Or at least her planning style.
Now, as we walked into one of the biggest bridal salons in Sunset City, I loved that she was here. Because of the hour drive, Trinity and Isolde couldn’t make it on such short notice. Laura was here because she insisted, and I already knew how that was going to go. She made sure I was in the corset before we left.
Geneva placed a hand on my shoulder after she waved to one of the shop attendants. “Before we head into the dresses, come with me. Mrs. McCabe, Ashley here will show you over to where we’ll be trying things on.”
“I’ll stay with Ocean.”
“No,” she said firmly. “We’ll be right back. Ocean’s fiancés have something for her privately.”
Laura kept her face in check, but it was only because we were in public. Geneva sent a glare at her as she guided me away. “Say the word, Ocean, and I’ll have her removed from the store.”
I sighed. “I’m not sure that would make it better. We drove together.” And making the hour trip home with her seething wasn’t on my list of priorities.
“I’m sure the DuPonts would be happy to have a driver take you home.”
Smiling, I looked at her. “And what would happen once I got home?” Her shoulders fell, and I held out a hand. “Thank you. I appreciate it. And I’m really grateful you’re here.”
“I’ll do my best to keep her at bay.”
“I appreciate that.” I sat in the chair she led me to. “What are we doing here?”
“A couple of things. Here’s the sample of the wedding invitation. We don’t need, but your fiancés thought it would be good to have a few.”
She handed me a crisp invitation made of cardstock. There were flowing ripples in silver over the white paper that looked like water. Almost like an ocean. I smiled and shook my head. Of course they would pick something that reflected my name.
Seeing my name along with theirs sent my heart into my throat.
“Do you like them?” Geneva asked.
“I do,” I told her honestly. “The style and the decorations. But not the color.”
“Noted. We’ll change it to something that matches your colors? Not white.”
I nodded and handed it back to her. “I like the silver.”
“Perfect.” She typed a couple of notes into her tablet. “Now, Mr. Westbrook mentioned you hadn’t told them your priorities for rings. Since you were already going to be here in Sunset City, I had their preferred jeweler bring over some samples for you.”
I hadn’t even noticed the man standing in the corner with what looked like a giant briefcase. He came over and placed it on the low table in front of me, opening it. It was like a movie, jewels sparkling under the lights as they were revealed. Way too many rings and way too many diamonds. Holy shit.
“If you like any of these, perfect. If not, tell me anything you like about them and we’ll go from there.”
My stomach hollowed out. This wasn’t real. The marriage was going to last a year. It might be better to get a ring that didn’t cost someone’s yearly salary when it was going to be taken off so soon.
“I—” Nothing came out. Like my voice had decided to vacate the premises entirely.
Geneva smiled. “I know it’s overwhelming.”
“Yeah. I have big fingers. Most rings don’t fit me.”
“It won’t be a problem,” she promised.
Everything shone so bright and was so large, I shied away from them. My jewelry taste had always been simpler. Less on the gaudy side and more on the filigree. “Do you think they’ll be offended if I don’t want a diamond?” I asked.
“That depends. Do you not want the diamond because of cost? Or simply because you like something else better?”
I already knew they wouldn’t care about the cost. The fact that I was sitting here with a literal briefcase of gems in front of me was proof enough of that. Oh, and the fact that Trinity had said they were actual billionaires.
“Something else better.”