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“Mine would have given them a run for their money,” I say. “My parents’ love was so deep, so real. We never had money. We grew up in the trailer park across town, but that never mattered. When we were together, it was like we had everything. Love was everywhere.”
Somehow, his hand is back on mine and if there wasn’t a table between us, I don’t know what we might get up to. Well, I think I know. The air is charged & electric; the moment hot. His eyes sear into mine. “Do you want to get out of here?” he asks, his fingers warm against mine. I want to see what else is warm against me. I’m guessing all of him.
I nod. “Where are you staying?”
He chuckles. “My parents.”
“Right.” I bite my bottom lip. “This might sound forward, and I swear I never do this, but, um, do you want to come to my place?”
He lays cash on the table, reaches for his coat. “Damn, I thought you’d never ask.”Brooks“Don’t judge me,” she says as we walk up the steps to her home. “The wedding kinda threw up all over my house.”
It’s one side of a duplex and when we step inside, I laugh. “God, you are a really good fucking friend.”
She cringes as we sidestep piles of white tulle, piles of placards, and dozens of red velvet bows. “I know. And the thing is, I don’t think Sophia has any idea what it means to actually put on a wedding.”
“How long have you been working on it?”
“They got engaged in September. So, a few months.”
I nod. “If I ever get married, I don’t want to wait that long.”
“A few months isn’t long to plan a wedding.”
“Sure, but I’d just want to start living my life with the person I loved. I wouldn’t want the show.”
“This isn’t a show,” she says picking up one of the ribbons. “It’s a symbol of their love.”
“Sophia and James picked all this?”
Noelle gets red in the face, biting her bottom lip. Looking so damn adorable as she does. “Not exactly. Sophia refuses to make a decision, she said she had no idea what would make a wedding look nice … her mom left when she was young, so it’s not like there was a mother-of-the-bride to pick up the slack, and her dad lives in London now. So, I had to make the choices for her.”
I realize then this wedding Noelle is planning isn’t for Sophia at all. It is her dream wedding. The velvet bows and the arbor and the lodge with a big river rock fireplace.
“I like the things you chose. It’s perfect for a Christmas wedding.”
She lifts her chin. “You really think so?”
I smile, stepping toward, realizing at that moment that no one has been telling her she’s doing a good job. That she is planning a beautiful wedding. “I do. This is Linesworth, at Christmas and so the lodge is perfect. And the photos outside, in the snow, will be beautiful.”
Her eyes light up. “That’s what I thought. And the cake, you’ve got to see it, Brooks,” she says, pulling her phone from her purse. As she unlocks it and begins scrolling through her photos, she gets red. “Sorry. I totally invited you to my house for a hook-up and I’m showing you wedding cakes. This is why I’m single,” she says laughing.
But I rest a hand on the small of her back. I like her sincerity, her genuine desire to make this day beautiful for her friends. There’s a large part of me though, that wishes this day weren’t for Sophia and James. It should be Noelle’s day, no one else’s.
“Let me see,” I tell her, and she hands me her phone. It’s a white three-layer cake with two pine trees on the top, all decked out for Christmas. A big one, and a little one. “That’s a cute cake topper.”
“Not too dorky?”
“Not dorky at all. Christmassy.” My thumb accidentally slides her photo over as I had her back the phone. It’s a photo of a white and red lingerie set. It’s fucking sexy as hell. “You picking out the clothes for her wedding night too? Because that might be crossing a line,” I tease.
She’s blushing though, bright red. “No, I didn’t buy that for Sophia. I bought it for…”
“For who?” I ask, setting her phone down, and turning her toward me.
“I bought it for myself. I thought… I don’t know… Maybe I’d get my Christmas wish too.”
My hands are on her waist, drawing her closer, and she steps into my arms, looking up at me. “And what was that, Noelle?”
She closes her eyes. “I wished that this year, I wouldn’t be alone for Christmas. Sophia will be married and on her honeymoon, and she’s my family. So, I made a plan.”
