. Right now, I’m more than happy to be a bridesmaid.”
Caroline peeked her head over the half door. “I don’t know if I’ll have any bridesmaids. We’re having—”
“—a simple wedding!” Lily finished with her. “I know. I wasn’t asking. Just saying that I have no one in the wings waiting to be a groom. I’m happy watching my friends get married.”
Once again dressed, she told Lily and her aunt goodbye. Her steps were slow as she walked to the car and she tapped her head against the window once she was seated and buckled. “Nick is going to kill me,” she muttered.
Her mother started the engine. “Why? How is he going to know about the dress unless you tell him?”
She swiveled her head. “What?”
“I didn’t tell your father what I was wearing for our wedding. Bad luck, you know. The groom should not see the bride in the wedding dress.”
“I know that, but…” Her voice trailed off. But what? She was doing Lily a favor by wearing that absolutely darling creation. She didn’t have to pay for the dress, only have a picture of it put into the newspaper. And since her mother would expect an announcement of the wedding to be in the paper no matter what she wore or where she was married, she really had no problems.
“Okay, I won’t say a word about the dress.” A beautiful dress didn’t mean a big wedding. She settled more comfortably into her seat.
Nick’s used blue Ford was parked off to the side of her father’s Buick. He sat alone in the living room, a textbook on his lap. He gave them both the lopsided grin that always made her stomach muscles quiver.
“What’s the damage?” Evelyn asked.
He shifted until he could face her squarely. “Based on his mutterings on the way home, he shot his worst game ever. Mine wasn’t much better, but I still beat him by at least three strokes.”
“We’ll pack and go back to school tonight,” Caroline declared.
Nick laughed. “Come on, it’s not that serious.”
Both women stared at him and he shifted in his seat. “Is it?” he asked.
Caroline nodded, her hands on her hips. “Dad prides himself on his golf game. He wouldn’t make it on the pro circuit but he almost always wins the local charity tournament. You didn’t mention how few times you’ve golfed, did you?”
“It might have come up in conversation.”
Caroline groaned. “Now. We have to leave now.”
Her mother stepped forward and rested a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “You’re not going anywhere. Your father is a grown man and this was a friendly game. No reason to send his future, and only, son-in-law away before we’ve even had dinner.”
Her footsteps faded away down the hall. Nick grabbed Caroline’s hand and pulled her into his lap.
“Listen, I really did think I’d lose.” His hand lightly stroked up and down her arm and she had to control herself not to start purring like a well-pleasured kitten. “You know how often I’ve played. I figured there was no way I’d come close to his score. Then I saw how quiet he was getting with each of my strokes. Your father was off, Caroline. If he does win the local tournament, he has to play a lot better than he did today.”
She snuggled against his chest, her mind finding it hard to focus on a game that had been over for several hours. He traced lazy circles around her neck and under her ear. “He’s good, Nick,” she said, trying to stay with the conversation. “He really is. And I didn’t even think to warn you because, well—”
He tipped her chin up with his finger and grinned. “You didn’t figure I’d win.”
She nodded and giggled when he tweaked her ear.
“Well, let me show you something I’m good at,” he growled.
His lips met hers in a kiss that drove thoughts of golf games and wedding dresses right out of her mind. He nibbled and tasted her lips, her cheek, her jaw, blazing a trail down her neck and toward her low-cut top.
Her fingers clenched his arms, her head pressed against his shoulders. A soft moan worked its way past her lips and she felt his answering chuckle against her skin. His tongue and lips caressed and teased her, making it hard to breathe or think.
Footsteps sounded behind her and she jerked away, suddenly remembering they were making out in her family’s living room. “Nick, stop!” she whispered. She jumped out of his lap, pulling her top back into place. She barely landed on the couch opposite his chair before her mother walked into the room.
If her mother noticed anything amiss, she didn’t say a word. Caroline resisted the urge to smooth her hair back into place and sat up straight, her hands folded primly in her lap. Evelyn sat down next to her and gave them both a wide smile.
“Everything is fine. We’re going out to dinner tonight, so why don’t you both go freshen up.” She cocked her head toward Caroline. “Maybe put on something a little less revealing, so your father doesn’t have a reason to get any more upset at your young man.”
At Nick’s snort, she glanced down. A tiny love mark was visible just above the elastic of her top. She stood up slowly, keeping her dignity intact in front of the room. “Where are we going?” she asked at the doorway, her back to her mother. She would not look Nick in the eye. His humor was palpable from fifty paces away.
“The local diner. Can you be ready in thirty minutes?”
