me,” she said as she took a sip of coffee.
“So is it going to be a pretty lavish affair or something small and intimate?” I asked.
Julianne seemed shocked by my question until she remembered that I wrote about weddings for a living. The question was only natural.
“Oh, you don’t know Ayla,” she chuckled. “Lavish. Lavish. Lavish. Chi chi. Fancy pants.”
“Really?” I replied with one eyebrow raised. That didn’t sound like Sam at all. We had talked about getting married several times over the course of our relationship. He hated being in front of large groups of people. He wanted to elope, just the two of us, and marry on some tropical island in the South Pacific. He must have really loved her if he was doing that for her.
“You don’t even want to know what the flowers are costing us,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “Well, costing her dad, actually. He’s footing the bill. I’m staying out of everything.”
“When’s the wedding again?” I asked as I rifled through my folder looking for the submission again.
“April eleventh,” she said. “Only a couple more months.”
Sam and I had broken up the previous May. He and Ayla had been together less than a year. I had to wonder if maybe she was pregnant, but I doubted that. I’d seen her on the news. I’d watched her day in and day out. Her waist was whittled, cinched tight and narrow. There was no way she was knocked up.
“Where’s the wedding going to be?” I asked. I hoped she didn’t think I was being too nosy, but I felt like I might not get another opportunity to bring any of this up again without it being too obvious.
“First Presbyterian Church,” she said. “Reception at the Starmont Hotel downtown.”
Prime wedding locations in Harrisville. She was definitely going to have a beautiful wedding, that was for sure. Most people only dreamt of those locations, but for people like Ayla Giovanni, they were no problem to secure. They probably loved the publicity they were going to get from her. Heck, she probably got to use the reception hall at the Starmont Hotel for free.
“Nice,” I said. “Sounds like a lovely celebration.”
“It’s going to be the talk of the town,” Julianne gushed. “You should see the dress she picked out. It’s incredible. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I’d love to,” I said, quickly realizing she didn’t literally mean I should see the dress. “I mean, I bet she looks stunning in it. She’s so tall. She can probably wear a potato sack and look gorgeous.”
“You’re telling me,” Julianne laughed. “I’d love to steal a couple inches off her height.”
Julianne stood maybe no higher than 5’2’’, but she was a firecracker. She packed a punch. Whenever anyone saw her tiny little frame making its way down the halls, the seas parted. People got out of her way. She may have been small, but she was mighty. It probably helped that she had a blaze of short, fiery red hair to match her personality. No one messed with her.
“All right, well, I just wanted to make sure you’d received their submission,” she said. “It’s February now, so we’ll probably want to run the announcement soon. We need to make sure the whole city knows she’s officially taken. Ward off those suitors so she doesn’t run away from Sam!”
Julianne chuckled as she walked away, her heels shuffling on the thin carpet. I couldn’t believe Julianne was Ayla’s stepmother. What a small world.
I sat back as I took it all in. And then my phone vibrated. It was a text from Bennett.
YES. FRIDAY AT 8?
And suddenly, all was right in the world again.
CHAPTER 7
Exercising more self-control in one week than I had in my entire life, I managed not to text or call Bennett again that entire week. It was the longest week ever, but I knew come Friday, seeing his gorgeous face would be worth it.
I scrambled to get home as fast as I could and immediately threw
“So is it going to be a pretty lavish affair or something small and intimate?” I asked.
Julianne seemed shocked by my question until she remembered that I wrote about weddings for a living. The question was only natural.
“Oh, you don’t know Ayla,” she chuckled. “Lavish. Lavish. Lavish. Chi chi. Fancy pants.”
“Really?” I replied with one eyebrow raised. That didn’t sound like Sam at all. We had talked about getting married several times over the course of our relationship. He hated being in front of large groups of people. He wanted to elope, just the two of us, and marry on some tropical island in the South Pacific. He must have really loved her if he was doing that for her.
“You don’t even want to know what the flowers are costing us,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “Well, costing her dad, actually. He’s footing the bill. I’m staying out of everything.”
“When’s the wedding again?” I asked as I rifled through my folder looking for the submission again.
“April eleventh,” she said. “Only a couple more months.”
Sam and I had broken up the previous May. He and Ayla had been together less than a year. I had to wonder if maybe she was pregnant, but I doubted that. I’d seen her on the news. I’d watched her day in and day out. Her waist was whittled, cinched tight and narrow. There was no way she was knocked up.
“Where’s the wedding going to be?” I asked. I hoped she didn’t think I was being too nosy, but I felt like I might not get another opportunity to bring any of this up again without it being too obvious.
“First Presbyterian Church,” she said. “Reception at the Starmont Hotel downtown.”
Prime wedding locations in Harrisville. She was definitely going to have a beautiful wedding, that was for sure. Most people only dreamt of those locations, but for people like Ayla Giovanni, they were no problem to secure. They probably loved the publicity they were going to get from her. Heck, she probably got to use the reception hall at the Starmont Hotel for free.
“Nice,” I said. “Sounds like a lovely celebration.”
“It’s going to be the talk of the town,” Julianne gushed. “You should see the dress she picked out. It’s incredible. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I’d love to,” I said, quickly realizing she didn’t literally mean I should see the dress. “I mean, I bet she looks stunning in it. She’s so tall. She can probably wear a potato sack and look gorgeous.”
“You’re telling me,” Julianne laughed. “I’d love to steal a couple inches off her height.”
Julianne stood maybe no higher than 5’2’’, but she was a firecracker. She packed a punch. Whenever anyone saw her tiny little frame making its way down the halls, the seas parted. People got out of her way. She may have been small, but she was mighty. It probably helped that she had a blaze of short, fiery red hair to match her personality. No one messed with her.
“All right, well, I just wanted to make sure you’d received their submission,” she said. “It’s February now, so we’ll probably want to run the announcement soon. We need to make sure the whole city knows she’s officially taken. Ward off those suitors so she doesn’t run away from Sam!”
Julianne chuckled as she walked away, her heels shuffling on the thin carpet. I couldn’t believe Julianne was Ayla’s stepmother. What a small world.
I sat back as I took it all in. And then my phone vibrated. It was a text from Bennett.
YES. FRIDAY AT 8?
And suddenly, all was right in the world again.
CHAPTER 7
Exercising more self-control in one week than I had in my entire life, I managed not to text or call Bennett again that entire week. It was the longest week ever, but I knew come Friday, seeing his gorgeous face would be worth it.
I scrambled to get home as fast as I could and immediately threw
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