Destiny Mine (Tormentor Mine #3)(68)
“No, this is great.” I tear my gaze away from the phone screen. “How much is it?”
Suzie blinks and glances at Pam.
“Mr. Garin told us there’s no set budget,” Pam says carefully. “Is that not the case?”
“Oh, um… sure. I’m just asking out of curiosity.” Finances is yet another thing I haven’t discussed with Peter, so I do my best to hide my discomfort behind a brighter smile.
“Oh, I see.” Pam beams back at me. “Well, rest assured that your fiancé is a very generous man. This dress is a one-of-a-kind runway edition with handmade lace, and it retails for thirty-three thousand plus tax. We’re throwing in the alterations for free, though.”
“That’s… very nice of you.” My voice sounds choked, but I can’t help it. I’m no Cinderella—even after the pay cut at my new job, my salary is solidly in the six figures—but thirty-three thousand is still an eye-popping sum for a dress I’ll wear exactly once.
I thought the twelve-hundred-dollar dress at my first wedding was expensive.
“You’ll need shoes and accessories as well,” Suzie says, pulling a shiny catalog out of her oversized handbag. “Do you want to flip through this”—she holds up the catalog—“or would you rather we recommended something?”
“I’d appreciate a recommendation,” I say, and they swiftly find me a pair of white Louboutin pumps with delicate straps around the ankles, and a pearl necklace to go along with two pearl-and-diamond studs for my hair.
“You’re going to want an updo, of course,” Pam says, flipping through the catalog to point at a few intricate hairstyles on the models. “It’s going to really bring it all together.”
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to do that,” I say as they pack up and head out. True to their word, the whole process took just under thirty minutes—a fraction of the time I spent shopping for a dress and accessories for my first wedding.
Maybe there’s some benefit to Peter railroading me like this, I think wryly as I step out to grab a quick lunch in the half hour I have left before my next patient. My first wedding was a big production, with George inviting everyone we knew and spending money we didn’t really have. We had two hundred people at the reception, and it took a year to plan—and I, swamped with residency at the time, hated every minute of that planning.
A small wedding where all I have to do is show up might be exactly up my alley.
“Who were those people?” the office receptionist, Annabelle, asks when I return from lunch, and I take a breath, realizing I do have one important task on my plate.
I have to invite my friends and colleagues, enduring their surprised questions in the process.
“They were here to measure me for a dress,” I say, deciding there’s no time like the present. Slipping my left hand into my bag, I surreptitiously put on my ring and take my hand out, displaying the large diamond to Annabelle. “You see, I’m engaged, and the wedding is—”
An excited squeal drowns out my words before I can say “this Saturday.” Annabelle, a no-nonsense woman in her late fifties who handles insurance companies and difficult patients with equal aplomb, jumps to her feet as spryly as a teen and grabs my hand to gape at the ring, chattering the whole time.
“Oh my God, look at that rock! Who’s the lucky guy? How did you meet him? I didn’t even know you were dating!”
When she pauses for breath, I tell her that Peter and I have been dating on and off for some time, but that our relationship wasn’t serious because of his job, which required a lot of travel abroad. Now, however, he’s going to be doing something else, so we decided to take the next step and got engaged.
“We’re not planning a big wedding,” I say before she can launch into the next set of questions. “Instead, we’re going to have a small ceremony this Saturday, and I would love it if you and your husband could attend. I know it’s short notice, but—”
She squeals again and hugs me. “Oh, thank you, honey—I’m so honored! We’ll definitely be there. Did you already tell Bill and Wendy?”
I grin at her excited face. “No, I’m about to.”
“Oh, then go do that. Right now. I can’t wait to see the look on Bill’s face when he finds out I was right.” At my raised eyebrows, she explains, “I bet him twenty bucks that a pretty girl like you must have a boyfriend.” And as I burst out laughing, she sticks her head out to the waiting area and says, “I don’t see your patient yet, so you have a couple of minutes.”
“Thanks, Annabelle.” I laugh as she makes shooing motions with her hands. “I’m going, I promise.”
I hurry to my bosses’ office before Annabelle can physically drag me there, and knock on the door.
“Wendy? Bill? Do you guys have a second?”
Wendy opens the door a second later. “Of course, my dear. How can I help you?” Her smile is as soft as the white hair puffing out around her kind face. Everything about the female Dr. Otterman is kind, from the gentle tone of her voice to the way she regularly calls her patients to check up on them.
Working with her is an absolute pleasure, even with her grouchy husband always at her side.
“Is Bill here?” I ask, then see him sitting behind her, chowing down on a sandwich nearly as big as his mustache.