Page 67 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 2

His response came almost immediately. "You'll have to find it tonight. I'll see you soon, baby."

"What did he give you?" Jen asked.

I knew that James wanted me to open it in private because of the drugs. But something felt private about the tattoo too. He got it for me. And depending on where it was, I might be the only one to ever see it. "Something personal."

"Sounds juicy." She smiled but didn't press me for more information.

"Coffee!" Melissa said, carrying in a tray of to-go cups. "What are you all teary-eyed about?" she asked and handed me a cup. She looked funny carrying takeout in her fancy dress.

"James gave Penny some top secret wedding present," Jen said.

"What was it?" Bee asked as she set down a bag of pastries.

I quickly closed the lid of the box. "Just, something personal. Please tell me you got raspberry Danish."

"I know you well." She slid the bag toward me.

I picked one up out the bag. We had been so busy getting ready that we had all completely forgotten about lunch. My mom had insisted that if I didn't eat I was going to faint, which I really didn't want to happen. I took a big bite.

My mom came into the room. "Okay, Aunt Margery is officially no longer lost. Oh my goodness, Penny, you need to get dressed! We have to leave in fifteen minutes!"

"Mrs. Taylor, she's eating like you just said she needed to," Melissa reminded her.

"Sorry," my mom said with a laugh. "I'm just nervous."

"You're nervous?" I said. "I'm the one that's going to trip down the aisle and faint in front of hundreds of people."

"Finish your lunch," my mom said. "I'll go get your dress." I heard her unzipping the bag it was in as I took the last bite.

Bee handed me a napkin from the bag of pastries.

"Thanks."

"Okay, shoes first." Melissa placed my sparkly heels in front of me. "Or else you'll never be able to get them on. Your dress is super tight. It's good that you and James did some late night tangoing, or you'd be torturing him all day."

My mom cleared her throat.

I would never be comfortable talking to my mom about that kind of stuff. I lightly slapped Melissa's arm.

She just laughed. "What? The cat's kind of out of the bag after tonight anyway," she whispered.

"Still." I strapped on my heels. Luckily my mom didn't say anything about it when I walked over to her. I stepped into my dress and she pulled it into place as I removed my robe.

My mom immediately started crying after she finished zippering the back.

"Mom, don't cry, you're going to make me cry."

"I can't help it. You look so beautiful, sweetie." She gestured for me to look in the mirror.

I turned around and stared at my reflection in the mirror. James was going to love this. He liked me when I just wore one of his shirts. I smiled to myself. Maybe he would get a boner when I walked down the aisle. Those would be some hilarious wedding pictures.

My red hair cascaded down my back in loose curls. The makeup that the stylist did was better than anything I had ever done myself. I barely recognized the woman staring back at me. I was an adult. James was right about this being a fresh start. I wasn't a student anymore. And he wasn't my professor. Today we left our pasts behind us. I couldn't believe this was actually happening.

Someone knocked on the door and then it opened. Justin poked his head in. "All the hot studs have officially left the hotel. If you're ready, we can head over." He came in as soon as he saw I was dressed. "Honey, you look gorgeous." He walked over to meand kissed each of my cheeks. "The most beautiful bride I've ever had the pleasure of working with."

I laughed. Justin worked with famous people. I was just a lucky girl from Delaware. I knew he was just being nice, but it still made me smile. "Thanks." I took a deep breath. "I think we're all ready."

"Okay, ladies." Justin snapped his fingers. "Grab your bouquets. And someone pick up Penny's train. You," he said and pointed at Melissa. "That's your job."