Reluctantly but still amused, Avery watched as Lyla, Ima, and her mom wandered through the wedding dress store, marking all kinds of wedding dresses for the redhead to try on. She was strictly forbidden to look for herself.

Nevertheless, if Avery didn't find the perfect one out of all the dresses, she would take another look around herself and see if she would find the jackpot. But first she did what was asked and relaxed a little while sitting on one of the three beige velvet loveseats, a glass of champagne in her hand that the saleswoman had offered her.

It was actually planned that Debbie would come with them, but the now five-year-old had dance rehearsals all day today for her performance next weekend.

Avery still couldn't believe that she was actually looking for a wedding dress. Six months ago she was afraid that Happy would leave her because of her small but dangerous relapse.

But he'd stayed with her, made sure she finally became Debbie's mom, and surprised her a week later with a wedding date he had made. Both had decided against a church wedding. Even though it would have been important to Celine, and Avery herself had grown up religious, she knew that Happy wasn't a fan of it.

She also knew that he would've agreed to a church wedding; he had made her the offer. However, Avery herself wasn't one to go to church every Sunday and pray daily. She also definitely preferred a wedding in a more comfortable location.

"Okay, each of us picked out three dresses for you!" Lyla sat down next to her sister and grinned conspiratorially at her. "I think you'll love them all."

"Probably", Ima guessed with a smirk, taking a seat on another loveseat so Celine could sit next to her daughter. "Still, we have to pick the perfect one from all of them."

"And we'll find the perfect one" Celine said reassuringly and sat down onto the couch where her daughters were sitting. She looked at Avery, more than happy. "I already have a feeling which one you'll take. But just wait and see."

"Are you ready?" Ima asked excitedly while Lyla stretched out her arm and reached for the blonde's hand, nothing but admiration in Lyla's eyes.

Avery smiled to herself as she saw how happy Lyla seemed to be. After both blondes had too many concerns about asking the other on a date for far too long, they finally managed to admit their feelings for each other two months ago after the pressure to hide their feelings became too exhausting.

Lyla deserved to be happy. After the thing with Ope, Avery and Celine wanted nothing more than for the eldest Dvorak sister to finally find happiness and have a little more support with the three children. Surprisingly, Ima did relatively well at balancing her job, relationship and new family lifeᅳ but Avery hadn't really had any doubts.

"She has to be ready, after all she's getting married in two weeks", Gemma reasoned, who had sneaked up to the small group unnoticed. Her hands placed on her hips, grinning. "Sorry I'm late, I had to drop off Abel and Thomas at daycare."

"No problem, you're here now." Avery stood up to greet Gemma with a hug. "Okay, let's get started then, shall we?"

"The first dress is already coming." The saleswoman came with the first dress, carefully placed on her arms. "I'll help you with the dress. Follow me."

Full of excitement and anticipation, the redhead followed the slightly older saleswoman into an area that could be covered with a curtain.

Right now it still felt like a dream that, fortunately, would soon become a reality.

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After the ninth dress, Avery had almost given up. All the dresses chosen were beautiful, no question about it. Two of them were in princess style, three were in mermaid style and the rest were plain with a little lace but still beautiful.

Each one had flattered her figure and yet there hadn't been the right one. It was always said that a bride would know straight away when she was in the right dress, and Avery hadn't felt that moment yet.

"This is the last one. I think your mother chose this", the saleswoman said as she helped Avery into the dress and buttoned the back, a look of concentration on her wrinkled face. "I know that my opinion doesn't count, but that's my favorite so far."

"Oh, I'd love to hear your opinion too." Avery gave the woman a smile. "It feels better than the previous ones, I have to admit."

"Just take a look at it, you'll know if it's the right one." The older woman squeezed Avery's arms encouragingly. "Alright, you're done."

Always careful not to step on the dress, Avery was escorted out of the dressing room by the saleswoman and led in front of the mirror. The redhead hadn't dared to look yet, but the gasps and enthusiastic whispers in the background told her that the dress was probably the winner of all the dresses she had already tried on.

"It's so, so beautiful, honey", Celine told her youngest daughter, emotion thick in her voice.

"It's really beautiful", Gemma agreed without hesitation.

Avery's gaze shifted to Lyla, who was quickly wiping tears from the corners of her eyes just as Celine was. "It looks so timeless and yet not old-fashioned. It's literally perfect."

"Girl, that's your dress", Ima finally joined in, the only one of all who had a big grin on her face. "And you look hot in it."

Avery, who was already touched and on the verge of tears even though she hadn't seen the dress yet, laughed at her best friend's words. "As long as I look hot and timeless in it, I guess it must be the right one."

Only then did she turn back to the mirror and finally dare to take a look. And there was the moment she had longed for. She held her breath for a brief moment, her hands sliding down the soft fabric of the dress. Overwhelmed by the sight, tears actually began to form in Avery's eyes.

The dress was made of a kind of tulle fabric that didn't look cheap like many dresses of this type usually did. Instead, the fabric was light and felt good on her skin. Embroidery ran down the bottom of the dress. The slit, which wasn't too high and looked elegant, showed off her long legs perfectly.

The top was made of some kind of lace material with an elegant cleavage that didn't show too much but still looked sexy and accentuated the right curves. With her hair in a low bun, her shoulders were exposed even more. Instead, her arms were covered by short sleeves made of delicate material. There was also a belt attached to the waist of the dress that was slightly whiter than the rest. The shade of the dress was ivory, which Avery really liked. [I'm really bad at describing wedding dresses so please just take a look at the picture at the end of the chapter!]

