Page 23 of Set In Stone

“Oh, I don’t know…” I innocently trailedoff.

“Krys, seriously. I mean, all of New York is going to want to have a front row seat to this. You have to knowthat.”

“Well, it won’t bethatsmall of a wedding.” I paused and looked meaningfully at her. My subtle grin turned into a beaming, earsplitting smile. “It will be big enough to have a maid ofhonor.”

She looked genuinely shocked and I thought she might drop the gaudy dress that was still in hergrasp.

“Me?Really?”

“Of course, you! Who else would I have asked, silly?” Ilaughed.

“I don’t know. I just assumed that Alex would want his sister,” she said, still sounding shocked. I didn’t understand her surprise. I would never dream of a wedding where she wasn’t by my side through itall.

“Well, you know what they say about the word assume,” I joked. “Honestly, Alex and I haven’t even talked about it. Who I choose for a maid of honor is my decision. You’re my best friend and like the sister I never had. I wouldn’t have it any otherway.”

Allyson beamed and her eyes filled with tears of happiness. Unexpectedly, she screeched loudly from excitement. Scrambling to hang up the dress in her hands, she fumbled for a moment before eventually dropping it to thefloor.

“Screw it. The dress is ugly anyway,” she pronounced. She hurried over to me and threw her arms around my neck. “You’re getting married! I’m going to be your maid ofhonor!”

She screeched again. People around us stared. The unexpected commotion drew the attention of a nearby saleswoman. She pursed her lips in disapproval when she saw the wedding gown tossed haphazardly on the floor. I was fairly certain she wasn’t accustomed to having her overpriced wedding dresses trampled. Hale and Samuel, their watchful eyes never far away, peeked out from whatever corner they had been hiding in. My eyes briefly met Hale’s. Once he realized everything was okay, his lips formed a subtle smile. Although he never voiced it, I knew he was happy that Alexander and I were getting marriedtoo.

I returned Allyson’s fierce embrace before pulling back to disentangle myself from herarms.

“Yes, I’m getting married,” I said and laughed. “But I’ll never get a dress if you keep tossing them on the floor. You’re going to give me a bad rep and no boutique will let me through theirdoors.”

I was only joking, but Allyson lookedhorrified.

“Oh mygod!”

She quickly turned around to see the saleswoman replacing the wedding gown to its proper place. Allyson apologized profusely, but was rudely brushed off by the stuffy woman. After the dress was once again hanging, the woman walked away. Perhaps I had a case of shop-til-you-drop syndrome setting in, but her poor attitude rubbed me the wrong way. In that moment, I decided I was done with boutiques. Alexander’s tailor came tomind.

Maybe I can find a good seamstress and have a dress custommade.

That was definitely an idea to consider. I was confident that Justine knew of one. I made a mental note to ask her and turned my attention back toAllyson.

“Come on Ally, we should get going. I want to make sure I have enough time to get ready for the partytonight.”

“Yeah, me too. I’m really looking forward to it. You definitely need to look your best, especially since Matteo named the restaurant afteryou.”

I narrowed my eyes. There was something off about her tone, but I couldn’t place it. In fact, she always acted a little off whenever Matteo’s name wasmentioned.

“Does that botheryou?”

“Of course not. I mean, it’s not really named after you. It was named for Alexander’sundying lovefor his angel,” she joked, drawing out the words with exaggeration and laughed. “I think the story behind it is incredibly romantic, actually. Why do you ask if it bothersme?”

“It just seems like you and Matteo have been spending a lot of time together, that’s all,” Iobserved.

“He’s a nice guy,” she saidoffhandedly.

“Oh, come on, Ally! You’re talking to me,remember?”

“Okay, okay. So he’s more than a nice guy. I am female after all,” she added wryly. “I know a prime piece of eye candy when I seeit.”

“And?” Ipressed.

“I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. I just get the impression that he comes from a family where the women stay home and cook all day? Do you know what Imean?”

I eyed herquizzically.

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