The setting was rather decadent in the worst of ways. Frills, flowery perfume, and an exorbitant amount of white decor. The only thing L'Amour Bridal Boutique had going for it was the classical music playing in the showroom.

Evelyn Jane was there at her elder sister's request. Speaking of Victoria, she was standing in front of a series of mirrors in a wedding gown while a tailor was fiddling with the petticoat.

"Can you take that bit up, Gene?" Victoria asked. She didn't look pleased. Evelyn Jane couldn't see why. The dress was absolutely beautiful and looked gorgeous on her.

"You don't want to disturb the material too much, I can take it away but adding it back is tricky. I'd advise you not to, Miss Orbinson," the tailor said from where he was crouched at her feet.

"Nice dress," Evelyn Jane commented as she approached.


Victoria's expression of displeasure lifted at once at hearing Evelyn Jane's voice. She turned and pulled her sister into a tight hug, "Evie! You made it!"

She then turned to the tailor and said, "Fine. I won't take any of it up."

The tailor looked relieved. He'd probably been dealing with Victoria's bouts of Bridezillah-ness all afternoon.

"What did you need exactly? My opinion your dress?" Evelyn Jane asked as she followed Victoria into the changing room. Victoria pointed to the laces at the back of her bridal gown and Evelyn Jane obliged by loosening them. Her sister then went to the other side of a dressing screen.

"No, you're picking out a bridesmaid dress today, dear sister."

When Evelyn Jane got a call from Victoria earlier that day to meet, she didn't expect this was what it was for, considering there were probably more important things to lock down before the wedding like catering or the officiant. Well, to be fair Evelyn Jane didn't know if those hadn't been taken care of yet, she hadn't had a lot of time to discuss the wedding with her sister—mostly because she found the subject tedious. Victoria knew Evelyn Jane would try to avoid it until the last minute, so never mentioned exactly what they were to meet about but may or may not have indicated that she needed Evelyn Jane's input on her wedding gown. Curse Victoria for knowing Evelyn Jane's habits too well!

Victoria had piled a few dresses on hangers for her sister to try on. All were pink as previously promised.

"Why do I have to choose? It's your wedding," Evelyn Jane bemoaned and looked at the options with distaste. Victoria was done changing and back to her casual clothing. She rolled her eyes with a playful air as she passed.

"Evie, I know you dislike the color but it's important to me that you pick something that you're most comfortable in," Victoria smiled and took a seat to wait.

Evelyn Jane pulled off her striped shirt and set it in the changing booth, exchanging it with a short peplum-style dress. It squeezed against her thighs but as she checked herself out in the mirror, she realized her legs looked awesome. The color was all wrong on her though.

She stepped out and gestured toward herself for Victoria s appraisal, caught site of herself from the side, and grimaced. While her legs looked great, her behind looked larger than usual.

"Oooh you look so good in that!"

"Well then that's settled," Evelyn Jane said dryly and made a move to go back and get dressed.


"No! You have to try them all on. What if you look better in the next?"

Evelyn Jane rolled her eyes but acquiesced and tried the second dress on. It was more of a ballgown, with a long skirt, and invoked more of a formality than the first. She made a disapproving face at seeing her reflection. It might have been exquisitely flattering but it made her look like some sort of spring maiden, something she was definitely not.


"How is Sawyer?" Evelyn Jane inquired, making a quick appearance to show Victoria the second dress and intended to go right back in.

"He's fine," Victoria answered but stopped Evelyn Jane from returning and asked her to do a twirl.

When they were girls, they would spend their summer days inventing elaborate dance routines to show their father when he returned from work. Evelyn Jane had become very graceful through that practice. She executed a perfect twirl much to Victoria's amusement. The skirt of the dress flowed outward. Okay, she had to admit It was fun to wear but she doubted she'd be able to twirl much at the wedding.


"Has he found a job yet?"

Victoria briefly scowled at Evelyn Jane for the doubtful tone. Sawyer was Victoria's husband-to-be. He was a nice guy but he was a dreamer who wanted to travel the world and sweep Victoria off her feet. At first, their family had reservations about Victoria's pick of a partner.

Though, he had a lot of good ideas for business start-ups if he could just find an investor...

And It wasn't like he was soon to have a wealthy father-in-law who could provide a means to lift a fledgling business off the ground.

"He's going to be his own boss. He has a series of investment meetings this week. Tomorrow is the first one."

"Well good luck with that," Evelyn Jane said and returned to the changing booth to try on the final dress.

