Dearly Beloved by Peggy Jaeger

Author:Peggy Jaeger [Jaeger, Peggy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction, Bride, Contemporary, Weddings, Small-town, Family, humorous
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2018-09-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

“You’ve lost weight,” I told Isabella a week later. She was standing on the riser in the bridal boutique again, facing the tri-mirror, garbed in her beautiful gown. The seamstress was busy adjusting the waist, and it looked as if she’d pinned a good inch all around. “You’re not dieting, are you? Because that’s a no-no for my brides. I won’t have you fainting on the altar.”

“I don’t have much of an appetite lately,” Isabella said, her voice sad and quiet.

We’d met outside the salon at the appointed time, and from the first moment she wasn’t behaving like her usually exuberant self. Her smile seemed forced, and shadows under her eyes peeked through her concealer.

“You have one more fitting after this,” the seamstress told her, gathering all her supplies and pins up. “I can’t take it in any more after that.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said. The boutique was empty, and when we were alone, I slid my hands around her upper arms, arms that showed some weight loss as well.

“Sweetie, what’s going on? Is everything okay with you and Jack?”

This was the time, the critical few weeks before a wedding, where a bride’s nerves and a groom’s anxiety would usually start to climb. When I’d told Slade I liked to keep drama around my brides down, it was because I’d lived through so many emotional breakdowns and issues during this time frame when I’d been at the magazine and then when I’d gone out on my own.

“No, Jack and I are good. Really good. I can’t wait to marry him.”

“Then why aren’t you eating? It can’t be because you’re worried about what you’ll look like on the big day. You’ve got to know, you have to know, you’re going to be a vision.”

Her smile was sweet but tinged with sadness.

“Isabella, what is it?” I tugged her into my arms. I was usually the one being pulled in for bridal hugs, but this time and with this bride, I felt I needed to be the initiator.

Her sigh sluiced over me. “It’s Slade.”

Of course it is.

“Oh?” I tried to infuse my tone with mild curiosity and not the anger I was still feeling about our last encounter.

No. Anger wasn’t the right word. Disappointment and confusion were the more appropriate terms for what I’d been experiencing this past week. But I shoved those feelings aside. Isabella was my first priority.

“What’s going on with him?”

She pulled out of my arms and reached for a tissue. “He wants Jack to sign a prenuptial agreement.”

I didn’t let on I already knew this.

“And Jack doesn’t want to?”

“No, he says he will. No questions asked. He doesn’t care about my trust fund.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“I know, right? He’s the best guy in the world, and I’m so lucky to be marrying him.”

“He’s pretty lucky too, you know. He’s getting you.”

She dabbed at her eyes and managed a real smile. “You’re sweet.”

“So, what’s the problem then? If Jack wants to sign it and your brother wants him to, it seems like there shouldn’t be an issue.

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