Page 20 of The Wedding Fake
“Nice,” Nora said, accepting the answer at face value as she tucked her lavender hair behind her ears. In a million years, I could not imagine getting married with bright purple hair, but that was Nora. Her free-spirited nature had always made her stand out in the family, and yet she embraced the role. Nora was so comfortable in her skin she made you feel like maybe you were doing it wrong. More than once I caught myself looking in the mirror, wondering if I was too locked down.
In the bridal boutique, I dropped back, letting my eyes wander over dresses as Nora was taken into the fitting room with the tailor. I’d been waiting for a chance to talk to Tessa and see if I could get to the bottom of Mom’s odd behavior. “Hey, Tess?” I said quietly, falling in line with my sister, who was looking at dresses without much interest. “Do you know what the deal is with Mom? Why she gave Hudson the third degree?”
Tessa didn’t look up from the dresses, but I could see her chewing her lip, a sure sign I wasn’t going to like what she had to say. “I shouldn’t say anything,” she said.
I didn’t reply, rolling my lips between my teeth and widening my eyes as I stared at her, a clear suggestion that, in fact, she should.
Tess looked around us, but Nora had disappeared with the tailor, leaving us completely alone. “Did you hear about Mom’s plans to set you up with Grant Dupree?” Tess whispered.
“Emily mentioned,” I confirmed.
“She was talking about it a lot—I mean, she was so excited, Claire. I think she has your whole wedding planned out.”
I frowned, my upper lip curling at the thought, and leaned in closer to Tess, whispering harshly. “Okay, but…that’s crazy, Tess. I’ve never shown the slightest interest in Grant. How can she be planning a wedding for me when I haven’t even shown any interest in getting married?” I looked down at the dresses in front of us—the kind of sleek dress I’d absolutely wear to my own wedding—and hoped Tessa couldn’t see through my bullshit. In reality, I fantasized about weddings and marriage with embarrassing frequency. Just not to Grant Dupree.
To her credit, Tessa only shrugged. “She was really upset when you said you were bringing someone up here with you. She assumed if it were serious, you would’ve talked about him earlier…” Tess trailed off, and I felt the panic rise in my chest. “And she’s been dead-set on this setup.” I was frozen to the spot, horrified, watching blankly as Tess picked up a wedding dress, holding it in front of herself. It was an odd move from my little sister, who’d never shown any interest in men, let alone marriage, but I had bigger things to worry about just now.
“Me and Hudson—it’s new,” I protested weakly.
Tess shrugged, hanging the dress back up. “And good for you. He’s hot as hell, seems nice, and didn’t tell Mom to fuck off when she acted like a crazy person.” Tessa dragged her fingers over some more dresses. “But seriously, Claire.” Her voice dropped to a whisper as Nora came out of the fitting room. “I don’t think she’s done hoping and wishing and maybe demanding you give Grant a chance.”
“Tessa, it’s your turn,” Nora sang across the shop. Tess walked away, but I continued looking at dresses, my mind elsewhere. I knew my mother had a growing obsession with becoming a grandmother, and Nora made it clear she wasn’t having babies for many years, but that didn’t mean it was okay for Mom to try to pawn Grant Dupree off on me.
I continued mulling over Mom and Grant and Hudson until Nora called me up for my fitting, at which point I hung up the wedding dress I’d been looking at and walked to the back of the shop. “You’re Claire?” the tailor asked.
“That’s me,” I said with a cheer I didn’t feel.
“Wonderful. Go ahead and put the dress on and we’ll check the fit.”
I pulled the dress on, a crushed velvet gown that felt like it weighed twenty pounds and fit me like a cheap slipcover.
I held it to my chest as I walked back out to the fitting platform in the back of the store. “Hmm.” The tailor, who’d introduced herself as Tina, seemed displeased. “You won’t want a bra?”
I watched my cheeks turn a rosy pink in the mirror. The dress was off-the-shoulder, requiring a strapless bra, and I hadn’t brought one. I wasn’t particularly busty, so bras weren’t a necessity for me, but they seemed to be a necessity for this dress, which was going to need all the help it could get defying gravity and keeping me covered. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I forgot.”
Tina tsked disapprovingly as she began pinning, failing to make me feel any better. I remained quiet as I watched Tina’s reflection in the mirror, feeling generally embarrassed and anxious until my focus was pulled by the ding of a bell. I squinted into the mirror, towards the front of the store, where the door was now swinging shut. Even from my position in the back of the shop I recognized him.
“Grant!” Nora squealed, throwing her arms around her future brother-in-law in a loose hug.
Despite my persistent disinterest, Grant Dupree was, by all accounts, an attractive man. His brown eyes and honey-blond hair were visible even at a distance, and those eyes found me quickly, even as he hugged Nora in greeting. My hand tightened instinctively around the bust of my loose dress in an effort to press it more firmly against my skin. I had no idea why Grant would be inside a bridal boutique, but I had a suspicion it had to do with my mother. Which meant it had to do with me.
I watched in the mirror’s reflection as Grant strolled to the back of the store, until finally he stood close enough that I could see him in person. “Claire,” he said, smiling politely. His eyes never dipped down below my face, and yet I held the dress tighter. “Your mom said you’d be in town today, but I didn’t expect to see you.”
Of course my mother had something to do with this. “I wouldn’t expect you to be off work at this hour, Grant. Emily could barely get off tomorrow.”
Grant's eyebrows bounced. “One of the perks of being part of a practice. Much more reasonable hours. During residency you don’t have time for anything, but here…” His voice trailed off, and he shrugged a single shoulder. “Well, things have really settled down for me.”
I knew my mother loved the fact that Grant Dupree was a doctor, like my father, but I wasn’t about to drop my panties and accept Grant’s ring just because he’d made it through residency. Tina was trying to pry my arms loose from her dress so it would lay flat, but I wasn’t budging while Grant stood watching. I heard another tsk and shot Tina a frown before my eyes came up to meet Grant’s once more. “I heard you went into private practice. Congrats,” I said dispassionately.
Grant looked about to say more, but a ding at the door stopped him. My eyes darted to the mirror again, this time seeing Hudson entering. He held a coffee in each hand. “Hey, babe,” he said as he got close, shooting me a wink. “I thought you might want a coffee. Didn’t know you’d be getting fitted this instant.” His rich tenor voice was a touch sultry, and butterflies pattered against the confines of my stomach despite the fact I knew it was an act. “You look gorgeous, by the way,” he said as he got close, his voice going low as if he was speaking to me privately, even though he was still entirely audible to the occupants of the shop and all four women were openly ogling him.
Grant looked less impressed. “Dr. Grant Dupree,” he said, holding out a hand to Hudson. Hudson shifted both coffees to a single large hand to free up a hand to shake.
“Nice to meet you, Doc. I’m Hudson North, Claire’s boyfriend. You two go way back?”
I had to smother the urge to smile as Grant tried to decide if Hudson was making fun of him. I assumed he was, but just a little, and only because Grant had felt the need to introduce himself as a doctor.
“We’ve known each other for a while. Nora’s marrying my brother,” Grant explained.