I stand here looking down at this man who I started off hating, who got under my skin, time and time again, who weaved his way so far into my heart I don’t think it would beat without him. So I do what any normal, sane person who has been dating a man for a month does. I nod. “Yes,” I whisper as I get down on my knees in front of him and bury my face into his chest while he holds me and he waits for me to raise my head so he can kiss me.
“I love you,” he says against my lips. “What are you doing tonight? Want to wake up a Horton?” he asks jokingly, but I get up and just go with it.
“Yes.”
He gets up, taking me with him as he picks me up, and spins me around. “I have no idea how we are going to do this. But I think Andre has an idea.” He kisses my lips, puts me down, and drags me out of there, my laughter echoing the whole time. We get outside where the driver is still waiting for us. He gets out of the car when he sees us coming, opening the door as Max tells him to bring him to the best jewelry store in Vegas.
“First thing we need to do is get you a ring.” Max takes out his phone and calls Andre. “Allison and I are getting married tonight. I need the best jewelry store in all of Vegas,” he says and listens to what Andre says. “Tonight, think you can make it happen?” he says into the phone as the driver drives down the Strip to our hotel. “Which jeweler are you taking me to?” he asks the driver.
“Joes on Beverly Hills.”
I’m sitting there and the rest of the day is almost a blur of happiness.
We walked into the jewelry store and Max asked for the manager and said he needed a rose gold engagement ring and wedding band. I sat down in the chair in front of a woman who brought out a black cloth, putting them all down on them. I picked them up, but I didn’t go past the second ring when Max picked up the last ring in the long line. A rose gold square diamond ring with white diamonds on the side.
“This one,” he said, looking at me. “Do you like this one?”
I looked at it as he slid it on my finger and it fit perfectly. I looked back up at him, nodding. He then asked for the matching wedding band that was a simple band with white diamonds.
“Are you getting one?” I asked him as he nodded and asked for a silver band. But I knew exactly which one I wanted to slip on his hand. I got up from my seat and pointed to the black thick band, outlined with rose gold. “That one,” I said as I waited for her to give it to me. Taking his left hand, I placed it on his finger to see if it fit, and it was perfect for him. “Made just for you.”
I said as he looked at his finger, nodding his head. They wrapped up the rings in record time and by the time we made it back to the suite Andre was there waiting with a man and a woman. He nodded when he saw us.
“This is Isabelle and Henry. Henry has tuxes for you in one of the guest rooms and Isabelle is here with dresses. Your makeup and hair will be here within the hour. You have an appointment at eight-thirty this evening. I have all the papers here. I just need a signature in order to speed things up,” he said and pointed to the papers on the table as Max stepped in and signed and so did I.
“This is really happening,” I said with a smile. And then I was taken away to my room where there were four racks of dresses, everything from Cinderella style to stripper style. But one dress caught my eye. They say you know when it’s your dress and I knew just by running my hands over it. The flower details in the halter part had been crocheted by hand. Tiny pearls were around them. It was short all the way down with a chiffon wrap starting at the waist with two slits down each leg.
“This one,” I said as I picked it off the rack, seeing that it was backless, which made it more romantic. “That is my favorite also,” she said then asked me, “Which shoe would you like?”
But it wasn’t even a choice. It had always been my dream to have the blue shoes from Sex in the City. “Do you think you can get me the blue Manolo Blahnik?”