Thank God I’m not the only curious one.
He holds up his hand, urging me to wait, and softly opens the door. He peeks forward before tiptoeing outside, and a few seconds later, he’s back with my bag.
“Do you need anything else?” he whispers.
I shake my head. “I didn’t unpack much, but my toiletries are in the guest bath.” I motion in the direction of the guest room.
“Come with me.” Zane leads me to his own bathroom, which is again in black and the wood finish matching his bedroom. He grabs a fresh toothbrush from under the sink and hands it to me.
“Get ready before they’re here to give you a shower.” He grins before shutting the door behind him.
I don’t know if he’s joking. But I listen to him and quickly get inside the shower.
* * *
When I’m ready, I walk out of Zane’s bathroom. The bed is perfectly made again, with my purple duvet next to his black. There’s also a matching pillow from the guest room now resting against his, and I don’t know why, but my heart swoons at the sight of it.
In the kitchen, Zane’s sitting on a chair, surrounded by his nephews and Chloe squeezing the hell out of a strawberry. Even though I’ve only known this man for a short time, I have no doubt that everyone loves him. Zane is the most beautiful person I know, and I’m not talking about how he looks. Though he’s damn hot!
Kristy clears her throat and slides next to me before handing me a cup of coffee. “Sorry for hijacking your morning like this, but the kids wanted to show you everything they’ve planned for your wedding.”
We both look back at Zane as the boys point on the iPad screen. Their ideas range from superhero decor to pirate themes to us marrying while skydiving. And I can’t lie, their excitement is contagious.
I giggle over Ray’s proposal that he can teach his dog, Mr. Stanley, to greet guests as Hope arranges breakfast before us. She passes a plate to all of us, except Rose, who’s sitting next to me.
“Won’t you eat?” I ask and my simple question creates an undesired nervousness.
She tugs on her shirt sleeves under the table, and all the chatter in the room comes to a halt. I’m about to apologize for whatever I said, when Alex slowly walks toward his mom, with an indistinct limp I didn’t notice the previous night. He locks his hands around Rose’s neck, and I notice how color returns to her face.
“Dad cooks Mom’s special breakfast every morning because he loves her.” Alex smiles at me before placing a kiss on Rose’s cheek. “Uncle Zane, will you do that too?” His face is serious as a heartbeat, and I can’t believe this kid not only understood but fixed whatever triggered his mom’s panic.
Rose finally smiles at me and says, “I had my breakfast. You enjoy Hope’s cooking.”
“Alex, I’d really like you to ask this question to Uncle Zach.” Hope’s comment is greeted by everyone’s giggles.
“Dad only enjoys eating, Mom. He doesn’t like cooking,” Ray defends his dad in a serious voice but then falls into laughter when Hope tugs on his cheeks.
“I forgot his lawyer is here with us.” She finally takes a seat after placing a pie on the table.
I’m still taking in the love in this room when Kristy opens her iPad and slides it toward me. “Clementine sent me some of her designs. Can you take a look and see if there’s anything you like?”
My breath hitches at the sight of the delicate wedding dresses. Until a month back, marriage and wedding gowns were the last things on my mind. But right at this moment, I can’t help but think about being dressed in white and walking toward Zane, who’s waiting for me at the altar.
My hands tremble over the screen when my swiping fingers stop at the image of a TV actress’ wedding gown.
How much do these cost?
“Can’t we go to a shop?” I whisper. But when I look at Kristy and the other girls, their smiles have dropped, and now no one is eating.
“You don’t like these?” Kristy carefully asks.
“No. They’re amazing,” I reply quickly. “But”—I lick my dry lips before looking at the iPad again—“they look super expensive.”
I meet Zane’s eyes, and the familiar soft expression etches on his face. “Vi—”
Rose turns in her seat, taking me by surprise, as, out of all of them, she’s the one who speaks the least. “Vienna, we want to gift this to you on your wedding. Consider this an early wedding gift from us.”
My heart twists at their sweet gesture, and a burning sensation develops in the back of my throat. “But—”