It made her look like their grandmother. Despite her sister's protests, Victoria insisted on seeing how it looked and once Evelyn Jane stepped out from behind the dressing screen, Victoria was sent into pits of laughter.

"That's the one!"

"Vicky, NO," Evelyn Jane started to mildly panic, "Besides you said I could choose!"


It would be disastrous if she was seen wearing something so gaudy. There would be photographers and possibly even journalists outside the wedding since it was an Orbinson affair.

"I'm just teasing. Plumbobs, calm down, Victoria finished laughing, making a show of how funny it was by clutching her tummy. She often riled her little sister up as older sisters tended to do, ever since they were children.

Evelyn Jane gnashed her teeth together, she disliked being teased mostly because it caused her to lose composure. There was something she found shameful in being set up for a reaction and taking the bait. At least that was the impression her parents had always given her. There was a careful and delicate tightrope of personal versus public face the Orbsinons always maintained.

"Are you bringing anyone to the wedding? You know you can have a plus one," Victoria asked after finishing off her laughter. Evelyn Jane quickly disappeared behind the screen once more to change back into her regular clothes; she couldn't stand to be in that baby pink nightmare any longer than needed.

And regarding Victoria's comment, who could Evelyn Jane even bring? She couldn't think of anyone to suit a spot.

"I don't know," she finally admitted after pulling her shirt over her head.

"What about the Ambassador?"

Evelyn Jane didn't bother to hide the derisive snort at the suggestion, as she pulled on her white skinny jeans and heels.

Like hells, she was going to take someone that her parents wanted to match her up with.

"I don't even know him. I'd rather just go alone."

"You don't mean that, Evie," Victoria said. It annoyed Evelyn Jane that Victoria thought she knew everything that Evelyn Jane felt.

Evelyn Jane popped her head around the screen and frowned, "Yes. I. Do. Now drop it."

It wasn't like she had a secret stash of male escorts to pick from. She hadn't had time nor interest to cultivate any kind of relationships with men in university, not when Shaun Piper's shadow constantly lurked over her head. She bitterly thought about how every other Sunday she was expected to meet him. To collaborate.

She wiped that melancholy thought from manifesting into a facial expression and returned to Victoria with the dresses draped over her arm.

"So...which dress do you want? I'll buy it for you," Victoria smiled, now concerned with the matter at hand and thankfully not about her sister's love life.

"If I must choose, the first one is acceptable enough."

"Don't sound so excited. You could be having to wear the one in grandmother's style," Victoria was back to teasing but Evelyn Jane was prepared and didn't lash out with a reply. Victoria then took the dresses, placed the rejects on a rack and they walked to the front of the boutique to check out.


As promised, Victoria paid. The dress was not something Evelyn Jane would ever buy for herself, so she was appreciative that Victoria was kind enough to realize that and purchase it for her. She really was a princess from a fairy tale, despite her tendencies to provoke Evelyn Jane at times. Evelyn Jane gave a genuine smile but before she could thank Victoria, her cell phone rang.

Evelyn Jane's smile vanished as she saw who it was that was calling. She should have just not answered—but that was risky. She told Victoria she would be a minute and went outside, leaving her sister to banter with the dress tailor.

"What do you want?" she asked as soon as she answered, "You aren't supposed to call me."

"Miss Evie, that is no tone to take with me. I was calling to inform you that I am moving our collaboration meeting to tonight."

"What? You can't do that!" She hissed.


"I can do what I damn well please. If you don't like it, take it up with the reporters who will be on your father's doorstep first thing in the morning. I hear your sister's wedding is coming up soon not to mention he is running a re-election campaign. It would be a shame for everyone to discover our relationship so close to these events."

The way he referred to it as a 'relationship made her skin crawl.

"Wait!" Evelyn Jane's eyes widened as she struggled to maintain composure and not resort to shouting expletives at the maestro in front of L'Amour Bridal Boutique. It had been a long time since he'd openly threatened to leak their affair to the public, "Fine. What time would you like to meet?"

"The usual. Nine o'clock this evening. Wear something fine."

She was about to ask him why but he had ended the call. She made a frustrated noise at the back of her throat.

"Hey Evie! Are you free tonight? Sawyer is flying to Quincy this evening to present to a prospective investor tomorrow and I thought we could get dinner and have a sleepover!" Victoria startled Evelyn Jane by coming up behind her and asking.

Evelyn Jane shook her head regretfully—because it really had been so long since she had gotten to spend quality time with her elder sister and it pained her to say "Sorry, but I have a previous engagement."