My Hockey Alpha

Chapter 301

Bonus 1: The Perfect Dress

Nina

The sun had already slipped below the skyline by the time I entered “Belle Ame Bridal,” with Jessica and Lori by my side.

We were on a mission-a mission that I had been avoiding like the plague.

Finding the perfect wedding dress, something that should have been exciting, was a stark reminder of my mother’s absence. She was somewhere overseas, unreachable, and it felt like a part of my heart was missing.

No matter how often I called her, no matter how many voicemails I left and letters I wrote, I didn’t get a response. It was both worrisome and depressing at the same time, and as my wedding with Enzo ticked closer, I just felt worse and worse by the day.

I kept telling myself that she was safe; she was likely busy and forgot to change her number over to the international line. Maybe she and Taylor bought a house or rented an apartment and didn’t update their address yet.

But there was another little voice inside of me… Something telling me that because she wasn’t my “real” mom, that she had decided to abandon me.

I knew my biological father now. I never got the chance to meet my biological mother, but I knew who she was now.

But it didn’t make my love for my adoptive mother any less potent; if anything, after all this time that I had spent learning about both my past and her past, I felt more love for her than ever. Our history together wasn’t the best, but I was prepared to spend the rest of my life making up for that with her. I wanted a real relationship with my adoptive mother, one in which we could actually get to know each other for once instead of hating each other.

if she

any longer,” Jessica reminded me gently as we walked into the little bridal store, which had only recently reopened its doors

words but not my readiness. “I know, Jessica. I just… I wish my mom were

offer another comforting statement, Lori interrupted. She was always more stoic than the rest of us, but right now, I think that I actually kind of needed that sort of

enough talking, more shopping,” she said, grabbing me by the shoulders and pushing me over toward the racks of dresses.

with tulle and silk. The dresses sparkled under the

other without feeling any real connection. A stunning mermaid dress made me feel like a wrapped up candy, an A-line with a lace

tighten with unshed tears. I was standing on the

of rejected dresses, and my heart was only growing heavier with each unsuccessful

her arm sliding around my shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay, Nina. Your mom would be proud, you know. And she’d want

lifting a finger. “They’d both be

didn’t lessen the ache. One mother was dead before I ever even got

my skirt up and stepping down off

but neither of them said anything

a shimmer from the corner of the shop caught my eye. I paused for a moment just as I

towards it, pulling out a gown that was unlike the

fitted bodice that flared out slightly from the hips, trailing into a beautiful sweep train. There were intricate

unable to