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I laugh. “They used to do that to me too.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure your fiancée isn’t going to leave you on the altar.”
I know my face falls flat. “You do know I’m marrying Simona. This wouldn’t be the first time she took off.”
He rolls his eyes. “She’s still getting ready, I checked.”
I let out a breath. “Whew, okay.”
“Come on. Get your ass down to the gazebo.”
“Man, you couldn’t keep me away if you tried.”
He follows me as I head down the stairs toward the most important meeting of my life.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Nolene Strong taps her foot as she curls the last strand of my hair. When she lets the blonde ringlet slide off the iron, she steps back to study her handwork. “Now, that’s lovely.”
She passes me a hand mirror. I’m so delighted all I can do is nod and watch the beautiful curls slide against my shoulders.
My sisters, Mariana and Gilly, help me into my dress. I feel like a fairy princess. A very pampered one.
“Scotch did an outstanding job,” Nolene remarks as she picks up my bouquet, a big bunch of lavender roses wrapped in deep navy silk ribbon.
“I know. I’m so thrilled.” I lift my arms out to the side as Mariana zips up my strapless floor-length gown. Its simple cut and elegant silk fabric are what made me fall in love with it instantly. “One of the things that terrified me about a wedding was all of the details. Before Sierra and Cole’s wedding I’d never even been to one. How was I supposed to plan one?”
Gilly gasps. “You’re lying?”
“Nope. I didn’t exactly have a lot of girlfriends. And no sisters… well, until now.”
My oldest sister’s face goes sad suddenly, for a second, before she smiles again. “Have you found her yet?”
“No. But I got some good intel. I have a feeling it won’t be long now.”
Mariana lowers a crown of delicate white flowers to my head. “We’ll just have to have a great big party when you do find her. Maybe when the baby is born.”
“I love that idea!”
Nolene pushes a few bobby pins in to hold my head-piece in place. Then she passes me my bouquet. “That baby bump makes you look even more adorable.”
I grin. “It is pretty cute, isn’t it?”
The girls chatter away about my growing tummy while I apply some lip stuff. Gilly puts on my mascara, the only other thing I’m wearing beside Scotch’s favorite lip gloss. The strawberry one.
I smack my lips. “Alright, girls, I think that’s a wrap. And to think I didn’t have to worry about a single thing. I still can’t believe he pulled this off.”
Nolene laughs as she swings the door open. “That boy’s a keeper.”
“That’s my plan.”
At the bottom of the stairs, I take a moment to look in the full-length mirror.
Wow. This is me.
Who would have thought the scrawny teenager living in the streets, digging in the trash, would be a fairy princess with her very own Prince Charming?
I turn my head when I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. My heart leaps into my throat. “Josef!”