Page 59 of Resisting You
“Surprise!” Victor added.
Both of her parents were beaming. Proud.
Meanwhile, my heart plummeted to my stomach. “You want to throw us a wedding receptionhere?” I asked. “In my quaint little hometown?”
Kristen leaned back in her chair, beaming. “I think it’s agreatidea.”
“Of course you do,” I muttered.
“Now the onlyrealproblem is there’s not enough hotels here for the amount of people we’re expecting,” Victor said. “This place is beautiful. But other than The Maple Grove Inn, there’sonly a couple other motels and some Airbnbs. I saw that there is an artist residency center which apparently has a ton of housing. I talked to them yesterday and since they’re in their off season, they’d be willing to rent us their cabins. We could move the paparazzi to those cabins?—”
“I’m sorry,” I interrupted. “How many people are you inviting to this?”
“Two hundred,” Victor said.
I rubbed my palm across my forehead, pressing my fingertips to the throbbing sensation beginning in my sinuses.
“Two hundred, Apa? Without even talking to us?”
“That’s our guest list,” Victor said.
Francesca reached across Rosa to pat my knee. “Once we have Noah’s guest list, we can put a final head count together.”
“The two hundred doesn’t even include Noah’s people?” Rosa asked.
Victor snorted a laugh. “Honey, please. You know I have associates I have to invite. They likely won’t show up at all. It’s just for appearances.”
“Oh my God…” Rosa’s face fell to her hands.
Kristen was already on her feet, shooting off an email on her phone. “I’ll put a list together right now. Should I send it to you or?—”
“You can send it to the wedding coordinator we hired. I’ll send you her information,” Francesca said.
Suddenly the room was hustling and bustling. Everyone was on their feet, moving around, excitedly planning. Even Birdie was at Victor’s heels, barking and much to my dismay, Victor laughed, bending to pet my dog. “Don’t you get any ideas, Mister,” he joked.
Shell-shocked, Rosa and I sat beside each other on the couch.
“What have we done?” Rosa murmured quietly to me.
“To be fair, they might not even notice if we leave and don’t show up.”
Rosa snorted. “Oh you’d be surprised. Your job is to sit here and be silent until they need you to dance and pose for the cameras.”
I turned my glare to Kristen who was leaning over an iPad on the counter with Rosa’s parents. The three were made for each other. “Oh, I know. Do you think there’s any way out of this?”
Rosa shook her head slowly. “Doubtful. Short of running away.”
“On the plus side, it’s safe to say we have your father’s blessing, right?”
That comment earned me another snort. “You don’t know my father. His only daughter got married on a whim with zero involvement, zero press, and zero fanfare. This wedding is just for appearances. Winning his blessing could takeyears.” She stared across the room at her parents, seeming lost in thought.
I nudged her shoulder with mine until it broke her concentration and she glanced at me, blinking large brown eyes at me. “As long as I haveyourblessing, that’s all I need.”
A small smile curved on her lush mouth. “You’ve got it, Tripp.”
“Glad to hear it,Dr.Tripp,” I teased her back.
Her eye roll was interrupted by Birdie hopping over to us, scratching at my calf. Before I could lift him into my lap, Rosa had already bent over and hugged him into her chest. “And I think we have Birdie’s blessing, too.”
