The image of her father’s face hit Emma like a slap. He wouldn’t walk her down the aisle. He wouldn’t give her away. Her mother wouldn’t dab at her eyes with a Kleenex. They would never see Emma married. Even if it was just a sham marriage.
Emma broke down in tears as Becca looked at her baffled.
“Excuse me for a moment.” Emma quickly stood from the table and ran to the bedroom. She closed the door behind her and sank onto the foot of the bed. There, she sobbed. Tears ran down her face as she tried to keep her gasps and cries low enough that Becca wouldn’t come in and bother her. She wasn’t sure where this sudden outpour of emotion was coming from, but if she didn’t release it, she would explode.
What would Mama think of this? Emma thought, tears streaming down her face. Would she be proud of me for marrying a billionaire? Would Daddy like Jackson? Or would he be gruff and always be cleaning a shotgun when Jackson came over?
Emma wasn’t sure. She thought her mother would like Jackson, but she wasn’t sure if her mother would approve of the reasons for their marriage.
Granted, even if she was alive, her mother wouldn’t know the real reason for their marriage.
Emma sighed and wiped at her cheeks. She would never know what her parents would think of this. The best she could do was imagine they were happy because she was going to be happy. She took a deep breath and went back out to the kitchen.
“Sorry about that,” Emma said, settling back into her chair.
Becca shrugged. “It happens more than you might think,” she said kindly. “Weddings are stressful things. Emotions, family, obligations, and guests all make things difficult. That’s why I’m here. I’m here to help.”
“Okay.” Emma gave the other woman a weak smile. “I’m going to need a lot of help.”
“That’s why I’m the best. Let’s start simple. Big or small wedding?”
“Go big or go home, right?” Emma supplied.
“It’s what you want,” Becca told her. “You aren’t limited by funds, so you can have a big wedding.”
Emma wished Jackson were here. She wasn’t sure what he wanted other than, “make it big and impressive. Whatever you want as long as we have the public’s attention for the day.” She was going to have him come to the next one of these meetings.
“How about time?” Becca asked, shifting away to a different approach. “You said as soon as possible. It’s summer now, so I would suggest, if you really want the very best, to wait and have a winter wedding. With your dark hair, it would be stunning.”
“A winter wedding?” Emma thought about it. Snow falling as she kissed Jackson. It would be beautiful. Except, she was pregnant. If she did her math right, this baby was coming early spring. For a winter wedding, she’d be as big as a house.
Suddenly the image in her head changed to her ridiculously pregnant as they kissed in the snow. She didn’t want that either.
“No, on the winter wedding,” Emma quickly said. “I want a summer wedding. This summer.”
“This summer?” Becca’s eyes widened. She picked up one of the binders and flipped through it. “The best places are already booked...”
“This summer,” Emma repeated. “I want it as soon as possible. I don’t care what it costs.”
“Okay. It’s your wedding,” Becca replied. Emma could see the dollar signs going off in her head. “Like I said, I’m here to help. Anything you need.”
“You know what?” An idea came to Emma. “I want you to plan it all. Plan a wedding fit for a billionaire. Jackson has given you the budget. Make it work. If you need more funds to take care of more, let me know.”
The idea of Becca taking care of everything relieved a huge weight from Emma’s shoulders she didn’t realize she was carrying. She’d thought she was looking forward to planning the wedding, but now that Becca was here, it was the last thing in the world Emma wanted to worry about.
“Are you sure?” Becca looked surprised.
“Positive,” Emma assured her. “I just want to pick out my dress. Everything else, is yours. The invitations, the decorations, the location. All of it. As long as it’s done by Fall, and it’s something that will look good in a magazine, I’m happy.”
“Well, this isn’t how I normally do things,” Becca said slowly, a smile filling her face. “But I can do it. How about I give you three options tomorrow? You pick your favorite, and I’ll do the rest.”
“That sounds perfect,” Emma agreed.
“Okay. I’m going to go work on the proposals for you.” Becca rose from the table. “You’re sure this is what you want to do?”
“One of the perks of marrying a billionaire is that you can pay people to do just about everything,” Emma told her. “So, I’m going to pay you to do just about everything.”
“You won’t regret it,” Becca promised. “This wedding will be a dream wedding. People will talk about it for years. It’ll be perfect.”