Page 135 of Playing For Keeps
“Why not? The only person I want there is Melanie. I’m sure she’d love a trip to Vegas.”
“What about Aiden?” My insides clamp down.
She lowers her head and steps away. I hope she’s giving my question careful consideration. This isn’t something to take lightly.
She sits and takes a drink of her wine. As she ponders over that, I find my way back to my seat.
The breeze blows her hair into her eyes, so she tucks it behind her ear. “I’d like Aiden to be there, but I want our day to be spent with people who support us. He doesn’t, so it’s his loss.”
“I always thought he’d be my best man,” I admit.
“Is that right?” She twirls a lock of hair around her finger. “Tell me about this wedding you were envisioning.”
I take a sip of my drink and think about it for a moment. Pictures of a big wedding dance in my head, but in that vision, my parents are there.
A big wedding would’ve been for them. My mom would’ve fussed over every detail, and I would’ve pretended to be annoyed. But in the end, she would’ve made it perfect.
I sigh at the dream. “It’s funny. I don’t really care about the ceremony, but I know my mom would’ve, so I pictured it like any other traditional wedding—too big and a lot of people I don’t know in attendance.”
“And now what do you see?”
“Just you with a smile on your gorgeous face.”
“Did you see me in this vision before today?” she teases.
“There was never a face. Maybe that’s because it was always you, but I didn’t know how to make it a reality.” I run my finger and thumb along the stem of my wineglass.
“But you were going to marry Lauren.”
Fuck.
Dori and I have never discussed any of my relationships, let alone the topic of my engagement to Lauren. With Dori’s jealous streak, this conversation could turn out poorly. My throat closes at the thought.
I remove my fingers away from the stem of my glass. “Even though we were planning on getting married, I never saw it taking place.”
“Really?” Dori leans forward, resting her arms on the table. “Why?”
“We never talked about it. I asked her on a whim. She said yes, and that was about the extent of it. We were both more focused on the baby.”
“You’ve had a rough couple of years when it comes to kids. I’m surprised you’re so calm about us trying.”
I huff a laugh. “Sweetness, I have a good poker face. I worry about it a lot more than you realize.”
“Really? Why don’t you talk about it?”
“Do you really have no clue? It’s the only thing you’ve been asking from me since I met you,” I deadpan.
She settles back in her chair. “Ah, yes. You think you can rule the world if you fix things on your own. Talking about your feelings isn’t warranted because that will only bog down the system.”
“Something along those lines.”
“That stops now, Jamison Stone. I’m going to be your wife in two days, and what I say goes.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Is that so?”
“Yep. And that means communicating with me about everything.”
“Everything?”
