Free The Bridesmaid Pact by Julia Williams Page A

I’d do without his steady, unwavering support.
    Dorrie looked at me slightly askance, eyes narrowed.
    ‘Do you ever wonder if you married the wrong brother?’
    ‘No! No! That’s ridiculous,’ I said. ‘I mean, I like Joe. He’s always been really good to me. But he’s Steve’s brother. I couldn’t even begin to think about it. It wouldn’t be right.’
    ‘Hmm,’ said Dorrie, clearly not believing me, and of course, being right not to. I’d always been fond of Joe, and he was a great help, the kids absolutely loved him. There were times, it’s true, when I’d idly wondered how it would have been if I’d married Joe and not Steve. I was pretty sure Joe wouldn’t have cheated on me. I shook my head. This was ridiculous. Joe was my brother-in-law. And I was in love with Steve.
    ‘Right, what do you want me to help you with today?’ I changed the subject. Another reason for our weekly meetswas to help Doris plan the wedding. Her mum was away with the fairies more often than not these days, and not much help. I rather suspected her of being depressed, but Dorrie had never talked about it, and it wasn’t my business. For some reason, though she was open about everything else, Dorrie kept a tight lid on what was happening in her family. When her dad was still alive she barely mentioned the problems he was having, and yet it must have been incredibly tough.
    ‘I’ve just found these great little bags for party favours on Freecycle,’ said Doris. She and Darren could probably have afforded to make a big splash, but Dorrie reckoned they needed the money for more important things, namely Woody and any siblings he might have. So she’d set her heart on having a stylish wedding at as little cost as possible. Well, if you can call a Disney theme stylish, I suppose. The way she was going, she was making Posh and Becks’ wedding look positively restrained.
    ‘Do you mean these?’ I fell about laughing as I picked up a box full of little net pink and blue bags with a drawstring on them. They had stars and the letter D embroidered on them.
    ‘What’s wrong with them?’ said Doris. ‘I think they’re cute.’
    ‘Nothing,’ I said. She really meant it, bless her. ‘Did you decide on the shoes in the end?’
    Last week Doris had put in two bids on eBay for satin court shoes. One pair was in baby blue, which would match the Cinderella-style blue wedding dress which she’d got second hand from a fancy-dress shop, the other was a more traditional cream to match the other Cinderella dress which she’d got on eBay. She hadn’t decided yet which colour togo for on the day. I preferred the cream, but I knew Doris was determined to get the blue.
    ‘Come upstairs and I’ll show you,’ Doris said, ‘but we’ll have to be quiet as Woody’s still having his nap.’
    She led me into her spare room, which had a big notice on saying: DAZ KEEP OUT! Important wedding stuff not to be seen before the big day . The room was jammed from floor to ceiling with wedding paraphernalia.
    ‘My god, how much stuff have you got?’ I gasped.
    ‘Ever since I put that ad on Freecycle, people keep sending me things,’ said Dorrie. ‘Now where did I put them?’ She rooted around in a corner of the room. There was so much junk in there, I couldn’t believe she could ever find anything.
    ‘Ah, here they are!’ She waved a pair of shoes triumphantly under my nose.
    ‘So you went with the blue ones, then?’ I said. ‘I knew you would.’
    ‘Sorry, I know you liked the cream,’ Dorrie said, ‘but I just couldn’t resist them. Just look at these fabulous bows. Aren’t they pretty?’
    ‘They’re very you,’ I said diplomatically. If anyone could carry those shoes off, it would be Doris.
    ‘I might still get the cream anyway,’ said Doris. ‘I’m torn between that lovely white dress with the pink roses, and the blue dress.’
    ‘White would be more traditional,’ I said.
    ‘I know,’ said Dorrie. ‘I’m greedy, I