She’d been excited to get married. The act of tying the knot was full of days like this. Girlfriends, champagne, and giggling. Silk, lace, and satin. And since Erin’s mother wasn’t involved and her father didn’t care, it was up to her and her sister to plan everything. She’d had the help of a consultant and a rather unlimited budget.

What she wouldn’t do to have the money they spent on flowers alone. That would probably pay for Parker and Colin’s wedding in its entirety . . . or come close. Her one-time dress had cost fifteen thousand dollars and then another five hundred to have it cleaned and preserved in a box.

Damn shame.

It all felt so superficial now.

Parker was trying on three-, five-, and eight-hundred-dollar dresses, and looking like a million bucks simply because of the beaming smile on her face.

The first three dresses Parker tried on warmed them up and had each of them running to the racks to follow a direction. “I really think you can pull off something long and sleek,” Erin told her.

Parker was wearing a sleeved princess dress with entirely too much lace. Not quite Tinkerbell, but close.

“I never imagined something formfitting.”

“Well, you’ll never get a chance to try them on again so you might as well while we’re here,” Mallory encouraged her sister.

Back to the racks they went.

When they returned, Parker had come out in something less lacy but covered in beading.

Mallory shook her head with a frown.

“Yeah, I don’t think so either,” Parker said.

Grace unzipped her, and they both disappeared into the dressing room.

“Ohhh,” Grace said a few minutes later.

“What?” Mallory asked between sips of champagne.

Around them other bridal parties were doing exactly the same thing. The people-watching was fascinating. It was fun to pick out the spoiled brides, the reluctant brides, and the mothers that wished they were the brides. Of everyone in the room, the four of them were having the best time with the whole ordeal.

Parker emerged in silk . . . or at least something that resembled silk. It was sleek and hugged Parker’s figure without being an hourglass. It was the first dress that made them all sit back and wistfully sigh.

And Parker was smiling. Full-on ear-to-ear happiness. “This is definitely a contender,” she announced.

“It’s beautiful,” Mallory said.

“It flatters everything. Turn around,” Erin instructed.

The back was low cut and a little daring.

“I’m not sure about the back,” Parker said the minute she looked at herself from the side.

“Tape keeps it from gaping,” Erin told her.

“Oh.”

And so it went.

Three hours later, the shiny moment of truth came when Parker found a beautiful combination of sleek silk that didn’t drop so low in the back but that capped right at her shoulders and flattered her bust. There was beading and lace but only a small amount along the sleeves and the back where it buttoned up.

It wasn’t overdone or understated. It was perfect.

Erin, Grace, and Mallory spent quite a bit of time searching for similar themed dresses for them while Parker stood through the painstaking task of having her measurements taken for the alterations.

Mallory took several pictures of Parker in the chosen dress and did the same with the handful of gowns the three of them had put on. Sadly, there wasn’t a hit when it came to the bridesmaids’ dresses, but they all agreed to continue their search in a couple of weeks.

They had a late lunch and worked their way back to the parking garage. The place had cleared out quite a bit, making it easier to drive around.

Grace was chattering from the back seat, occasionally shouting directions to get them out of the city and onto the freeway.

Parker sat turned in her seat to give her attention to those in the back. “I think we should look in the mall. There are so many formal gowns that could work just as well as anything we saw for you guys today.”

“Probably cheaper, too,” Grace said. “If not, there are several other places in the fashion district we didn’t get to.”

Erin followed the line of traffic getting on the freeway. She’d hoped they would have gotten out of the city before it backed up too bad, but that never seemed to work in LA.

“We need to pick a day.”

“Wednesday is my only day with no classes during the week,” Mallory said and went on to keep talking about her schedule.

Erin moved slowly onto the freeway where the traffic picked up slightly. Confident she could get them home now without any directions from Grace, Erin felt her shoulders relax in the drive.

“I can get to the local mall and check a few places, and if that doesn’t work, get to a bigger one in the valley.”

No sooner did Erin press the gas than she was hitting the brakes. The car didn’t respond as quickly so she pressed them harder.

They all jolted forward. “Sorry.”

Parker shrugged. “Stop-and-go traffic. What are you gonna do?”

Erin’s neck started to strain again. Ten miles an hour turned into twenty-five. To avoid jostling her passengers, she kept distance from the car in front of them and took her foot off the gas.

Again she hit the brakes. This time the pedal sunk farther down to the floor, then it caught. It was then that she glanced at her dashboard. The check brakes light was on. She tapped the dash. “That’s weird.” She tapped it again, the light flickered and went back on.

“Something wrong?” Grace asked.

“My brake light is flashing.”

“You probably just need service,” Parker said.

She pumped the brakes a couple of times. “They don’t feel right.”

Grace leaned forward. “Did you notice anything on the way down?”

“No, nothing.”

She sat back. “Well, brakes don’t go out that fast. Just get it in for service. Or ask Matt. He knows his way around a car.”

“I can’t ask Matt to work on my car.”

“Why not? He wants to work under your hood,” Parker said, laughing.

The rest of them picked up on the joke and started laughing.

Cars started to move.

“So how is he, Erin?” Mallory asked.

“Oh my God . . . no. Just don’t go there,” Grace whined.

Mallory laughed the hardest. “Everyone in this car is having sex with someone in your family.”

Erin saw Grace in the rearview mirror. The woman was squeezing her eyes shut.

“I’m the only one not having—”

Erin saw the red lights of the car in front of them, hit her brakes.

Nothing happened.

“Shit.” She hit them again and the pedal went to the floor.

“What?”

Frantically, she pumped them. The brakes weren’t working. “Hold on.” In a split second, Erin looked around them. Cars on both sides with nowhere to go and avoid a crash.

Metal hit metal, and someone in the car screamed. The airbags exploded and horns blared. The second punch came from behind and jolted them a second time.

Erin’s heart sped. She first looked to her right. Parker was coughing around the substance that had deployed with the airbag. Mallory was grasping her left shoulder but awake, and Grace was holding the top of her head.