Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
“That’s the one.” I sniffle, trying to compose myself, but I just end up crying more. “It’s perfectly you.”
It’s ivory, with a fitted bodice that has a V-neck and cap sleeves made of lace. At the waist, it flows into an airy skirt with a sheer top layer. It’s modern, but vintage-inspired.
“What do you guys think?” Jules turns to face her bridesmaids, all gathered in chairs.
“I’m with Blair,” Talia says. “I wouldn’t change a thing about this dress.
“It’s so lovely,” Suki says. “You look radiant.”
“I love it,” Mara says.
“That’s the one for sure,” Lainey says.
“You guys!” She grins happily. “This is only the third one and we’re done! We’re hitting the town tonight.”
Hudson McClain offered Jules the use of one of his private planes for this trip to New York City for wedding-dress shopping. He also made a call to a wedding planner who set up appointments for us—one at a boutique yesterday where we settled on bridesmaid dresses, and one today at a boutique that caters to some of the wealthiest, most powerful people in the world.
Jules told the sales consultant, Will, that she didn’t want to know the prices of anything. She wanted to choose based on what she loved, without price being a factor.
“The designer will tailor this to you,” Will says. “It’s already stunning, but we can have a corset sewn in if you want a snatched look, and we can bring in the bust slightly.”
He gathers some of the bodice behind her back and holds it to show her what those alterations would look like.
“Definitely,” she agrees. “I want the corset.”
“You can do any hairstyle with this one, too,” he says. “It’s timeless.”
“I want an updo and a delicate tiara. Drop earrings.”
“Perfect.”
She deserves to have a mom here with her right now. A loving, joyful mom who tells her how beautiful she looks. We didn’t get that, though. We got each other.
I look at her once more, and I start crying again. They’re happy tears.
Jules’s fairy-tale romance has been a dream come true for me, too, because I wanted this for her. I wanted her to be seen and adored for exactly who she is, and Noel is her perfect match.
I never thought I could have anything like that. But in the two weeks since Magnus and I decided to give a relationship a go, I’ve gone to bed with a huge smile on my face every night.
He’s sent me flowers three times. He got front-row seats to one of his home games for me, Coop, and Eli, and jerseys for all of us with his name on them. Even though he doesn’t have much free time, he spends what he does have with us.
I’ve learned how to cook chicken on the countertop grill that’s been in our kitchen cabinet since we moved into our house. I make that and roasted veggies for dinner when Magnus comes over, because he can’t eat pizza and wings all the time and stay in shape.
We only had the one night for sex, but we maximized it. I got about an hour of sleep and I was sore from the waist down for several days after.
Our bubble is blissful. It feels good to be making the most of every day we have, instead of only thinking about what could go wrong in the future.
“I need an Uber to the Uber, you guys,” Mara says when we’re finishing up at the boutique.
She’s almost thirty-seven weeks pregnant. Leo didn’t want her flying this late in the pregnancy, but he relented when Mara reminded him that Talia knows how to deliver babies.
We’re only here through tomorrow morning, but it’s been a fun trip. We all got facials and pedicures yesterday at the hotel spa, and we had dinner at a very popular restaurant last night that was a fun experience, but the food wasn’t my thing.
Hudson McClain got us the reservation, and I’ve never felt more Midwestern. The chef apparently knows Hudson and he kept sending us dishes. Uni crudo, I found out from Googling it, is sea urchin, and it’s not something I ever want to eat again. Same goes for foraged mushrooms with truffle foam. I’ll stick with fried mushrooms and Ranch.
We got giant slices of pizza on the way back to our hotel and then watched Bridesmaids in Jules’s room.
“Okay, where can we go that doesn’t involve much walking?” Jules asks when we get outside. “We have four hours until we need to be at the drag show.”
Mara puts a hand on her stomach. “If I’m going to make it through the show, I need to go take a nap. Sorry, guys.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Lainey says. “I could go for a lie-down myself.”
I feel my phone buzzing with a text and I reach into my bag for it. Noel’s daughter Chloe is watching the boys all weekend, and I keep thinking they’ll call or text about how much they miss me.