Daisy James - If The Dress Fits - a delightfully uplifting romantic comedy!

‘You know, I still can’t grasp the reasoning behind Lilac’s crazy scheme. Why splash open your marriage to one of the hunkiest men alive in a nationwide competition to design your wedding gown? I mean, she’s one of the most sought-after actresses of her genre – especially since she won that BAFTA for best supporting actress last year. And Finn, well, what I wouldn’t do to trade places and get my mitts on those buttocks of steel! And they could get hitched anywhere in the world; a yacht moored off the Cote d’Azur, a white-powdered beach in Hawaii; I’m even certain that St Paul’s Cathedral would have overlooked the residence requirements. But oh, no, Lilac Verbois wanted to get married in Yorkshire. Nothing wrong with Yorkshire per se and York Minster is the most gorgeous venue for the ceremony. But, well, you know… Yorkshire?’ Scarlet wrinkled her pert, freckled nose as she twisted a glossy lock of her amber hair around her ring finger. ‘Why didn’t she go for The Plaza in New York or a palazzo in Venice? There’s no competition, in my humble opinion.’

‘Hey, quit dissing Yorkshire! You know it’s where I grew up,’ smiled Callie, exaggerating her accent. ‘The Verbois/Marchant wedding is going to be the glitziest, most glamorous wedding no matter where it’s held. And it’s what Lilac wants, Scarlet. Don’t you think a bride should be able to choose where she ties the knot?’

Scarlet pulled a face. ‘But why the competition to design her wedding dress? You know, I wouldn’t want the job of that poor wedding planner – what’s her name, Tish? – for all the silk in China. I bet you she’s already planning to shoot herself and the competition hasn’t even been finalised yet. It’s the end of March, the wedding’s on the thirty-first of July; that’s just four months away. I predict a confetti-infused nightmare!’

‘Well, it’s just as well she did, isn’t it, Scarlet?’ smiled Callie, tucking the sharply angled sides of her ebony bob behind her ears. She blew her fringe away from tickling at her eyelashes as she finished the last embellishment, then snipped the thread like a ceremonial ribbon.

‘Why?’

Callie rolled her eyes. Scarlet was her clear-headed second-in-command, but sometimes she seemed to inhabit a galaxy far, far away. ‘Because, Scarlet darling, in case you haven’t noticed, Callie-Louise Bridal Couture has been shortlisted through to the final stages.’

‘Oh, yes. And your design will win, Callie, I know it will. It’s a heavenly creation! I’m so proud of what you’ve done.’

‘What we’ve all done. This has been a real team effort. Even Flora has had an input.’ Callie rubbed the heels of her hands over her eyes in an effort to squeeze one last drop of energy from her addled brain.

‘Sure.’ Scarlet’s perfectly outlined Cupid’s bow stretched to reveal her white, even teeth.

It was difficult not to adore Scarlet, with her signature red lips and nail polish chosen to clash violently with her auburn hair. She had, without a murmur of complaint, hand-sewn the tiniest of crystals onto the ivory silk until her fingers bled and she was banished from the studio for fear of jeopardising the pristine fabric. After that, she had assumed the mantle of caring friend, force-feeding Callie a diet of chocolate digestives and toast – the extent of her culinary knowledge – for which Callie had been immensely grateful. Some days it was the only sustenance to pass her lips and had kept the hunger pangs at bay.

Never one to hold back when delicacy was required, Scarlet would regularly burst forth with gems of her own brand of wisdom. ‘You need to get out more’ was a regular refrain delivered to Callie’s ears, and the ubiquitous ‘all work and no play’, before she went on to dispense a dose of friendly criticism of her failure to frequent the capital’s bars and restaurants. She would end with a demand that Callie join her and Flora for a night on the town when Callie could no longer focus her eyes on the wedding dress of the decade.

Callie had watched from her seat in the Grand Circle as Scarlet took her own advice and lurched from one romantic encounter to the next, leaving her heart-broken conquests littering her fragrant slipstream.

‘So, what’s new on the relationship front, Scarlet?’

‘Well, now that I’m about to be freed from the shackles of my workaholic boss, I intend to make up for my enforced dating celibacy by hitting the bars in the West End and sampling a different cocktail in every single one, starting with your personal favourite – a vodka martini. And you will be perched on the stool next to me, Callie. You haven’t had a date in months. In fact, when was the last time you agreed to go out with a guy?’

‘Oh, you know me. I don’t have time to date. I’m just too busy with…’

‘We’re all busy, Callie. But that’s not it. You always seem to come up with a convenient diagnosis of a fatal flaw in every guy you date. You seem to perform the dating equivalent of an archaeological dig in order to unearth any perceived imperfection that you can hone in on as an excuse not to take things further. Remember Marcus? He was gorgeous – a model, for God’s sake! He could make a bin liner look sexy. He was perfect!’

‘And didn’t he know it,’ muttered Callie.

Scarlet ignored her. ‘And Andrew? The paediatrician? The guy who sent you flowers every day for a month?’

‘Too attentive, too studious, and he talked about having kids the whole time!’ Callie averted her eyes from Scarlet’s stony glare.

‘What about Carter? He was an American footballer! What’s not to like? He flew you to New York for the weekend! You stayed at the Waldorf Astoria!’

‘It rained the whole time.’

‘You know, Callie, I wish I’d had half your opportunities to find “the one”. You’ve got to relax, give someone the chance to get to know you. But there’s something else going on here, isn’t there? Something you’re not telling me. What exactly are you searching for?’

Scarlet shook her head slowly, then fixed her eyes on Callie and lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘It’s Theo, isn’t it?’

Chapter Two

Callie was too exhausted to disguise her emotions from her friend and she could feel her face colour. The look of sadness that washed across Scarlet’s pretty features sent a spasm of irritation into her chest at being sussed so easily.

‘I knew it. You still love Theo, don’t you? After all this time?’

‘No I don’t…’

‘It’s understandable that you still have feelings for him, Cal. You dated him right through high school and university. Hey, and wasn’t he the first guy you kissed when you were, like, twelve or something? But I thought you said you’d moved on?’

‘I have.’

‘So why is your face the same shade as my nail polish?’

‘It’s not. Anyway, Scarlet…’

‘And isn’t Theo’s band playing at Lilac and Finn’s reception? It was a real coup when Finn announced he’d pulled that one off. The Razorclaws will be on tour in Germany at the end of July so they’ve interrupted their schedule as a special favour to Finn. Wasn’t he at music school in Manchester with Theo?’

‘Yes,’ murmured Callie. She felt like a deer caught in the headlights of Scarlet’s examination technique. She hadn’t mentioned the fact that Theo and his band would be playing at the wedding to her friend for exactly this reason. Nothing got past Scarlet.

‘So you’ll get to see him again.’

‘Only if our design wins the competition and that’s by no means a given.’

Callie watched the cogs turn behind Scarlet’s emerald eyes.

‘So there’s a lot more than I thought resting on Callie-Louise Bridal Couture winning this competition.’