Never Giving Up (Never #3)(4)

“Do you ever think we’ll tire of each other? I can’t imagine keeping up with this level of sexual appetite forever,” I said as his mouth came down to nibble on my collar bone. I felt his tongue flash over my skin and the goose bumps raised all over my body.

“I’ll never get tired of being with you, Ella. But eventually, at some point,” he said placing more kisses up my neck, “there will come a time when we’ll have to remember our passion, and bring it back to life.” I knew he was right. All marriages went through troubles and dry spells. I wasn’t living in a fantasy and I was well aware that marriages took work.

“Promise you’ll remind me?” I whispered. His face appeared in front of mine and his eyes looked lovingly at me.

“I’ve done a pretty good job so far, haven’t I?” He said with a grin.

“Yes, my love, you have.”





I saw Kalli’s expression in the mirror reflecting back at me and I tried hard to stifle a giggle. Megan couldn’t see her face because she was focused on the embellishments along the hem of the dress Kalli was currently wearing, but I could see and it was hard not to laugh.

“What do we think, girls?” The very eager, yet nice, saleswoman gave me an expectant look.

“Uh, it’s . . .” I stammered.

“It’s not bad,” Megan offered.

“What about all this stuff?” Kalli motioned to the bottom of the dress.

“The rhinestone detailing?” The saleswoman clarified.

“Yeah. Does it, maybe, look a little cheap?” Kalli wrinkled her nose, but said the words softly as if not to offend anyone.

“You think it looks cheap?” Megan whispered. If there was anyone in the room to trust about this, it was Kalli. She was a big-time Hollywood costume designer. Kalli opened her eyes wider at Megan pleading silently not to make her utter the words. Megan’s head whipped around to me. “What do you think, Ella?”

“I think we can find something more perfect.” That was my attempt to soften the blow. We didn’t need rhinestones or sequin distractions on our dresses. We needed a good fabric, a pretty color, a nice design, and then we needed to fade into the background. Megan was the focus of the wedding, after all. “Do you have any catalogues we could look at?” I asked the saleswoman. She huffed a little at my request but promptly walked away saying she’d bring us some magazines. “Kalli, please take that dress off,” I laughed.

Megan sat down in the chair next to me and exhaled loudly. “It shouldn’t be this difficult.” She sounded defeated and we’d only just started.

“Megs, everything will be just fine. We’ll look through the catalogues and get some ideas. Do you think you want Kalli and me to wear the same dress or different ones?”

“I don’t care. I just want them the same color. You guys can pick different ones. I want everything to look cohesive.”

I placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. “Everything is going to turn out fine. We’ve got plenty of time.” She turned and smiled at me.

“Thanks, Fella.” Just then, the saleswoman brought us some catalogues and we spent a few minutes flipping through them. Kalli seemed to gravitate towards the dresses that were corseted and fitted through the torso and I hoped for something a little looser, an empire waist perhaps.

The saleswoman brought us some dresses similar to what we were drawn to. I slipped on a strapless, empire waist gown that flowed down around my ankles. The fabric was light and airy. I loved it. I walked out of the dressing room and waited for Megan’s scrutiny.

“Ella, it’s a pretty dress, but it doesn’t do anything for your figure. You look like a fancy peasant.”

“Ok, well, first, that’s an oxymoron. Second, I don’t need anything done for my figure so I’m not worried about that.”

“It’s true, Megan. Ella is already married to the most handsome man we’ve ever met. She’s officially the Matron of Honor. She’s not looking for any single men to hook up with at your wedding.”

“Patrick is the most handsome man I’ve ever seen,” Megan stated, confident in her fiancé’s good looks. “But come on, Ella. You don’t want to wear a loose fitting drape to my wedding, do you?”

I sighed loudly and decided that it was impossible to keep our situation a secret any longer. “Listen, Megs. The truth is, I’m going to need to order a dress like this in case my body is different in four months.” I tried to imply meaning without blatantly stating that Porter and I were trying to have a baby. Kalli’s head poked out around from the doorway of her dressing room, eyes wide, mouth open into a big “O.” Megan was looking at me like I’d asked her a calculous question.

“Shut. Up.” Kalli whisper-yelled.

“Shhh! It’s not really a secret but we haven’t told anyone yet. I don’t want to jinx it. Let’s just order me a frumpy dress and be done with it.”

“Are you already . . .” Kalli’s eyebrows rose up and she eyed my midsection.

“No, I’m not pregnant yet, but we’re trying.”

“What?!” Megan yelled, finally catching on. “You’re having a baby?”

“We’re trying to have a baby. Nothing is growing yet,” I said as I waved a hand around in front of my belly.