Chapter 13
Amanda
Lego had won us the game, but I couldn’t smile.
I adjusted the golden crown on Ellen’s teenage sister’s head. “You have the perfect hair for this, Lettie. Straight and silky. You’re so lucky.”
She reached up and boinged one of my curls. “We always want the hair we don’t have. I’d kill to have natural curl like yours.” She spun in Tessa’s dress in front of the mirror. It looked exquisite with the gold braid and brocade atop the green low-pile velvet. “But you’re right. This does look good with my red hair.”
Take that, Calvin. It wasn’t a lame thing to bring massive piles of luggage across the ocean after all. Not if it made a teenager feel this beautiful.
“Did your mom talk Ellen out of changing the language of the vows?”
“Yeah, but there were tears involved.”
“Your mom would probably have blamed me forever if I’d influenced Ellen and Parley to say their vows in Elvish.”
“No kidding.” Lettie crinkled her nose. “There are limits.”
I held up my camera. “Let’s remember this moment.” I took the pic then shot it in a quick thank you text to Tessa. “You look gorgeous.”
“I feel gorgeous.” She colored. “Not as gorgeous as you. It’s no wonder Calvin’s crushing on you.” She sighed. “You’re so lucky. Calvin is the total package. Gorgeous, brilliant, and he melts my heart when he holds Lego like that.”
I stifled my sigh. Calvin had indeed looked like a dream come true with the kitten he’d let us keep. Maybe he was capable of commitment after all. If so, could I let him into my life, trust him, believe in him?
Yes. How he committed to a kitten was probably an unconventional—read: crazy—litmus test for whether I could trust him. I knew that, but I wanted to trust him.
I want to love him.
If I trusted him, I’d even share why I had the hobbit picture on my cubicle wall. I’d almost done so at the waterfall, but I chickened out.
Then, Lego happened. Receiving Lego had changed everything.
My insides twirled. Was this love? If so, I wanted it. With Calvin, my own VelvetElvis.
“See you downstairs.” I shooed Lettie out of my hotel room so I could finish getting dressed. Nothing exotic, just my little black dress and a pair of standard black pumps. I let my hair fall everywhere.
I looked … normal. I was done tormenting Calvin—partly because I liked him, and partly because I needed his recommendation if I was ever going to get the spot on the creative team for Amzaz. It was time to act like a professional instead of a goofball.
A knock came on the the adjoining room door. When I opened the door, I found him on the other side, looking equal parts gorgeous and sorry.
“Can I escort you downstairs?” The wedding was being held in the back yard of the hotel. “We should arrive as a couple.”
“Calvin. What’s wrong?”
He clouded over. “The hotel staff said no cats.”
“What!” My stomach turned. “Not even kittens?”
“Lego scratched some furniture in my room.”
“I’ll pay for it.” My mind raced. “Where’s Lego? I’ll … camp in a tent until we leave for the plane. Lego and me, we’ll be fine in the wild. Tell me where—” I coughed and my dream ended. “We have to go to the wedding, I know.”
He nodded grimly. “They didn’t give us a choice.”
No choice!
We walked downstairs.