Megan Steele strolled arm in arm with her best friend Angelina Sterling along the shop lined sidewalk of the fashion plaza of Whilton Bay's upscale West Shore District. They had been looking for the perfect dress for Megan for tonight's gala.
Megan's father had come to her this morning and informed her that all his children would be wearing a specific color tonight and hers was white. The only problem was that Megan didn't own a white formal gown. She had quickly recruited her best friend and they were off to the shops. The issue was that it was extremely hard to find a white gown that didn't feel like an obvious wedding dress.
The two women had been at this for the last two and a half hours and they were running out of time. Not only did the dress need to be perfect but it had to fit her off the rack which was sometimes difficult because for a small slender woman; Megan was quite curvy. She had a rare true hourglass figure which had made many of her girlfriends jealous, but was hell on sizing for formal wear.
Angelina pointed suddenly to a store three shops down that had a beautiful and elegant white gown in the window and the ladies raced to the shop to get a closer look. The dress was a shimmering white fabric that fell to the floor only slightly longer at the back. It was fitted to the hips but cinched with laces in the back which would make it easier to adjust it to fit her before falling in a graceful but only slightly full skirt to the floor.
The dress had a sweetheart neckline, but the top had translucent ribbon that came to points above each breast with off the shoulder cap sleeves that were made of intricate lace and several large crystals that were beaded into the lace. Megan thought it looked like something a fairy princess might wear.
"It's perfect," Megan told her friend.
Angelina nodded, "you should try it on, Meg." The ladies went into the store.
Thirty minutes later they were successful. Megan had bought the dress that fit her perfectly, a pair of crystal beaded shoes that matched nicely, and a long strand of small, light crystals that she would weave into her hair this evening. Having completed their mission, the friends sat down at a coffee shop with iced caramel lattes to catch up before the event.
"So how is going with Caden Ross?" Angelina asked wiggling her eyebrows at Megan.
Meg rolled her eyes at her best friend. "It's not going at all. We have been hanging out as friends, nothing more. He's too young for me. I have made sure he doesn't get the wrong idea."
Her father had introduced Megan to Caden about six months prior. He was not quite eighteen when her father had introduced them. Megan was nearing twenty-three and felt ages older than Caden. Caden was the son of her father's business partner and investor Micheal Ross.
Megan had felt obligated to entertain Caden for the sake of her father's business. Though Meg had ended up really liking Caden as a person. He was intelligent, quiet, humorous, and decent. He had a loner type of personality so it was good for him to be around someone like Megan. That did not, however, make him marriage material. They were great friends but not meant for more than that.
"I thought your father said to treat him with importance Meg?" Angie asked.
"I have but that doesn't mean marriage. We are good friends. I have taken him to events, expanded his social circle, and been a good friend to him. My father cannot mean more than that. Caden has never implied he means for more. Why are you asking?" Megan felt nervous when she considered that her father might have meant more than what she had already done. It couldn't be. Her and Caden made no sense. Not to mention, Caden was different...
"Chill, Meg... I was simply curious because this is your fifth suitor and I wondered if you were going to accept the marriage this time." Angie questioned holding up her hands in surrender.
Megan scowled at her friend. "Caden is not a suitor. I'm in no rush for marriage. I'm not opposed to marriage. I'm just not rushing."
"What are you waiting for anyway?" Angie took a sip of her coffee watching the crowds around them. There was a long black car across the street with the back window partially down. There was a dark shadow in the car and a long wisp of smoke curled out of the window.
Meg sighed, "I don't know. I will know it when I find it. What about you? How are things with Stephen?"
"My father is already pushing for me to marry even though I'm only twenty to your twenty-two..." Angeline was cut off.
"And a half..." Megan cut in.
Angie snorted. "What I am saying is that you have been lucky that your father has been so lenient about you refusing four suitors. I will be married by the end of the year, maybe to Stephen, but it will be to somebody. You might want to consider whether your father would waste six months of your time if he didn't intend for you to wed Caden. I'm worried for you Megan." She finished with a huff.
"Don't be..." Megan took her friend's hand and squeezed. "My father knows me better than this. He would never expect me to marry him."
Angelina was giving Meg a doubtful look. Megan pulled a funny face at her and both girls dissolved into giggles the way only girls that have been friends since roughly kindergarten can. The two girls stood throwing out their empty cups. Both then turned to glance at the sleek black car as it passed near them on the street before turning at the next intersection. Megan felt a strange feeling as the car passed but dismissed it as nothing a second after the car turned.
Megan and Angie walked back to the car ready to get home and start getting ready for tonight's gala. Her family held two of these gala's every year, one in the winter and another in mid-June. It was June now and time for a great party. Megan dropped Angelina off at her house, which was one mansion away from her family's home. They had lived close enough that their friendship had flourished easily.