The Bad Luck Wedding Dress Read Online Free PDF Page B

fluffed out her wavy blond tresses, then pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I’m so glad I was able to help, dear. Now I’d best get back to the station. Keep me informed about the developments, and if you choose to follow my advice, be sure to telegraph me with the date for the wedding. I’ll do my best to see that your father drags his nose from his studies long enough to attend.”
    “Wait, Monique,” Jenny began. But the dressing room curtains flapped in her mother’s wake, and the front door’s welcome bell tinkled before she could get out the words, “I can’t undo these back buttons myself.”
    Wonderful. Simply wonderful. She closed her eyes and sighed. It’d be just her luck if not a single woman entered the shop this afternoon. “The Bad Luck Wedding Dress strikes again,” she grumbled.
    Of course, she didn’t believe it. Jenny didn’t believe in luck, not to the extent many others did, anyway. People could be lucky, but not things. A dress could not be unlucky any more than a rabbit’s foot could be lucky. “What’s the saying?” she murmured aloud, eyeing her reflection in the mirror. “The rabbit’s foot wasn’t too lucky for the rabbit?”
    Jenny set to work twisting and contorting her body, and eventually she managed all but two of the buttons. Grimacing, she gave the taffeta a jerk and felt the dress fall free even as she heard the buttons plunk against the floor.
    While she gave little credit to luck, she did believe rather strongly in fate. As she stepped out of the wedding gown and donned her own dress, she considered the role fate had played in leading her to this moment. It was fate that she’d chosen to make Fort Worth her home. Fate that the Baileys had chosen her to make the dress. Fate that the brides had suffered accidents.
    The shop’s bell sounded. “Now someone comes,” she whispered grumpily. “Not while I’m stuck in a five- hundred-dollar dress and needing assistance.” She stooped to pick the buttons up off the floor and immediately felt contrite. She’d best be grateful for any customer, and besides, she welcomed the distraction from her troublesome thoughts.
    Pasting a smile on her face, Jenny exited the dressing room and spied Mr. Trace McBride entering her shop.
    He was dressed in work clothes—black frock jacket and black trousers, white shirt beneath a gold satin vest. He carried a black felt hat casually in his hand and raked a hand nervously through thick, dark hair.
    Immediately, she ducked back behind the curtain.
    Oh, my. Her heart began to pound. Why would the one man in Fort Worth, Texas, who stirred her imagination walk into her world at this particular moment?
    She swallowed hard as she thought of her mother’s advice. It was a crazy thought. Ridiculous.
    But maybe, considering the stakes, it wouldn’t hurt to explore the idea. Jenny had the sudden image of herself clothed in the Bad Luck Wedding Dress, standing beside Trace McBride, his three darling daughters looking on as she repeated vows to a preacher.
    Her mouth went dry. Hadn’t she sworn to fight for Fortune’s Design? Wasn’t she willing to do whatever it took to save her shop? If that meant marriage, well…
    Wasn’t it better to give up the dream of true love than the security of her independence?
    Jenny stared at her reflection in the mirror. What would it hurt to explore her mother’s idea? She wouldn’t be committing to anything.
    Jenny retailed the lessons she’d learned at Monique’s knees. Flirtation. Seduction. That’s how it was done. She took a deep breath. Was she sure about this? Could she go through with it? She was Monique Day’s daughter. Surely that should count for something. She could do this.
    Maybe.
    Trace McBride. What did she really know about him? He was a businessman, saloonkeeper, landlord, father. His smile made her warm inside and the musky, masculine scent of him haunted her mind. Once when he’d taken her arm in escort, she couldn’t help but notice