The Lucky Dress: A perfect feel good holiday romance for summer 2018

by Aimee Brown

  “Whoa to you, too,” I say back to him, feeling more than awkward knowing that everyone in the room is watching us. I haven’t felt this weird about a date since I went to prom in my senior year. If someone pulls out a camera, I’ll just die.

  He approaches me and kisses my cheek sweetly. “I don’t know if I can compete with you, though. You are gorgeous.” I hear Lily aw sarcastically behind me and shoot her a look of death.

  “Sounds good,” Evan claps his hands. “Looks like everyone, invited or not, is ready to go.” He ushers us all out of the front door and towards a black limo parked at the curb.

  Liam is so close behind me that I can feel my heart nervously drop a little further into my stomach with each step.

  “So, how are we playing this?” he breathes into my ear, making my brain momentarily stall with any rational or pure thoughts. “Am I boyfriend status, or just random friend date status?”

  I step off the curb behind the limo and pull Liam with me. “Um… I’m not sure exactly what I’m expecting as an outcome yet. I haven’t seen him tonight so, I was hoping just random friend date status to start?”

  Liam nods, a sweet smile on his face. “Maybe we’ll see what happens? Let’s feel out the situation and see how it goes before we make any solid decisions.”

  “OK.” I nod and turn towards the car door.

  “And, Emi… you’re the boss here. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

  “Thanks,” I smile. Believe it or not, that tiny little statement made me relax that much more.

  “What are you two doing?” Evan asks me as we crawl into the limo.

  “Whispering sweet nothings to each other?” Josh adds his two cents, knowing it might rev up Evan and earning a glare from me.

  “Nothing, I just… uh—”

  “I just wanted to tell her again how gorgeous she looked. My bad habit, sometimes I just can’t hide my inner romantic. So, introduce me to everyone.”

  “Right. So, this is Evan and Hannah, the bride and groom.”

  Liam reaches out and shakes hands with both of them. “Congratulations to you both, and thank you for letting me escort the second most beautiful woman in the limo.” He nods to Hannah, who immediately projects her inner Southern Belle by blushing and fanning herself.

  “And this is my best friend Lily and her husband, Josh.”

  “Nice to meet you, Josh. You and Evan are both very lucky men.” He shakes both their hands with a smile before turning back to me, his eyes smiling with far too much enthusiasm.

  “What do you do, Liam?” Evan, of course, is the first one to pile on the questions.

  “I own Old Tex, the run down bar up the street. Just bought it about a month ago. It’s really a dive bar right now, but my plan is to turn it into something a lot cooler.”

  “Ah… And why are you helping my sister?”

  “Evan!” I hiss at him, mortified that he’d act like a douche about this after he was so sweet upstairs.

  “Your sister…” Liam glances at me with a smile. “She’s a sweet woman, a damsel in distress, you could say. How could I say no?”

  “So, I guess I don’t understand the plan?” Evan continues with the third degree.

  “You all know our arrangement?” Liam looks to me for insight.

  “No,” I blurt out, before noticing Evan’s eyebrows rise in confusion. “I mean yes, they know why you’re coming.”

  Please, Liam, don’t talk about how it’s in exchange for a possible favor. Evan’s mind will go right to the big protective brother gutter.

  I plead with him silently and hope he really is as good at reading people as he was the other night.

  “Emi just didn’t really tell us why you agreed to go, you know, with you hardly knowing her and all?” Hannah follows up.

  “Guys! This isn’t a Dateline interview. I’m a grown woman, Liam is a grown man, can you give us a break? He’s here so maybe Jack, Greta and I can be a little more comfortable in the same room, without a third wheel. That’s all.” I glare at both Hannah and Evan who both shrug their shoulders in defeat.

  “Tell me about you two.” Liam smoothly changes the subject. “How did all this come to be?”

  It takes the entire ride to the wedding venue for Evan and Hannah to tell Liam their love story. Which gives me a chance to try and stop sweating from all the wrong areas.

