Knowing that I was wearing more than they’d ever be able to afford, and I looked fantastic in it, felt like a victory after years of their cruel taunts. Never mind that I couldn’t afford it either. My heart was getting all tangled up with Dylan, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate that the point of our arrangement was working out better than I’d hoped. I didn’t just have a date for the wedding, Dylan had turned me into a princess.
A princess who had her mind in the gutter. While I was greeting the other guests, nodding along to introductions and shaking hands, I was acutely aware of Dylan’s hand on my back, the heat of his palm occasionally dipping low enough to cup my ass. The dinner was a moment of triumph and all I wanted was to get back to the room and peel away every scrap of Dylan’s tux so I could get my hands on the man beneath. Now that I’d gotten to know him, I didn’t want to waste our time together on this stupid wedding. Knowing my sister, she’d be getting married again in few years. I’d never get another chance at a man like Dylan.
The cocktail hour was a blur of cheek kisses and polite hugs until we made our way over to Christie and Peter. They stood in the back of the room beside my mother, holding court as if they were visiting royalty. I smiled at my mother when she caught sight of me. Her eyes went comically wide before she called out my name and rushed forward, enveloping me in a tight hug. We were so different, my mom and me. She was bright colors and exuberance while I was understated and quiet. But wrapped in her tight embrace, the strong and familiar scent of her perfume in a cloud around us, my eyes got wet.
“You look so gorgeous, baby. Like a dream.” She pulled back to cup my face in her hands, her eyes on mine, beaming with adoring love. “My beautiful girl.”
Yep, no matter that we might be total opposites, I loved my Mom. Leaning in to kiss her cheek, I said, “You look great, too, Mom.” She really did. Her little black dress had an emphasis on the ‘little’ and her cleavage was the opposite, but she looked great, especially considering she was the mother of three grown daughters.
She tugged me to her side, separating me from Dylan, who was promptly claimed by Christie and Cathie. He sent me a wink before turning to them. Oddly, I wasn’t worried about him being alone with my sisters. From the things he’d said earlier and the night before, he despised them and liked me. Nothing those two harpies could say would change that.
“Did he take you shopping?” my Mom half-whispered into my ear. She’d backed us a few feet from the crowd so we could talk in relative privacy. I knew what she was getting at. Barbara Carmichael (I still couldn’t get my brain to adjust to any of her more recent last names) knew clothes. Depending on her current husband, she didn’t always have the budget to shop as well as she’d like to, but she always knew the latest collections. So I wasn’t the least bit surprised when she said, “I know that dress. De la Renta, from two months ago. And those sandals are Rene Caovilla’s. I tried them on at Saks. He’s not shying away from spending money on you.”
“Mom, this isn’t what you think. Don’t get your hopes up.”
“Leigha, no man spends twelve thousand dollars on a woman’s clothes if he’s planning on walking away. Trust me.”
I choked on my champagne. Twelve thousand dollars? I’d known the dress and shoes had to be expensive, but that was insane. And she didn’t know about the jewelry. As if she’d read my mind, she said,
“My guess is that necklace and the matching earrings and bracelet are his work as well. I’d give you an estimate on those, but I don’t want you to pass out in the middle of your sister’s rehearsal dinner.”
“Mom,” I whispered, “Stop. Seriously. You’re freaking me out. I don’t want to think about this.”
“Well, you need to. That man looks at you as if he wants to protect you from everyone in the world except him. Pay attention and don’t let him get away.”
“Mom, really -” I stopped when she raised her hand in front of my face. Did she just give me the hand?
“Leigha, just keep your eyes open. That’s all I’m saying. Men like Dylan don’t come along every day. I should know.” She glanced across the room at Christie and Cathie. “Now I’m going to go save your man from your sisters before they scare him away. I swear, he looks like he wants to kill them already. I love all my girls, honey, but your sisters could try the patience of a saint.”
With that, she walked away, her perfume trailing behind her. I meant to follow, but I was still reeling from everything she’d said. Twelve thousand dollars. Not counting the gold I wore around my neck, my ears and on my wrist. I’d been agonizing about Steven stealing ten grand and Dylan had dropped more than that in one day, just on clothes I didn’t even need. Adding in the other evening dress, shoes, dresses, and lingerie, I didn’t want to even want to try to guess how much he’d spent. It was probably enough to pay off half my mortgage. I didn’t know what to think about that. Was my mother right? Was he planning to be with me past the weekend?