What the heck?
Tomorrow I’ll be a Steel.
Why not live in the moment? I have a credit card with enough of a limit.
“Sure,” I say. “Bring them in. Size seven. I’d like to see how they look with the dress.”
Twelve hundred dollars later, I’m ready to get married.
“I’ll do your hair, of course,” Mom says.
“Who’s doing yours?” I ask.
“I have an appointment at the salon. Of course, I won’t be satisfied with what they do, and I’ll end up redoing it myself.”
“Why pay for it, then?”
“Dennis insisted. It’s his gift to me. A salt scrub, massage, mani-pedi, and hair and makeup.” She looks at her watch. “In fact, we need to get back to the hotel. The appointment’s in an hour. You should join me! I bet they have openings.”
“Are you kidding? I nearly maxed out my credit card with the dress and shoes.”
“Come on. It’ll be fun.”
“May I remind you that yours is already paid for?”
“My treat, then.”
“Mom, Vegas spas aren’t cheap.”
She smiles. “You know what? I just don’t care today. I want to treat my lovely daughter. Let’s go.”
“How long will it be?” I ask. “I think Dale wants to take us to dinner.”
“I’m booked from one until five,” she says.
“Okay, that should be good. When is the appointment at the chapel?”
“Dennis took care of all that. All I know is that the ceremony is at seven.”
“We’ll probably have to do dinner afterward, then,” I say. “I’d better text Dale.”
Mom wants to treat me to the spa this afternoon. You okay with that?
Sure. But what do I do with Dennis?
Poor Dale. He’s such an introvert.
Tell him you have an appointment or something. You don’t have to babysit him.
Okay. Love you.
Love you too.
“Dale’s good,” I tell Mom. “Let’s get a quick bite and then head to the spa.”
The spa has openings, and I’m suddenly booked for a half day of pampering along with my mother.
“I guess I’ll end up redoing both of our hairdos,” Mom laughs.
The receptionist nearly drops her jaw. “Are you not happy with the stylists you’re booked with, ma’am?”
I smile to defuse the situation. “You have to excuse my mother. She’s a stylist herself. I’m sure whoever is doing our hair will be great.”
The receptionist pastes a smile back on her face. “I know you’ll both be thrilled. Looks like you’re up for salt glows first. Fill out this paperwork, and then your concierges will take you to the locker room and show you the amenities you can avail yourself of while you wait for your therapists.”
“Amenities we can avail ourselves of,” Mom says, only slightly mocking. “How exciting!”
We take a seat, fill out our paperwork, and I take both our clipboards back to the receptionist. A few moments later, two women in white fetch us and take us to the locker room.
Our lockers are on opposite sides of the room, so Mom and I are separated. I change out of my clothes and into the robe offered. Then I decide to relax in the hot tub for fifteen minutes before my salt glow and massage. I take the glass of cucumber water my concierge poured for me, walk to the hot tub, remove my robe, and immerse myself in the water.
Mom is nowhere to be found, and oddly, I have the large tub to myself.
I close my eyes.
Tonight, I’m marrying the man of my dreams.
In a wedding chapel in Las Vegas.
My mom will be there, and that’s all I could ever hope for.
But what about Dale? Will Talon and Jade be upset?
Donny, Diana, and Brianna?
I breathe in the warm steam. Dale doesn’t seem concerned, so why should I be?
I’ll simply enjoy this afternoon of pampering and revel in the reality that Dale and I will soon be husband and wife.
I’ll have all I could possibly want.
Seems too good to be true.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dale
Turns out I don’t have to worry about entertaining Dennis, after all. He’s a poker player, so once he’s settled in the low-stakes poker room, I have the afternoon to myself.
I didn’t bring my tux, of course. The idea to marry Ashley came to me after I got here. I did bring a black suit and tie, though, for her mother’s wedding. I’ll wear that, with my hair pulled back the way my mother likes it.
Though Ashley seems to prefer it down.
Fuck. I hope I’m not making a huge mistake.
It’s not like me to be so impulsive.
But I can’t deny that the thought of marrying Ashley makes me feel…
Fuck it all. It makes me feel happy. Happier than I’ve ever felt, to be honest.
I should call Mom and Dad. Donny and the girls. I’ve thought about it since Ashley left to go shopping with her mom.
But something stops me.
I don’t call them, and I know I won’t.
If I do, the newness of the moment will be bastardized, somehow. The more I think about what I’m about to do—the more people I tell—the more I may realize how ridiculous the idea truly is.