Chapter 1

On the day of my dress fitting, the photographer told me to move aside.

He said I was blocking the light on the bride.

I looked down at the white gown I had on, and I started to laugh.

From start to finish, this wedding had never needed me.

So I didn't go.

*****

On the day I tried on my wedding dress, the shop was filled with a sickly sweet scent that made my throat feel tight.

I stood in front of the mirror, the zipper on my back stuck, my fingers stretching for the metal clasp but never quite reaching it.

I was about to call for help when the curtain got pulled open from outside.

The makeup artist put her head in, glanced at my dress, and looked away fast. "The bride is still picking a veil. Give it a minute," she called out.

She wasn't talking to me.

I looked out through the gap in the curtain.

My sister, Sophie Harper, stood at the window with a pearl veil in her hand. She tipped her head up at my fiancé. "Alex, does this one look better, or that one?"

Alex Reed stood behind her holding the shawl she had taken off. He bent down and smoothed the loose hair off her shoulder.

He did it like he had done it a hundred times.

"This one," he said. "It suits you."

Sophie laughed, turned around, and dropped the veil onto her head. The tail of it fell across her white dress.

The photographer lifted his camera and fired off a few shots.

The flash caught her face, the curve of Alex's mouth, and the cold mirror next to me.

In the mirror, I stood in a wedding dress with one strap sliding down and the zipper half open, like a woman who had walked onto the wrong set.

I gathered the skirt and walked out.

The hem dragged over the floor with a soft rasp.

The shop assistant saw me, blinked, and then hurried over to fix the back of my dress.

"Ms. Harper, I'm sorry. I thought—"

She bit her lip and left the rest of it there.

I didn't take it.

I had heard that too many times to count.

When I was small, and guests came over, relatives handed the gifts to Sophie, patted her head, and said, "What a good little princess."

I stood off to the side with a plastic cup of water for the guests in my hand.

Mom would smile. "Her big sister is sensible. She doesn't fight over things."

For the elementary school show, I practiced the lead in the dance for two weeks. Sophie ran a fever, cried, and said she wanted the stage, and the teacher asked whether I would let her stand in the middle.

Mom said it over the phone. "You're the older one. It doesn't matter where you stand."

At the college graduation photos, Mom and Dad took a hundred pictures with Sophie first. She had my gown on, her cap crooked, and her eyes crinkled up with laughter.

By my turn, the sun was gone. Dad checked his phone. "Hurry up. We have a table booked at Sophie's favorite place tonight."

I thought the wedding would be different.

After all, I was the bride.

When Alex proposed, he slipped the ring onto my finger and said, "Emily, from now on, you'll always be my priority."

I looked at him with my throat closed up, and the words rolled around on my tongue a long time before I nodded.

Maybe this time it would finally be my turn.

The photographer frowned all at once. "Miss, could you move a couple of steps over? You're blocking the light."

I looked up.

He had the camera up with the lens on Sophie and Alex.

The assistant behind me let her fingers slip, and the zipper teeth scraped my back and put a chill up my skin.

Sophie looked back at me with the veil still on her head.

"Emily, why are you standing over there? Come tell me whether this veil is too long."

She waved me over, and the sweetness in her voice came out effortlessly.

Alex looked over too, with no surprise in his eyes, only a little impatience at being interrupted.

"Emily, Sophie hardly ever comes along for this. Don't stand there with a face on."

I looked at him. "Do you know who is supposed to be trying on the dress today?"

Alex frowned. "Of course, it's you."

"Then why is she wearing my veil?"

The shop fell silent for a moment.