"It'sᅳ", she could barely get a word out, too emotional at the moment.

"Oh honey!" Celine rushed over to her daughter's side as the redhead sobbed into her hand that was covering her mouth. "I think that says more than a thousand words."

Avery nodded quickly as she leaned into her mother's arms. She couldn't say why exactly this moment was so emotional. But seeing herself in her perfect dress, in which she would marry the man she loved more than anything, made her realize again how lucky she was.

Her emotions were all over the place and she didn't know what to do with them.

"It's definitely my dress", she choked out, burying her face behind her hands in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I'm just so happy."

"And you can be, baby." Gemma placed a hand against Avery's back as she also stood next to the redhead. "Happy won't be able to take his eyes off you."

"You think so?" Avery asked hopefully, a glimmer in her eyes that wasn't from the remaining tears.

Gemma's lips curled into a smile. "I don't just think so, I know it."

Now you could hear a sob from behind and shortly afterwards a laugh. Lyla, smiling from ear to ear, also wiped away some tears. "I didn't think I would get so emotional when my little sister gets married."

Avery curled her lips into a sympathetic pout. "Don't cry, otherwise I'll have to cry again."

"I'm sorry", Lyla laughed through her tears and sniffled again, taking the tissue Ima handed her. "But this is definitely your dress. It's made for you."

Ima also spoke up again, her head tilted to the side, smiling. "I agree, you look stunning, sweetie."

"Didn't I say it?" The saleswoman came into the picture, apparently also finding the scene touching. "If you want we can finish the look. We have a large selection of shoes and jewelry. Do you want a veil?"

With so much going on, Avery had to collect herself first again before she answered. "So, I don't want a veil. Just something delicate, not too much jewelry. But I definitely still need shoes. Maybe also hair jewelry."

"I saw the perfect shoes earlier!" Ima jumped up from her seat and quickly disappeared around the corner, while the rest waited curiously.

When the blonde came back she handed Avery a pair of shoes. Once again it took the redhead's breath away. Why hadn't she seen all the beautiful things when they came into the store? It was almost as if everyone conjured up new stuff.

"I don't think I've ever seen such beautiful shoes before", Avery smiled widely.

Carefully, as if she might destroy something if she touched the material incorrectly, she ran her fingertips over the shoes. They were all elegant. But the floral pattern ensured that the shoe didn't look too elegant but also playful. Things, whether clothing or shoes or furniture, in vintage style were definitely Avery's thing.

With her mother's help, Avery slipped first into one shoe and then into the other, and as a result she grew ten centimeters and was now even taller than Gemma and Celine. Grinning at the two, she took a look in the mirror herself and looked at the entire outfitᅳ and she was blown away.

"It is my dress, without a doubt", she said firmly. "And the shoes, too."

"Perfect!" Celine clapped her hands. Like a little child at Christmas, she was absolutely happy and couldn't wait to see her daughter fully styled on her wedding day. "Take it off so we can pay. We don't want you to change your mind."

"Nothing could change my mind about that dress and those shoes", Avery assured with a small laugh.

She carefully grabbed the fabric and lifted the dress a little so that she wouldn't step on it on the way back to the changing room. Then she thought of something else that might change her mind. "Oh, how much is the dress?"

The saleswoman folded her hands in front of her pencil skirt. "The dress is one thousand five hundred dollars, the shoes are three hundred dollars."

Avery's eyes widened. But what did she expect? "Jesus..that's expensive."

"You don't worry about the price." Lyla now came to a stop behind Avery and rested her hands on her sister's shoulders, her head cocked to the side so she could look at Avery through the mirror. "We know Happy gave you moneyᅳ but Mom, Gemma, Ima and I decided to cover the cost of your dress and everything that came with it."

Avery's head snapped back, her blue eyes darting between the small group. "I can't accept that. That's almost two thousand dollars in total!"

"My daughter doesn't get married every day." Celine stroked her daughter's arm soothingly. "And the four of us can easily pay for it, darling. This is our gift to you."

"Just accept it, Avery." Ima gently poked her friend in the side with her elbow. "We all know you want that dress."

"Well." Avery's cheeks were now a light shade of pink. Of course she wanted the dress. "And you're really okay with that? It's a lot of money."

"We would be offended if you refused our gift, baby", Gemma said, almost scolding. "With the money Happy gave you, you go shopping with Debbie and buy her a nice dress. After all, she needs an outfit too."

"You know you're the best, right?" Avery wrapped her arms around the small group, at least as far as her arms could reach. "I love you guys."

"And we love you", Lyla squeezed out, getting squeezed the most, eliciting laughter from the rest.

Only after a while did Avery let go of the women and followed the saleswoman back into the changing area to put her clothes back on. She had a feeling the wedding would be perfect. And with a dress like that nothing could go wrong. Now she just hoped that Happy would be just as excited about it.

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authors note; hey guys, I hope you had a nice, relaxing weekend! If you haven't seen my new Happy story [ BRING ME TO LIFE]  feel free to check it out, I'd really appreciate it. It's updated regularly and the one I'll focus the most on, besides this one. I'll add the cover below! My other stories [the Jax and Miguel one] will be updated, tooᅳ but the updates will be slow. ️❤️