  “He is actually cute!” Lily grabs my arm the moment I leave the limo and walks me into the building, with Josh, Evan, and Liam all chatting like old friends behind us. “I think he might really like you.”

  “Stop it. This is just a favor, nothing more.”

  “We’ll see…”

  “Fabulous!” A woman with so much Botox in her face she can’t smile, claps her hands the moment we walk out of the elevator. “We have wedding party members arriving, and right on time!”

  “Hi, Muffy!” Hannah greets Botox Lady with the dreaded air kisses, while Lily and I act like we’re twelve and mouth the name Muffy to one another as we stifle back a giggle. There are just some things you never grow out of.

  “We are just waiting for a few more members of the wedding party,” she tells Hannah before they walk away from us, inspecting the ongoing decorating.

  “Here is the rest of our party now.” Muffy follows them in with her eyes. “If you are part of the bridal party please make your way to me, otherwise, if you’re a plus one, have a seat in the seating area.

  Amelia smiles in my direction, Jack at her side and Greta hanging off him like a cancerous tumor. Jack’s eyes meet mine almost immediately, a small smile starts to appear on his face until Greta takes his hand and the smile never reaches his eyes. This is not the Jack I knew. He looks defeated. I’ve not really let myself spend a lot of time admiring him since I got here, and I wish I hadn’t right now either.

  Here I was, secretly expecting him to swoon at the fact that I’m wearing his favorite dress, and his expression is more like he’s just looked into the open coffin of a friend who’s passed on. I force a smile at him but he only looks away, causing my heart to sink into my chest.

  “Before we get started, I think the bride and groom have some gifts they want to hand out.” A man walks towards us with a rolling cart full of gift bags.

  “We do,” Hannah says with a giggle. Evan starts handing gift bags to all the bridal party, one by one. “Evan had these specially made for his groomsmen, but please don’t devour them right now. Maybe later, or even take them home.”

  “And I… had these made up this morning. I think you all should put them on right now for rehearsal. It’ll be fun!” Her giddy smile tells me these gifts are either expensive or embarrassing or quite possibly both.

  I watch as other girls start pulling black t-shirts out of their gift bags.

  “Oh my God! This is so funny… I love it!” One of the other bridesmaids pulls their shirt on, and I’m immediately afraid to look at my own.

  “The Bridesmaids…” Hannah points to the front before having the girl turn around. “I’m the sweet one…” She giggles, “Aren’t they cute!?”

  “Which one are you?” Liam leans over, quietly asking in my ear.

  “I’m afraid to look.” I hold the gift bag tightly against my chest, scared to pull my shirt out and see what title I’ve been given. All the other girls are pulling their t-shirts on. So far, I see THE SWEET ONE, THE FUNNY ONE, THE LATE ONE, and mine is the last not revealed. Greta is off in the corner, pouting that she didn’t get one since she’s not officially a bridesmaid. I have a feeling that if she had, revealing mine wouldn’t be quite as nerve wracking.

  “Come on Emi, it’s fun. Put yours on.”

  I reluctantly pull the shirt out of the bag and turn it to read the back before anyone else can. Shit. It would be just my luck that she’s chosen my weak spot as my title. I’m just happy she didn’t choose THE CONFUSED ONE or SHE STILL LOVES JACK ONE.

  “Read it out loud, Ems,” Hannah encourages me with a smile.

&n
bsp; “Um – THE DRUNK ONE…” I say aloud, forcing a giggle and immediately hearing Evan burst out laughing. If there was ever a cringeworthy moment that made you wish you could hide anywhere, this is it. I can feel my face flush as the room giggles around me. I know it’s a joke, but it’s a joke that’s all too real right now.

  “It’s just a joke,” Hannah jabs Evan in the ribs with her elbow. “Put it on!”

  I glance at Lily and Josh behind me before looking back at Liam again who has a strange, almost smile on his face.

  “Fine.” I pull the t-shirt on over my dress and do an exaggerated spin so everyone can get a good look.

  “She got that one spot on, didn’t she?” Greta announces to the room with a laugh before being elbowed by Jack. “What?”

