Sierra abruptly stopped typing. ‘No. I’m drawing the line there. It may be your wedding, but we’re still going to do it properly, white dress non-negotiable.’ Nina opened her mouth to argue, but Sierra only held up one finger, cutting her off. ‘I’ll tell Markus.’
It was a threat if ever one existed. Markus Johnson, Nina’s fabulous best friend and renowned Los Angeles brand photographer, was the epitome of grace – and sass. He’d never let Nina look anything less than stunning on her wedding day – and Nina knew it as well as Sierra did.
Nina frowned but her lips twitched with a smile. ‘You’remean.’
‘You’ll thank me when you look back at the photos,’ Sierra said, unoffended. She bent back over her phone, started asking Nina the important questions. ‘What colour scheme do you want?’
‘I don’t really care. Nothing gaudy or too bright.’
Sierra studied Nina thoughtfully. ‘You’ll be in white, but with your dark hair, I think the wedding accent colours should be dark and bold. Olive green or a burnt orange.’
‘Orange?’
‘Here.’ Sierra googled ‘burnt orange ranch wedding colours’ and held up the images for Nina to look at.
Nina’s dark eyes softened. ‘Oh, I love this one.’ Reaching out she tapped the screen on a fall-themed wedding spread.
‘Or,’ Sierra offered, ‘you could embrace the season and go with a wintery, Christmas theme?’ She revised the Google prompt, pulled up a new set of pictures with an entirely different aesthetic. ‘White lilies, red roses, Douglas fir. Olive green and dark, port-coloured accents? Us girls with white, faux fur stoles over our dresses.’
Nina looked suddenly bewildered. ‘You’re giving me too many options.’
‘This is why people typically take more than two weeks—’
‘Stop.’ The single word came from Benji.
All eyes turned to him.
He shifted restlessly from foot to foot, but his eyes stayed focused on Nina. ‘You know what you want. Don’t let her bully her.’
Sierra bit off her retort, which would have come out angry and bitter. She knew she was being aggressive and pushy, but only because her work at the resort had educated her on what planning a wedding entailed. It was brutal for people who gave themselves an entireyearto plan. And as much as Nina and Maverick wanted simple, Sierra still wanted them to look back and have no regrets. She wanted it to be perfect. For them.
Perhaps sensing her restraint, Nina reached out one hand and squeezed Sierra’s arm. ‘I really do like them both.’
‘But?’ Maverick prompted.
‘It didn’t occur to me until I saw the pictures, but don’t you think we should keep it Christmas themed for Poppy? It’s going to be Christmas Day, and she’s only five.’
Mav’s smile could have melted the coldest of hearts, and Sierra’s was no exception. She actually smiled when her brother replied, ‘God, I love you,’ and leaning sideways, kissed Nina deeply despite his audience.
The moment he moved away, Nina, still flushed, said, ‘Christmas theme it is.’
Sierra nodded. ‘I’ll put together some mood boards today, and you can pick and choose what you like. By tomorrow, we need to start placing orders. It’s going to be a rush. Oh, and on Saturday we’re going dress shopping.’
Nina laughed anxiously. ‘I feel like I’ve made a grave error in judgement.’
‘I’ll pull it off,’ Sierra said, her tone determined.
‘I know – that’s what I’m worried about,’ Nina quipped.
Sierra grinned. It was so easy with Nina, who was kind and sweet and had a sense of humour that jumped out when a person was least expecting it. After everything she had been through, Nina should have been bitter and cold. Like Sierra. But the fact that she wasn’t – not even close – was just one of the reasons that Sierra was happy that Nina and her brother had found one another. They were both so strong, so able to weather the storms together.
When the thought had her fighting her urge to look back at Benji, Sierra stood, and left with, ‘I’ll call Markus.’ Because God knew she’d need his help.
Benji watched Sierra walk away. He hadn’t meant to snap at her. He just couldn’t stay quiet while she steamrolled Nina in her need to take control, to keep things perfect, and all he could think was:Did she really not remember that once, not that long ago, they’d wanted the exact same thing?A small wedding with no pretence. Just family and a few close friends. Did she really not remember that they too had wanted it under the oak tree, because it was where she’d first kissed him – and changed everything?
‘Are you gonna be okay?’ Mav asked. ‘I appreciate you taking over while I was out, Benji. But if it’s too much …’
Next to him, Nina’s big eyes were filled with concern.
