“Oh, it’s so beautiful,” sighed Annie.
“I love the blue stones,” Ellie added.
“Oh, Hunter,” Laura sniffed.“It’s the perfect ring for Willow.Classic, but so her.You did good.”
“So, Hunter and Willow, when is the wedding?”her mom asked, her eyes bright with tears as she admired the ring.
“We haven’t decided yet,” Hunter said while Willow was still thinking what to say.
“I was so hoping for a Christmas Day wedding,” her mom sighed.
“Ooh, that would be so special,” Janice, aunt to the O’Sullivans and a notorious matchmaker, called out.
“How many people are you thinking of inviting?”Laura asked.
“We haven’t decided yet,” Willow tried to stop the flow of talk about the wedding, but nobody was listening to her.
“What about your family, Hunter?”asked Annie.“Are your folks still alive.Do you have any siblings?”
Hunter was clearly uncomfortable, but catching Willow’s eye, he nodded.“My mom and dad are on our ranch in Colorado, and I have a sister, Jade.And yes, when I…we get married, I’d like them to be there.”
“It would be great to meet them,” her mother gushed.“Any friends you want to invite?”
“No, not really,” Hunter said.
“We’ve already had three weddings from our home,” Laura said.“It will be so special if you also get married on the ranch, Willow.Of course I don’t want to make your plans for you, but I’m happy to help.”
“I’ll bake the cake,” Annie offered.“And will, of course, help with the catering.”
“I’ll take the photographs,” Riley, a well-known photographer, said.
“Leave the flowers to me,” said Rose who was running her interior design business from her house in town.
“If all the excitement is too much for someone’s heart,” Vivian, who was a doctor, said, “I’m your woman.”
“I’ve been a groomsman for my uncles,” Luke said.“If you need one.”
“Thanks, Luke,” Hunter said, smiling.
“What about me?”Dylan, Riley’s son, asked indignantly.
Everyone was talking so fast; the whole thing was quickly spinning out of control.It was time to take control.
Pasting a big smile on her face, Willow interrupted the flow of ideas.“We’re not there yet!”she called out.
The talking stopped mid-stream.Baffled stares focused on Willow.
“Remember, I’m leaving for Seattle next Sunday,” she tried to explain.“I have the exhibition to focus on right now, I don’t have time to think about anything else.We’ll probably wait for the new year before we make any definite plans.”
Her mother’s face fell.“That’s so far away.You’re not getting any younger, remember?”
Willow smiled.“It doesn’t really matter when it happens, does it?I’d like to get married in summer.”
“Summer?Oh, well,” her mom sighed.“I was just so excited.Christmas is such a special time.”
Willow quickly put on her gloves again.This fake engagement was fast becoming a huge problem.
*
