Page 42 of Wedding or Not

Laughing, I reach down for him. “Yes!”

He gets up to pull me into a hug. Then he slips on the ring, and Natalie, Tessa, Iris, and Parker all burst into applause.

“That was good,” Natalie says. “Ella, your laugh sounded a little fake to me, but that’s probably because I know you. It will pass if you can’t do better.”

“Great. Thanks a lot.”

“But everything else is perfect. I think this will work.”

Wes and I stare at each other.

“So three o’clock tomorrow afternoon in the rose garden?” he asks at last.

I nod. “It’s a date. That’s when and where we’ll get engaged.”

The next day, it takes forever to get to three o’clock.

I go shopping with Aunt Grace in the morning to distract myself. Shopping with Grace is always the best. She knows all kinds of out-of-the-way vintage dress stores and boho boutiques, and she has better taste than anyone I’ve ever known.

She always knows exactly what will look best on me, and she talks me into buying three new dresses for the dates I’ll be going on with Wes after we get engaged.

I have a good time even with the jittery impatience shuddering through me all the while.

We have an early lunch and get back to Blossom Park by one. Then it’s time for me to shower and get ready.

Natalie and I debated a long time about what I should wear. She insists it needs to look like an everyday outfit, while I want to look cute since I assume the proposal will make the rounds on social media.

We compromise on a loose cotton dress in a pretty rose-and-tan abstract pattern. The material and style are definitely casual, but the colors look really good on me. And Natalie has the brainstorm of tying the infamous cardigan sweater around my waist, which has the double benefit of cinching the dress at the waist and looking haphazard rather than intentional.

We leave my hair loose with natural waves rather than styled ones, and I borrow Natalie’s cute pink sneakers to wear with the dress.

We admire the result in the full-length mirror, and we’re both happy.

Surely no one would think I’m expecting a proposal looking so casual, but I still look as pretty as it’s possible for me to look.

“Perfect!” Natalie is definitely happy with her part in my appearance. “You look gorgeous. So just do what we planned, but don’t get flustered if something isn’t exactly right. The details don’t matter as much as the general impression.”

“I’m not going to get flustered,” I tell her with more conviction than is entirely warranted.

“Positive self-talk is good.” Her lips quiver in amusement. “Even if being flustered is your most natural state of being.”

“I’m not that bad!”

“You really are, but it doesn’t matter. Not everyone needs to be cool and composed. You take yourself and the rest of the world seriously, and that’s not a bad thing.”

I sniff. “I’d rather be cool and composed.”

“Leave that to experts like me and just be your flustered self.” Her eyes glint, making it clear she’s teasing. “Wes isn’t going to complain.”

My cheeks warm in an instant. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what it means.”

And that’s all she’ll say about that.

CHAPTER 13

Thirty-five minutes later, Wes and I are walking into the rose garden, me with a pair of gardening gloves (a last-minute inspiration by Natalie) and Wes with his iPad.