Page 78 of The Last Resort
Rachel sent the message to Matthew, then dropped her cell into her purse.
More clothes? We are only going to be on the island for a few days.
The three dresses she’d already bought at the Tory Burch store in nearby Mercer Street, would be more than acceptable for a guest to wear to an Atlanta wedding. But clearly not high fashion enough for the Royals.
I keep forgetting this is a billionaire wedding.
Courtesy of their earlier visit to Bergdorf Goodman, Rachel already had more new panties and bras than she would need for the rest of her life. Eight boxes of shoes also graced the trunk of the town car which was parked out front.
Rachel could have wept when she caught sight of the fresh cups of coffee and the elegant platter of snacks which were waiting for them when they reached the car.
Hallelujah. Food.
Vivian climbed in after her and reached for a crustless chicken sandwich. “It’s not that far to Saks Fifth Avenue, where we are going to meet up with Camille Royal, so we will have to eat and drink fast.”
Rachel was secretly excited to meet the French designer who had created many of the pieces for Chloe Fisher’s Las Vegas residency. She knew her work well.
But these people don’t need to know I went to see Chloe’s Vegas show five times.
“What else do we have on the schedule for the rest of today?” asked Rachel. With some food and coffee now in her system she felt better equipped to keep up with Vivian.
Vivian opened up her cell and scrolled through her diary. “After we’ve sorted out our wedding outfits, we have lunch reservations at Balthazar in SOHO for two o’clock, after which we only have two more places to visit. Then, I havechampagne and some nibbles due to arrive at the apartment just before five. Bryce and Matthew will be joining us around six.” She clicked off her phone and dropped it into her purse. “And that should see us done and dusted. Tomorrow the four of us will be on our way to the Caribbean, with plenty of time to arrive and rest up before the pre-wedding celebrations.”
Rachel hadn’t ever been to a wedding where she wasn’t connected to at least one of the bridal couple. “Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“Whose wedding is this we are going to? I don’t know anyone in the Royal family outside of the three of you, but it just seems a bit odd that no one has mentioned the bride or the groom by name.”
The effusive Vivian suddenly quieted. “Just a member of the family,” she said, fiddling nervously with her diamond engagement ring. “They like to keep these things private.” She raised her head and briefly met Rachel’s gaze. “Once we get to the island tomorrow, I’m sure Matthew will tell you everything.”
From the way Vivian spoke, it was clear she didn’t think it was her place to say anything more. Rachel let her question go unanswered. She could wait until tomorrow.
But she couldn’t wait to finish the coffee and snacks.
Camille Royal met them in a private shopping room at Saks Fifth Avenue. She and Vivian immediately embraced, before Vivian stepped back and made introductions.
“Camille this is Rachel, she is Matthew’s guest for the wedding.”
Rachel took one look at Camille’s lilac suit and coordinating white pussy bow blouse and declared herself smitten all over again.
And I thought she’d been a genius with what she did with Chloe’s concert clothes.
The colors of Camille’s suit worked amazingly well with the designer’s lightly sun kissed completion and long blond hair. “Oh, my god, I love your outfit,” gushed Rachel.
Camile wiggled her shoulders and smiled. “This is from my next season’s collection. I wanted to make something that was both feminine and rocked the board room. I’m so glad that shoulder pads are back.”
A girl couldn’t go wrong with a pussy bow blouse. And Rachel had always had a weakness for shoulder pads.
“So you are Matthew’s date for the wedding. And you are an architect. Beauty and brains. He is a lucky man.” She gave Rachel a conspiratorial wink. “You have to let me design your wedding gown.”
Rachel didn’t know where to look. From the way his family spoke about her and Matthew, it seemed they’d already decided that a wedding was inevitable.
“Thank you. Matthew and I are working together on a project, and it was lovely of him to invite me to share in a Royal family event. But I’m not so sure that we should be sending out any save-the-date cards, just yet.”
Camille frowned. “Save the date?”
“It’s what Americans do when they have set the date for their wedding. They send out cards to their friends and family letting them know to keep the date free so they can attend,” explained Vivian. “Bryce and I are trying to settle on our date but squeezing in a wedding in between multiple resort launches is proving a bit tricky.”
