Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
After what felt like an endless morning, Cara slid into a one-shouldered black silk dress that draped in the right places and that she felt very comfortable in.
“Come out and let me see!” Alexa called from the fitting room next door.
Cara walked into the hall in her bare feet and faced Alexa, who glowed in a short dress covered in gold sequins. “That dress looks fabulous on you!” she told her friend.
“I love it too. I think this is the one. As long as we find shoes and a bag today, I’ll be all set.”
Cara groaned. “I thought we were finished after this.” She looked over her shoulder into the mirror for a full-length glance at her image. Yep, she was happy with this one.
“No. Next, we accessorize.” Alexa planted her hands on her hips. “What are you wearing?”
“A dress.” She rolled her eyes at the stupid question.
“Going to a funeral?”
“Hey, that’s not nice. This is a cocktail dress, and you know it.”
“It’s a basic black dress, and it does nothing special for you.” After that disheartening pronouncement, Alexa walked around Cara in a circle and nodded once. “Right. Nothing special. Did you try the red one?”
No, Cara had not tried the red one because she’d stand out at the wedding like a sore thumb. “I could have worn that to Vegas. It’s not appropriate for the wedding. It’s at Joe’s Bar!”
“Yet you love me in this?” Alexa waved her hand up and down the glittering number.
“You’re more outgoing.”
“You’re such a chicken. You want to blend into the woodwork? Why? You’ve got a hot body and a hot guy who’ll want to see it. Go change. I want to see the red dress.”
Cara sighed and headed back into the fitting room. There was no arguing with Alexa when she was in this kind of determined mood. “I’ll never find shoes to match,” Cara called out through the slatted door as she struggled to adjust the tightly fitted dress.
“That’s what silver is for. Now get out here and let me see.”
“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re bossy?” Cara muttered, tugging on the hem.
“Only my interns, my staff, my patients, and my friends.”
Cara opened the door and stepped back into the hall.
“Oh my God. Stunning. Turn.” Alexa made a spinning motion with her hands, and Cara dutifully followed directions. “Perfect!”
“Look at my cleavage!”
Alexa grinned. “Exactly! Stunning. Classy yet bold. Let’s go. We have to find shoes.”
Cara sighed and shut the dressing room door. Before changing, she glanced at her reflection in the small mirror. She did love how the dress hugged her curves. She’d just never picked out such a statement color before.
“You only live once,” Alexa called out from her room next door. “Stop overthinking it and change.”
Cara laughed and decided her friend was right. She’d buy the dress and make a statement. They paid for their dresses and took them downstairs to pick out shoes.
“Do you have a date for the wedding?” Cara asked.
Alexa shook her head. “With who? The same people who come through my office doors? Or the ER?”
“And whose fault is that? You work too hard! Serendipity has plenty of single, good-looking guys, and you know it.”
“I really don’t want to talk about it, okay?” Alexa asked, sounding like she meant it.
Cara narrowed her gaze. “One of these days, I’m going to figure out why you won’t let me in when it comes to talking about romance. You sure don’t mind digging into mine.”
“You deserve to be happy in a relationship, Cara.”
“So do you,” she reminded her friend.
“We don’t always get what we want,” Alexa said softly.
And Cara merely nodded. She’d said as much herself, knowing truer words had never been spoken.
* * *
Cara and Mike were on the way to the movies in a multiplex about twenty minutes away from Serendipity. They’d just started out when his cell rang and his mother asked if he’d come over.
“I’m with Cara,” he said into the speakerphone.
“Bring her along!” Ella immediately said, no hesitation.
Cara’s chest tightened. She appreciated how the Marsdens always made her feel welcome and not like an outsider. Sometimes she felt more a part of their family than her own.
“Do you mind?” Mike mouthed to her so his mother wouldn’t hear.
“Of course not.” She smiled to reassure him.
About half an hour later, they were gathered in the family room of his parents’ house with Erin and Sam, waiting for Ella and Simon, who were upstairs.
“Any idea why we’re here?” Mike asked his siblings, who sat around his parents’ family room with them on a Friday night.
Erin shook her head. “They just said they wanted to talk, but not to panic because it wasn’t bad news.” Her brows crinkled in confusion.
“Okay, so we’re all in the dark.”
“At least it smells like we’re getting dessert,” Sam said with a grin.