Millionaires' Destinies(60)

She hung up before Melanie could come up with one single protest that Destiny would buy.

Even though she dreaded the entire outing, Melanie quickly got swept along on Destiny’s tide of excitement. She tried reminding herself that her enjoyment of Destiny’s exuberance was what had gotten her into this predicament with Richard in the first place, but that didn’t seem to work as well as she’d hoped. The woman’s high spirits were contagious.

Before Melanie knew it, she was caught up in the whole shopping thing. She told herself it wouldn’t hurt, just this once, to try on a few wedding gowns in some of the most exclusive shops around. Who knew when she might have another chance to indulge in such a fantasy? As long as she didn’t sign a single credit-card slip or exit a shop with a package, what was the harm?

Her delusion lasted for about the space of a heartbeat. Within no time the shopping excursion began spinning wildly out of her control. Destiny on a mission was a force to be reckoned with. She knew the owners of every elegant boutique in Old Town Alexandria, Georgetown, and in the fanciest malls in the region. She was an indefatigable shopper.

She also knew her own mind and had little patience for salesclerks who wasted time showing them anything less than the best. Despite the brakes Melanie tried valiantly to put on, Destiny merely waved off her objections and headed for the next store. Short of planting her heels and making the woman drag her along behind, Melanie was at a loss. Her vow not to use her credit card for a single purchase was never once tested. Destiny wielded hers with the skill of a woman for whom money held no meaning beyond its purchasing power.

“I can’t let you do this,” Melanie uttered more times than she could count. She was wasting her breath. The packages kept piling up. The only conceivable thing that might slow Destiny down would be running out of trunk space, Melanie thought hopefully as she tried to cram one more package into the already jammed trunk.

“Looks like that’s it for the day,” she said a bit too enthusiastically. “We’re out of room.”

“Nonsense. We’ll just have everything else sent,” Destiny said, turning to march off to the next store on her exhaustive list.

“You can’t be serious,” Melanie said. “I’m wiped out.”

“Really?” Destiny regarded her with surprise. “I’m just getting my second wind, but if you’re tired, I’ll take you home.” She beamed. “I can’t tell you when I’ve had such a wonderful time. What time should we get started tomorrow? Another day or two like this one and we’ll have made real inroads.”

“In what? Bolstering the national economy?”

Destiny laughed. “That, too. Is ten o’clock good for you?”

Melanie ran through a frantic litany of excuses. Alone, none of them seemed to do the trick, but combined they finally bought her the next day off.

“The day after then,” Destiny said adamantly, obviously not inclined to be put off a second time. “I’ll pick you up at nine. We’ll start with florists and caterers, then do a bit more shopping.”

Melanie felt her stomach start to churn. “I can’t let you do all this. It’s wrong.”

“I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

She was, too. Melanie could see it in her eyes and that made her feel even guiltier. Panicked that the frenzy would only get worse, the second Destiny had gone, she got into her own car and drove to Richard’s office. He was bound to be there. She hauled along a few packages—the veritable tip of the iceberg—to help her make her point.

Richard glanced up when she came charging in under a full head of steam. His gaze narrowed. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”

“Yes, well, the day is full of surprises. I wasn’t expecting this, either.” She dumped the packages on his desk. It made the piles on Christmas morning seem a little sparse. “Look what she’s done,” she moaned.

“Destiny?” he guessed as if there might be some other crazed shopper in the family.

“Who else?” she snapped. “She picked out china and silver, bought my veil—it’s hand-tatted French lace, by the way—and started on my trousseau. She would not take no for an answer. She said I have a position to live up to as your fiancée. She wouldn’t let me pay for a thing, not that I could afford to pay for one sterling-silver place setting, much less the twelve she ordered. We have to stop this, Richard. It’s getting out of hand. No, it’s beyond that. It’s completely crazy. Destiny had the time of her life and I feel like the lowest slug on the planet.”