  “Quiet!” Muffy claps us into silence. “Enough nonsense, let’s get started!”

  “Wait!” Hannah interrupts her quickly, scurrying to her side in the center of the room. “We have just one more thing to do.” Evan walks up behind her with two white sashes hanging over his arm. “We haven’t really announced who our Maid of Honor and Best Man are, we wanted it to be a surprise, so…” We all watch her take the sashes from Evan.

  “As Evan’s Best Man he chose the guy who he’s been the closest to for so many years, a man who actually helped bring us together so long ago. A man who even took Evan in like a brother when his world fell apart after his parents died.” She walks up to Jack and puts the sash over his head, like he’s just won some sort of beauty pageant, straightening it so the sparkly words Best Man lie directly across his chest.

  “We’re brothers really, even before today, thanks for always being there for me,” Evan says, then nods towards me “For us, really.”

  I finally see Jack smile, a real smile that reaches all the way to his eyes as he walks over to hug my brother. Despite all the nonsense Jack has been there for both Evan and me in so many ways.

  “And… my Maid of Honor… This was really hard for me, but the last few days have really made it clear who it should be. Because of you, this day is even happening and I couldn’t ever be more thankful for that. We may have had a rocky start, but I know you’re forever supposed to be in my life, one way or another…”

  When she’s standing directly in front of me I feel myself shaking my head. “Hannah, I can’t walk down the aisle with—” I whisper, but she purses her lips and glares with an intensity I can almost feel. It’s time for me to shut up and listen.

  “Emi, I chose you as my Maid of Honor because, after today, we’ll finally be sisters forever. Just as we should have been last year.” The sash is slung around my neck and straightened to show the glittery pink Maid of Honor squarely across my chest.

  “Thank you,” I hug her, thankful that she feels this way but unable to pull my eyes from a watching Jack.

  Muffy claps again. “Now that the awards ceremony is over let’s get to the rehearsal.”

  “Wow…” Liam laughs under his breath. “This is quite the wedding already.”

  “This is bad.” I glance around the room looking for Lily but since she and Josh are only guests and not official wedding party, they’ve moved to the seating area and are both scrolling through their phones.

  “Why is it bad?” Liam asks me.

  “Because the Maid of Honor walks down the aisle with the Best Man.”

  “I take it the Best Man is the guy who broke your heart?”

  I nod, “Yes, Jack.”

  Liam rubs the back of his neck for a moment, his face somber and staring into space. When his hand touches mine a spark of electricity moves quickly all the way to my brain.

  “Then, before I take my seat in the plus one section, I think my status is now boyfriend.” And in a moment too quick for me to even process the words he’s just said, his arm is around my back, he’s pulled me against him and his lips meet mine. I melt… like literally; my knees go weak and I don’t pull away. I can’t, the last time someone kissed me, it was Jack. My head and my heart are in a war and right now my brain seems to be on strike, fizzing like a shaken bottle of champagne.

  “OK, OK… Enough with the love scene. Plus ones, find your seat in the audience.” Muffy’s stern voice causes us both to pull away. Liam’s hand slowly runs along my back as he walks towards Lily and Josh.

  When I finally glance around the room, all eyes are on us. Hannah’s mouth is hanging open with a huge awkward smile and Jack’s face is much the opposite of hers.

  “Hannah and Robert move to the back of the room, Best Man and Maid of Honor in front of them…” Muffy is barking orders and maneuvering people exactly where she wants them.

  Hannah skips to my side and slides her arm through mine, pulling me from the daydream and towards the back of the room with her.

  “Oh my God. So, what is this then?” She tries to be quiet, but I’m sure half the room just heard her.

  “Shh… Hannah. I don’t know. He just… kissed me.”

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “Was it good?” She raises an eyebrow.

  “What? This isn’t a sleepover where we talk boys. I don’t know what it was. It was, uh…” We stop at the back of the room. The only person there so far is Robert, who isn’t listening anyway. “It was surprising.”

  “I bet! He is cute, but, are you sure you want this?”

