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“That’s a thing?”
She laughed. “It’s just something I bought in O’Hare while I was waiting for my flight. I like the idea that this scent will forever be tied to this trip in my memory.”
He lifted his brows in surprise. “Laney Calhoun, how sentimental of you!”
“I—” Yeah, she couldn’t really claim she was normally like that. “I guess it’s your good influence.”
He winked and passed her a cup of coffee. “So, shopping?”
“Will you want to buy something too?”
“I should. I didn’t pack anything really nice.”
The night before he’d worn dark blue jeans and a white dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. He’d looked scrumptious, but the thought of him in a suit made her tingle. “It might take a while to find stuff off the rack. We should probably head in different directions. Meet back here?”
“Sure. I need to talk to the front desk about extending this reservation anyway.”
“Already done.” She snagged a piece of bacon off his plate and munched. “You’ve got the license…I’ll leave the rings here so I’m not carting them all over town.”
He reached across the table and looped his fingers through hers. “I love that you brought them with you.”
“We should have used them sooner.” She offered a small smile.
“Nope. This feels right.”
It really did.
An hour later, she was wandering around the Grand Shoppes, sipping a chai latte and waiting for Barney’s to open. She had the store’s website open on her phone and she was hoping against hope that they’d have the pale blue Manolo Blahnik pumps she’d already fallen in love with. She’d never spent more than two hundred dollars on a pair of shoes, and those had been special clogs to wear in the operating room. But these shoes…she was in love.
She stopped in front of the women’s clothing store, Bebe, because a gorgeous tapioca coloured dress in the window caught her eye. A young woman slid the doors open. “Are you looking for something? I can open a little early.”
A wide smile slid across Laney’s face. “Do you sell white dresses?”
The other woman laughed. “Getting married today? Come on in.”
Laney tried on three lace dresses, but her attention kept slipping back to the burnished cream dress in the window.
“Do you want to try that one on as well?” The salesgirl, Chastity, wiggled her eyebrows. “This is Vegas. All rules are tossed out the window.”
“Yes. Why the heck not.”
As soon as Laney smoothed the bandage dress down over her hips, she knew it was the one. “Do you think this will go with blue shoes?”
Chastity nodded. “I think it would go with flip flops on you, honey. You look gorgeous.”
By the time she paid and made it to the shoe department at Barney’s, the department store was hopping. She found a saleslady and explained what she was looking for. Eighteen agonizing minutes later, the woman came out of the back room nervously holding a white shoe box. “We don’t have a 38. I’m hoping that because they fit small, this 38.5 will be perfect for you.”
Butterflies all abuzz in her tummy, Laney slid off her sandals and nervously slid her foot into the leather pump. Surprisingly, it was almost too snug. She could feel her face falling and tried to bravely hide her disappointment. “That’s okay, thanks for trying.”
“Oh no, that’s how it’s supposed to fit!” The woman clapped her hands together. “They’ll stretch to your foot.”
“But I’m getting married today,” Laney whispered. She didn’t have time for fancy shoes to get used to her. “Is there a bigger size?”
“They’d be too big within a few hours. These will be perfect. What are a few blisters on your wedding day, then? And you’ll wear them again and again.”
Maybe only in her bedroom. She held her breath and nodded. The dress hadn’t been that expensive. This was a once in a lifetime event. And they were ever so pretty. Blisters be damned.
The older woman leaned forward with a conspiratorial wink. “Stop at the Estée Lauder counter. Ask for Jackie. Tell her Maria says this pretty bride deserves a little pampering today.”
