Gabe: I can give you a full body stretch
“Promises, promises,” I grumble to the massive mirror and then put my phone down to concentrate on my form. Texting and asanas are not a vibrational match. But it can’t be helped because I’m so flipping excited.
I hold the triangle pose for a count of five before I reach for my phone again.
Kingston: then get your fine ass down here.
When that doesn’t prompt a reply, I turn off the teasing. For a few minutes, anyway.
Kingston: How’s wedding number two going?
A decoy ceremony feels like the height of wastefulness, but I agree with Alex about our safety and security. And it’s not like we’re actually having a caterer prepare a meal for five hundred. Three dots pop up. Gabe’sfinally replying.
Gabe: Adrian’s having too much fun with this whole wedding planning thing. I can’t lose my assistant to the brides of Manhattan.
My brows lift as I pull a face. It’s a legitimate concern. The man’s detail-orientedness should be studied at the Ivies.
Alex: Far as we can tell, everyone thinks Katherine’s getting married next weekend at her grandmother’s cottage in Rhode Island.
“Perfect.” I love it when a plan comes together.
KATHERINE
The pop of the Champagne cork fractures the quiet evening. Around me, soft laughter fills the primary suite.
“Oof!” LaShonda giggles, ruby red lips stretched wide, which brings a smile to my face. “That startles me every time.”
The hairstylist twisting my hair into a romantic up-do murmurs her agreement around a mouth full of bobby pins.
Seated in front of a full-length mirror, I glance past the fairy-like make-up artist and her peacockplume of brushes to watch Shon pour us each a glass of bubbly. The spacious suite is stocked with every necessity a bride could need.
“Going to the chapel,” Shon sings, “Gonna get ma-arried…”
The guys and I are not actually going to a chapel; rather, the picturesque patio and garden downstairs is getting a floral makeover right about now.
“Here you go, bride-to-be.” Shon hands me a fizzing crystal flute.
I’m pretty sure I’m made of Champagne at this point after the handful of glasses I enjoyed yesterday, not to mention my nerves buzzing like a hive of bees. Let’s just say my heart is racing and there’s a constant buzz in my veins.
The last twenty-four hours have been a whirlwind as our nearest and dearest flew in from around the world. There were lots of boat rides out to this private island, and our guests are tucked away in a handful of villas, each more charming than the last. Thank goodness someone on Alex’s team is a whiz with logistics.
“Thank you.” We clink the rims together and share a smile.
“To true love and checking off everythingon The List.”
I almost spit out my sip, then choke. Shon and my stylist rush to pat me on the back. “That silly list.”
“Hey, give The List credit. You didn’t settle for less than the best.”
She’s got a point.
What once felt hopeless, silly even, now feels like fate.
As my beauty team finishes with my hair and make-up, the sun droops low in the sky, casting long shadows across the floor. It’s almost time to head down.
I know Gabe and Alex had everyone helping us sign an NDA, which was an added precaution on top of being highly recommended by Mrs. Saint, but I’m anxious to be alone with my bestie so I can breathe. Which is a dramatic way to say gossip.
Unfortunately, the pomp and circumstance remind me too much of my time at The Deb. Even as my brain tells my body to relax, that this is nothing like that dreadful time in my life, trauma has a way of tightening my muscles into knots. It doesn’t matter that I’m not surrounded by the most beautiful women in the world and everything about today is my choosing. Or that my skin is playing nice and I love my hair.