  “This is nothing. It’s just an act, remember?”

  “Right…” Her gaze moves to my side, and when I glance around Jack is quietly standing there waiting for us to drop into walking orders. “Right,” Hannah says again, walking away from me towards her father.

  “Emi,” Jack’s voice is unemotional, and he doesn’t look directly at me.

  “Jack,” I match his tone as if we’re in a poker game.

  “You look beautiful, as always.” He finally looks down at me with a hesitant, shy smile. “Who’s the guy?” He nods towards the seating area where Liam is now sitting behind Lily and Josh with Greta getting a little too comfortable right next to him.

  “Just a friend,” I answer.

  I watch Greta chat with Liam, laughing at his every word and honestly making me a little bit sick that she’s got some kind of power to continue to weasel her way to men I’m close to.

  “A friend you make out with?” He looks at me with a disapproving look on his face.

  “Why do you care? You appear to be hot and heavy with my arch-enemy.”

  He shakes his head with a frown. “It’s far from hot and heavy.”

  “I’m a grown woman, I can see anyone I want to see. Just as you can date the one woman I hate if you want to. No one is holding you back. These are the things that happen when people break up.”

  He sighs heavily. “I’m not worried about the guy, Ems. I’m worried about you.”

  “Why are you worried about me?”

  “I just am. Believe it or not…” he stares down at the floor for a moment before finally looking up at me. “I miss you.”

  “When the music starts,” Muffy yells, interrupting the moment where my heart stopped. “You are to count to three and then take your groomsman’s arm and start slowly walking up the aisle.”

  I force myself to stare at the front of the room. Watching Liam and Greta chat, Lily and Josh laugh at something on their phone.

  “Please talk to me, Emi,” Jack whispers, holding out his elbow for me.

  I sigh, “Why?”

  “Because if you actually expect me to move on I need to say some things. I’ll walk away forever if that’s what you want but not until we talk, can you give me at least that?”

  I look to Greta, who’s now got her attention turned on the two of us.

  “No.” I finally take his elbow with a glare.

  “Fine.” We both take a step forward. “I’ll say it right now then.”

  “What?” I say, a little louder than intended, seeing Josh and Lily both turn towards us as well. “Jack, no, now is not the time.”

  “It’s
never the time for you. But you have to know, I never cheated on you.”

  I roll my eyes and take another step forward.

  “That day, I know it looked bad, but it wasn’t the way it looked.”

  “Just stop.” I look up at his sad face. “Please, I’ve heard all this before, but I know what I saw.”

  “You don’t, and you need to know this.” His eyes plead with me in a way that makes my chest hurt. For the first time since I’ve been here, I see actual remorse in Jack’s face.

  “Can we STOP the conversation back there and pay attention?!” Muffy yells back at us, her finger waving from across the room and silencing us both, which honestly is a relief on my part.

  Another step forward but Jack leans closer to me, allowing his cologne to wash over me and affect every unclouded area I still have.

  “We will talk this week, whether you like it or not, I need it.” He whispers into my ear, his breath making the hair on my neck stand straight up. And all I can do is nod.

  Ten

  The Wedding of Lily & Josh

  Two years, nine months ago.

  Cancun, Mexico

  “Why did you choose a combined bachelor/bachelorette party? How will Josh have strippers if we’re there?” I ask Lily, who still has the curling iron in her hair even though we were supposed to meet the guys at the bar twenty minutes ago.

  “Because it’s fun, there will be no strippers, and we’re all friends. So why not?”

  “Got it. I just hope this burrito Evan convinced me to eat earlier doesn’t make a comeback.”

  “You’re sick?”

  “Not sick, yet, just… iffy. It’s not like I drank the water or anything.” I wasn’t going to tell her this at all and just hope it passed. Literally.

  “Well, hold it together.”

  Finally, Lily is the picture of perfect and ready to walk the few blocks from our hotel down to the bar where this magical event is to take place. I probably shouldn’t have worn heels this high for this much walking, but I hate looking an entire foot shorter than Jack.