“We’ll be there!” one called out.
Shocked, Sage turned wide eyes to Ashley. “What did you do that for?”
“Honey, with that kind of love, it needs to be witnessed.”
“If you say so,” Sage replied as Ashley drug her to a fancy boutique with high-end clothes she would never dream of buying for herself. The dresses were too short, or the necklines plunged. Pants were too tight, skirts looked like scraps of fabric. She couldn’t possibly wear any of it.
“Good afternoon ladies, and welcome to the Grand Canal Shoppes. How may I help you today?” An exuberant woman from one of the specialty stores greeted them. She was dressed demurely in a skirt and blazer suit, her long red hair curled into ringlets.
“Girl, have we got a job for you,” Ashley exclaimed. “She is getting married in just a few hours. We need a gorgeous, knock her man out of his socks wedding dress that isn’t slutty. Something with lace to her knuckles, no back, long, flowy. Oh, and a veil. Definitely a veil.”
“There has to be a back.” Sage was horrified at the suggestion.
“No back,” Ashley insisted.
“Oh, this is so exciting, I actually have the perfect dress in mind. You’re not too busty so no back will be wonderful.” The employee led them to the perfect store and into a curtained-off area.
“She’s going to need something elegant yet sexy for the night, too. Her fiancé—oops, husband—needs to be wowed.” Her friend smiled brightly at Sage’s open mouth.
“Heels or flats?” the woman asked.
“Flats,” Ashley answered before Sage could.
“Do I get any say in this?” Sage asked.
“Are you going to listen to my suggestions?” They both stared at her.
“Maybe.”
“Then I get the decisions for now. When it comes to lingerie, you can help.”
Speechless, she sat on a bench and waited to be wowed as Ashley said.
“She wants me to talk to you about this.” Declan looked to Loch.
“Oh yeah?” He wasn’t shocked. From what Loch had heard, Sage’s friend was very protective of her. He liked that.
“I figure you’re old enough to know what you want, and your brothers have probably already tried and failed at having this conversation.”
“Pretty much.”
“Congrats then, man.” He held out his hand for Loch to shake. “Don’t hurt her, though. Because if my girl hurts, there’ll be hell to pay.”
“Not going to happen.” The man was intense. But no more so than his own brothers. His threat didn’t worry Loch.
Nodding his head, Declan asked, “Everyone still coming?”
Loch had planned to surprise Sage by getting his mother and brothers to fly out. Braxton was also working on getting her siblings to come, too. He knew she wouldn’t complain about them not being there, which would make the surprise sweeter.
“Should be here in an hour or so. I just hope Braxton was able to get her brothers and sister out in time.”
“You need help with that mess just call. Between Landon and I, we have enough resources to get them squared away for a while.”
“Thanks, man, I appreciate it.”
“See you in a while.”
As they parted ways, Loch had a lot of things to take care of. Most importantly, getting ahold of Braxton. Even his brothers didn’t know what he’d asked of the other man.