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“Exactly. How about red roses?”
“Perfect.”
“But I want to ask Tia before I confirm.”
Hudson frowns. “You don’t need to do that.”
“Don’t you want me to involve her?”
“No, it’s not that. She’s excited as hell about wearing a real princess dress, but I don’t want to force you into including her.”
“I want her included. She’s your sister and I want her to enjoy this experience.”
Hudson cups my cheek, and I can’t help but imagine what it would be like if this were all real. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” And it really is. Tia is a joy to be around.
We get home around six, but what we started in the flower market is on hold as Hudson had to take some calls in the car and I had to speak with our accountant about the new financial structure for the news show, which is now up and running under new management. It’s my pet project and I was so excited about it, but now it seems like it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Tia is a bundle of chatter when we walk through the door, and Hudson throws me a smile with an I ‘told you so’ look. I don’t mind Tia’s excitement. In fact, I find it infectious.
Over dinner, she’s telling me about the dress she wants to wear and describing all the details and I have an idea.
“How about you come with us when I go and choose my dress? We can get your dress then too.”
Lottie would be my maid of honor, with Norrie, Eden, and Amelia as bridesmaids, with Tia as flower girl.
I look to Hudson, who’s gone still. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Tia hasn’t met them, and it will be busy. I don’t know if it will be good for her.”
Hudson, I’m starting to see, is wildly overprotective of her and I wonder if he thinks he’s protecting her when he’s actually stifling her a little out of love.
“Why wouldn’t it be good for her?”
“Please, Huddy.” Tia has her hands in a prayer position as she gives him a look that would make me want to slay dragons so she could get what she wanted.
“Can we talk in the kitchen, Audrey?”
I stand and wink at Tia as I follow Hudson from the room.
He takes my elbow as he glares at me. “What are you doing?”
“Including your sister in our wedding.”
“Our fake wedding. I don’t want her meeting everyone and getting attached and then getting her heart broken.”
“Why would she get her heartbroken?”
“Not everyone is kind to her Audrey. Some people are downright awful, and I can’t stand to see her hurt.”
I frown at his words, hating that he’s witnessed that kind of thing.“You know Lottie and the girls would never treat her with any kind of negativity or hate. They’ll see what I see, which is a beautiful child excited to wear a pretty dress.”
“And what about the others?” He throws his arm up. “The assistants in the shop? What if they upset her or she does something to embarrass you and I’m not there to step in?”
Suddenly I see what this is about and if I wasn’t already halfway in love with him, I would be now. He wants to spare me any embarrassment from someone judging Tia, and Tia from ever having to feel any kind of rejection from a society that isn’t always kind. God, this man. When he loves, he loves hard.
“First, nothing Tia could do would embarrass me.”
“But...”
