“Is she making you do this? Blink twice.”
He widened his eyes, making me laugh.
“Really?” I asked. “You and Glamma, out to lunch? How did she make that happen?”
“I suggested it,” he said, surprising me even more. “Something about me—I have at least one meal with my family a month. Glamma now included. Besides, I want to ask how her appointment went.”
“Wish I could tag along,” I told him. In fact, nothing sounded better than sitting at a restaurant with Bryce and Glamma, forgetting the struggles of the day and enjoying their company. But I’d already taken the morning for the board meeting.
All of Evie’s food was gone now, so I got a baby wipe and started cleaning up her hands and feet. “Are you sure you have to go out of town tonight?” I asked him. “It feels like a bad time for you to be gone with the coup and all.”
“I have to so I have time for the wedding. I’ll see you Thursday night?”
I lifted Evie from the high chair and put her on the rug for playtime. After getting her set up with her favorite rattling toy, I turned to Bryce. “Are we really getting married this weekend?”
“According to the wedding planner,” he replied with a chuckle. “Dad has also informed me that the property has beenfreshly mown and the primary suite is all yours to use on the big day.”
The care his father took for our big day touched my heart. “I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon.”
68.Bryce
“This is it,”I said to Jada as we pulled up to a warehouse just outside of downtown Dallas on Thursday night. She was looking so pretty in a burnt orange sweater and leggings. She had on dangling gold earrings and a necklace too. Confusion colored her features as she looked around the craggy parking lot and rusted tin building. “Are you here to murder me?” she asked.
“No, the only devastating thing here is my good looks.”
Her laugh made me feel light. “Go off, king.”
Chuckling to myself, I got out of the car and went to let Jada out. Together, we walked to the building, where I grabbed for the tarnished handle of a heavy white door. It opened with a squeak, letting us inside.
The interior starkly contrasted the craggy, dimly lit parking lot. Now, we were the lone guests in a smallish front lobby with stylish furniture, a coffee table with interior design magazines spread about the top, and a counter with a water cooler and coffee maker. Statement pieces of art graced the walls—not dentist-office style pieces with no personality, but designs that captured your attention and wouldn’t let go until you’d examined them thoroughly.
Jada looked at me with surprise. “Where are we? Getting a teeth cleaning?”
I barked out a surprised laugh. “This isn’t a dentist’s office.”
“Then what is it?”
Before I had a chance to answer, the door to the waiting room opened and a woman in a long, flowing skirt swept in. Smiling behind wide-framed glasses, she said, “Bryce, Jada, welcome.” She extended her hand to Jada. “I’m Renfra Diego.”
“Renfra, areyougoing to tell me what we’re doing here?” Jada said, a hint of humor in her eyes.
“I think it’s better if I show you,” the woman responded. “Follow me.”
We walked behind her through the door into the massive warehouse, partitioned with walls that had no hopes of stretching to the tall ceiling. Even though we couldn't see all the sections, it was clear that each one was a different version of the same: a baby’s nursery.
Jada stared around, and then her surprised gaze landed on me. “What is this?”
I reached for her hand, loving the way her fingers slipped into mine. “The wedding isn’t just about sealing our future; it’s planning for hers.” She drew our linked hands to her stomach, and my heart swelled so big my ribcage must have grown to contain it. “I know you wanted a choice, so we brought all the choices to you.”
Renfra gently added, “Bryce asked me to prepare nurseries in every style so we could get a feel for what you’d like in your new home together.”
Jada used her free hand to wipe at her eyes. “Thank you. I’m excited to see them. I promise these are happy tears.”
Renfra chuckled, and I squeezed Jada’s hand. “Let’s get started,” Renfra said.
For the next hour, we walked through the dozens of displays my designer had put together. Some of them reflected my taste—more antique pieces carefully put together to form something unique. Others were more modern, with chrome finishes, or farmhouse-style with blocky, distressed white furniture.
