Hearts Like Ours | Red View Romance #1

🍏 Twenty Eight

The grey, rainy day after her and Dawson's tryst to the movie theater, Layla was back in Red View, this time with Annie and Kenzie. It was early still, just an hour after the workout session, and the three of them were headed to Lillie Mae's Bridal Shop for Kenzie's wedding dress fitting.

There were still months before the wedding, so this was far from the final adjustment. Rather than fixing the size of the dress, this was about the final decision on her veil and the finishing touches to the fabric of her train.

"So, Annie," Kenzie looked up at the much taller girl with an arched eyebrow. "Layla and I are both already spoken for, which begs the question—when can we expect to see you in a wedding dress?"

Annie laughed, pale skin flushing with color. Adjusting the collar of her thin turtleneck, she shrugged. "Well, at this rate, never."

"We're young," Layla said firmly, hinting that there was no rush, especially since Annie was two years younger than her. "You most of all. I wouldn't worry just because you haven't found the one yet."

"What if I haven't even just found one?" she asked, deadpan.

Kenzie's head tilted. "Meaning what, exactly?"

"Meaning I haven't even so much as been on a date before." Somehow, her face got even redder. "And at this point, I'm beginning to think I never will."

With a brush of her hand, Kenzie waved away the embarrassment that was on their friends face. "I doubt that. I mean, Marshall and I didn't start dating until I was around your age. I used to say the same kind of stuff to Gabriela," Kenzie spoke of her Maid of Honor as Annie opened the door for her and Layla. "Who I wish would just come home already. I can't wait for you guys to meet her."

"There she is!" Lillie Mae's voice called out before either of the girls could respond. She came around the counter with open arms and a smile filled with admiration as she looked at Kenzie. "The beautiful bride-to-be."

Kenzie greeted her mother with a hug—and then Lillie Mae gave Layla and Annie hugs of their own to say hello. Even on a cloudy day, Layla noted, the bridal shop was still alive with its fresh décor and warm colors.

"Come in, come in. I've already got Kenzie's gown in the dressing room. You two can sit over there while I help her into it, if you'd like." She gestured to the sitting area in front of the large mirror.

They sat while Lillie Mae took an even chattier-than-usual Kenzie back to the fitting room.

"Do you know when Gabriela is supposed to get back to Red View?" Annie asked as they sat on the long couch.

"I'm not sure exactly, but Kenzie mentioned the other day at dinner that it should be soon. And Cliff is supposed to get here closer to the wedding." She had a vague picture in her head of the eldest McAden sibling, thanks to the photos in the hallways of their home. His coloring and features were more like Kenzie's, lighter and softer than Dawson's and Jack's. "But she did admit she's worried he won't show. I get the feeling it's happened more than once before."

"Hopefully he'll be there—You can tell how happy she is about seeing him. How long has it been? Four years?"

"That's what I heard. Honestly, I wonder how anyone could keep themselves away from here for that long." 

Not just because of the lush countryside or the peaceful town, but because of the people. One of which, Layla knew, she owed an apology to. And despite being around her quite a bit the past week, she still didn't know how to say it. 

"Um, Annie?"

Her eyebrows raised at the shift in Layla's tone. "Yeah?"

"Well... you know... the other day, when you caught me on that run and I sort of dumped all my issues on you before running off again?" Layla laughed in spite of herself, feeling slightly pathetic at the memory. "I'm sorry about that. It meant a lot that you offered to talk to me, even if I did a crappy job at making it seem that way. And it also means a lot that you didn't tell anyone what I said about Colin."