“Ginger peach. Hopefully it settles your stomach.” She slides in next to me on the bench and grabs a muffin from the plate in the center of the table. “Want one?”
“No thanks,” I smile, just happy to be here and not puking.
Kaleigh places a pretty package wrapped in silver-foiled paper that’s tied with a giant white bow on the table in front of me. “Has anyone ever eaten chopped liver? I mean, it sounds pretty disgusting.”
“What’s this?” I ask, looking between the three women who may truly never know how much they’ve come to mean to me.
I’ve heard about friendships like this before, the kind of women who accept you for who you are. The ones who want to be there for you, no questions asked and nothing expected in return.
I thought they were a myth until now.
Until these women.
Saturday mornings have become our time to meet for coffee, or tea in my case, before my shift at Hart & Soul. Dillan and Kaleigh have been opening Hopeless Romantics after our weekly breakfast dates, so the four of us can catch up. The guys have crashed once or twice, turning it into a book club meet-up which, I’m not going to lie, is hilarious.
Watching them dissect all things romantasy is fantastic.
But today, it’s just us for now. And this giant box.
“Why don’t you open it and see?” Kaleigh pushes it closer.
“It’s so pretty. I don’t want to ruin the packaging,” I tell them, my fingers running along the satin ribbon before I tug it, and the bow comes undone. Carefully, I slip the lid off and look inside. An envelope sits nestled on top of white and pink and red tissue paper, and I look between the three of them. “Guys...”
“Read the card after class, Ash. We don’t need you turned into a hormonal blubbering mess while you teach the baby ballerinas,” Dillan teases as she takes it out of the box and places the card under it. “I may have gotten a little sappy.”
“Me too,” Lexie admits sheepishly.
“Not me,” Kaleigh grins. “I went naughty. It’s so much more fun that way.”
“Yeah well, she’s not marrying your cousin. I don’t particularly want to think about the naughty things they do,” Lexie singsongs the words as she bounces Kyrie on her lap,making them sound baby appropriate. “Jamie’s special, and so are you, Ash. You deserve each other.”
“Jamie is also holy-fucking-hell hot, ladies. Like seventh-circle-of-hell hot. You guys seriously grow them different in Kroydon Hills. Who needs sappy when our girl gets to go to bed with that every night.”
“Oh my God,” I laugh and toss the tissue paper at Kaleigh. She’s not wrong. My manisseventh-circle-of-hell hot and I really,reallylove going to bed with him every night.
“Why are you blushing, Ash?” Kaleigh tosses the paper back at me, and I bury my face inside the box.
“I’m not blushing,” I lie as I sift through the contents and pull out a beautiful planning journal in pale pink, with our soon-to-be monogram in raised white calligraphy on the front. “Guys...” Emotion catches in my throat, and I look back into the box. There’re bridal magazines and baby furniture catalogs. A business card for Ever After Event Planning. And a smaller box, wrapped in the same white wrapping with a pink satin bow tied around it. “Guys, this is all too much.”
“Open it.” Lexie smiles.
I worry I’m about to lose the battle with the insane pregnancy hormones I’m going to blame for the tears burning the backs of my eyes.
Slowly, I untie the bow and slide open the slim, square box, the kind jewelry suites would typically be resting in. But it’s not a matching necklace and earrings set inside, thank goodness. It’s another business card. This one for Everly Wilder Designs.
The couture dress shop on the corner of Main Street.
Wait... I hold it up and turn toward Dillan, who looks a little choked up herself.
“Everly is our cousin. She’s also one of the most sought-after wedding gown designers in the world. She’s pretty amazing, and she loves Jamie. So...” Dillan wipes at her eyes. “When you’reready, whether that’s before or after the baby comes, she’d like to design and create your wedding gown. Lexie, Kaleigh, and I told her we wanted to buy it for you, but Everly refused. She said you’re Jamie’s, and that makes you family. And we do anything for family... It doesn’t hurt that she’s also your boss’s daughter either, I’m sure.”
I lean my head against Dillan’s and take her hand in mine. “You guys... It’s too much.”
“It’s not,” Lexie stops me. “We love you.”
“Don’t even try to fight it, Ash,” Kaleigh adds, smiling, but even she’s a little emotional, and I’ve never seen this girl emotional. “Learn to go with it. These ladies don’t really take no for an answer, and once they’ve brought you into their circle, they hang on pretty tightly, luckily for you and me.”
That’s it.
