The Bride's Curse by Glenys O'Connell

girl from the wedding shop,” one of them said, ducking her head in Kelly’s direction.
    “Maybe it’s all that stuff about the wedding dress that’s cursed, driving her nuts,” her friend replied. Neither woman made even the slightest attempt to keep their voices down.
    “Well, wouldn’t you be a little nuts if you’d supplied a wedding dress and three couples had broken up because of it? It’s a curse and she should do something about it.”
    What am I supposed to do?
Kelly wanted to yell at them. But the women were right. Buying that wedding dress seemed to be a surefire way to ruin any dewy-eyed bride’s dreams of happily ever after.
    And despite the fact that her own fiancé had waited until they were almost ready to walk down the aisle before he ended their relationship, Kelly still believed in happily ever after.
    At least, for other women.
    • • •
    It had been a long and frustrating day. Kelly took a glass of wine out onto the deck at the rear of her home. Sullivan the cat followed her out and jumped up into her lap, rubbing his battle scarred ears against her chin in a rare show of affection.
    She absently stroked his soft, gray fur. “Did you miss me today, Sullivan?” He pinned her with his impossibly green eyes. “I’m sorry. I have to go to work, otherwise there’d be no expensive kitty cat food for you.” She bent her head and kissed his whiskered nose. The cat shook his head in disdain and hopped off her lap to go and settle underneath the birdfeeder. From there he watched longingly as some feathered stragglers swooped in for a late supper.
    She couldn’t help but think back to her conversation over dinner with Brett Atwell. She’d never been so open about her hopes and dreams with anyone until that evening. How long had she been in town now? she asked herself. It seemed like forever. The very first day she arrived, before she had even unpacked, she’d walked along Main Street and the public pier, munched on a snack from one of the food stalls there, and promised herself that if she ever was rich enough, she’d have a little boat of her own and spend time relaxing on the soothing water. Until then she’d definitely take a tourist cruise several times during the summer, just to get the feel of it.
    Yet she had never been on a tour cruise even once. Time spun by, seemingly out of control. There was always something that needed doing for the business, or paperwork connected with Wedding Bliss or taxes, or to her army days and the injured compensation benefits she was entitled to receive.
    Here she was, in her own little house, her own business. All hers. In a beautiful bayside town where people came from miles and miles away just to spend a few days’ or weeks’ vacation. And she never took advantage of her surroundings. No playtime.
    No playmate.
    Brett. His image was so clear in her mind that for a moment, she wondered if he was actually there—she felt she could almost reach out and touch him. How she wanted at that moment to put her arms around his neck, to feel the hard muscle beneath his shirt … and his hot mouth on hers. Memories of their very first meeting and their very first kiss filled her with heat and longing.
    She wondered how Noelia coped, living alone, her husband long dead in that boating accident, her children flown on to their own life paths. Which led her to wonder again how her assistant made enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle even after putting her three children through college. It certainly wasn’t on the small amount Kelly was able to pay her for working at Wedding Bliss.
    The middle-aged woman was always reticent about her personal life. She chatted proudly about her children and occasionally, usually on the anniversary of his death, she would talk about her husband. Kelly knew she also belonged to the Catholic Church in Marina Grove and helped out with the churchwomen’s activities.
    Was that enough to fill a life, much less pay for it? And