Page 172 of Fly's Path

She tries hard to do the same, but her tear-streaked face and sad eyes kill the effect.

Time to be the class clown until I get a smile out of her. “Have you ever danced in the reference section of the library?”

“I don’t believe I have.”

With a silly flourish, I bow, offering my hand to her.

Wedding Weekend

Sheridan

I’ll tell you on our first anniversary.

Our first anniversary…

Those words freak me out more than anything that man has said to me ever.

I’m leaving in just a few days, and saying goodbye then is going to be impossible.

“Twist a little to the left.” The seamstress taps my side. “You lost weight, didn’t you? I wish I could lose weight. If I so much as look at food, it goes straight to my hips.”

Is it really that noticeable?

“Don’t you worry, though. I’ll have everything set, and this will fit you like a glove by tomorrow.”

My life has always been filled with loose, flowy dresses or something with so much stretch it doesn’t need to be adjusted when I gain or lose a bit of weight that it’s odd seeing myself in an outfit that’s fitted to my body.

Very odd.

“What do you mean my dress doesn’t fit?” Dahlia's voice carries over to all of us.

“I’m sorry, we thought your numbers were a typo and fixed them.” Her seamstress clears her throat. “Obviously, we were mistaken. It’s just that they’re so large…Well, it’s not often that…You have…Um…”

Seriously? This woman isn’t body-shaming my friend. “Excuse me. But the only thing you should say right now is that you can either fix the dress to fit my friend’s insanely beautiful figure, or you can order a new one in time.” Look at me sounding so brave and bold.

“I…um…” The woman swallows hard.

“Is there a problem over here?” Winnie walks over, and I just want to grin. This lady is going to regret her life right about now.

“It seems this seamstress doesn’t realize women can have different body types, so she didn’t order the proper size for Dahlia.” And I want to slap her…metaphorically…and maybe literally.

“Well then, just order the right size.” It’s not how Winnie says the words because her tone remains polite…It’s how she says the words.

The seamstress gulps and goes pale. “We…um…there isn’t…um…”

“You seem to have a problem speaking. Why don’t you leave and someone else can help us, because I really don’t want to waste my time or money somewhere that insults my friends.” Winnie stares the woman down.

The seamstress working with me walks over. “We should be able to fix it by pulling out the zipper and putting in a corseted back. It’ll differ slightly from the rest of your dresses, but since every woman is wearing a dress to suit their figure, it should fit in with the style quite well.”

“Maverick is going to lose his mind if I wear a backless dress like that.” Dahlia grins. “I love it. Do you think we could make the back slightly lower even?”

Crisis averted. I smile at Winnie, and she nods back.

“You guys.” Piper rushes out of her fitting room. “Stella’s been hurt.”

“What?”

“How?”