“Of course you,” she said with a tinkling laugh. “There’s no one I’d rather have.”
I scrunch my shoulders, feeling her excitement through the phone line. “I was Juliette’s maid of honor, but I didn’t really have much to do because they got married pretty quickly and she didn’t have a bachelorette party or anything.”
“I was thinking we could just go to the island a few days early and do something simple. There’s a beautiful spa at the resort we’ve chosen. Does that sound okay with you?”
“It does, and thank you so much for asking me, Mom. Just let me know what I can do to help.”
“I can’t think of anything right—Oh, wait. There is one thing.”
“Sure, whatever you need.”
“Well, I called the resort to book everything, but they said they needed a deposit. They’re only holding my reservation for twenty-four hours. Can you handle that for me?” When I hesitate, she rushes to say, “There’s a local gallery that wants to feature ten of my paintings. They’re supposed to advance me some money, but it will be a couple weeks. I can send it to you as soon as the transfer clears.”
“Oh. Okay,” I say. “I can do that for you.”
“Thank you, honey. Plus, the refinery called, and they want Willie to come back to work next week. Everything is looking up.” She sounds so cheerful.
I’m still not the biggest fan of Willie. He seems like a toad to me, but I’m not the one marrying him, so I say, “I’ll get it done, and I’m so happy for you, Mom.”
Once we hang up and my mother texts me the resort information, I check the time, seeing I have a few minutes till Phoenix is due to pick me up. Might as well go ahead and do the deposit since they’re only holding her reservation until tomorrow.
I’m put in touch with a nice lady named Ella who looks up the information for Delphine Caldwell. “Ah, yes. I see it here. The total is forty thousand dollars for everything. Would you like to pay the full amount now or just the deposit?”
I’m flabbergasted. I had no idea a resort wedding would cost so much. “F-forty thousand?” I stammer. “How much is the deposit?”
“That would be half.”
My phone pings with a text, and I curse inside my head. That’s probably Phoenix saying he’s getting close.
“I’ll do half,” I tell Ella, quickly pulling out my bank card and giving her the information and my email address. “Can you please wait about ten minutes before running my card? I need to transfer some money into that account.”
“Of course, Ms. McNamara,” she says in her pretty accent, British and something else I can’t put my finger on. “I’ll send your receipt over as soon as the payment is processed.”
I hang up and tap on my banking app, transferring twenty thousand freaking dollars from my savings to my checking account. I hope this new deal with Hale Cosmetics works out because I’m trying to build up a nest egg in case I get injured or something, and that little transaction just depleted a nice portion of it.Thanks for the heads up on the amount, Mom.
My phone rings, and I answer with a rushed, “Hello?”
“Hey, I’m downstairs,” Phoenix replies. “I have Reece with me, but I can get her out if I need to come up and help with your bags.”
“No, it’s fine. I only have one,” I tell him. “Be right down.”
Hastily, I toss my phone in my bag and leave my apartment. It’s not until Phoenix is loading my suitcase into the back of his fancy SUV that I realize I forgot to pack any underwear. Like, none. They’re still in the dryer since I washed all my delicates this morning. The whole thing with my mom distracted me, and it completely slipped my mind.
Maybe we could find a Walmart or something once we get there. Pushing that aside, I open the back door to give Reece a hug. She’s safely buckled into her car seat and returns my embrace with tight arms around my neck.
“Hey, sweet girl. I hear you’re staying at your Nana’s tonight.”
She nods vigorously. “I love going to Nana’s house, but I’m sad I can’t go on vacation with you and Daddy. Is it like a honeymoon? Cuz kids can’t go on honeymoons.” Her little head tilts to the side. “That’s what my friend Brittany said at the park.”
I laugh uncomfortably. “Definitely not a honeymoon. It’s just a work trip, lots of boring meetings and stuff.”
Reece sticks out her tongue and makes the most adorableyuckface. “That sounds horrible. Daddy should take you on a nice vacation and not make you work.”
Phoenix pops his head into the opening beside mine. “What’s going on?”
“Jordie wants you to take her on a honeymoon,” the little girl announces.
I’m fairly certain I look like one of those cartoon characters whose eyes elongate and bug out about two feet before popping back into the sockets.
