Page 125 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
Evie
We boughtthe bridesmaid dresses at Anthropologie in Beverly Hills. My dress was a long slip of satin with thin straps and a slit up the side. The color was called Sedona Sunset. It hugged my curves without being too tight or revealing and made me feel like a Hollywood starlet.
“I found some shoes and earrings that would be perfect for the dress,” Quinn said with a big, happy smile.
I checked out the strappy metallic sandals and the vintage-looking chandelier earrings she was holding. They were beautiful and perfect, but the price tag wasn’t. I’d splurged on this whole trip to California, and I didn’t have money like this to throw around.
“I don’t need them.”
I marched up to the counter with the dress and almost cried when I pulled out my credit card to pay.
Quinn snatched the card out of my hand before the lady could run it through the machine.
“I’m paying,” she told the saleslady.
“No, you’re not.” I tried to wrestle my card out of her hand.
We spent fifteen minutes arguing over who would pay. The salesgirl pretended not to listen.
“Evie, stop,” Quinn said. “I bought Addison and Priya’s dresses too.”
They were her college roommates when she’d been at UCLA, her two other bridesmaids, and I knew they both had money, so I didn’t believe her. “Give me my card, Quinn. I’m not a charity case.”
She sighed, but she gave up the fight and handed over my card. I paid for the dress, but before I could stop her, she bought the shoes and the earrings.
Which led to another argument on the way to her car.
“It’s my wedding, so I get to decide how I want my bridal party to look for the photos.”
“That is the lamest argument I’ve ever heard.”
“You can wear the shoes with everything. They’re just cute little summer sandals. And the earrings will work with so many things too. Just think of them as your birthday and Christmas presents for the past few years.”
“We agreed not to exchange presents,” I argued after we stashed our bags in her car and braved the LA traffic.
“Youagreed. Besides, I’m being selfish. So, just stop fighting me and let me do something that makes me happy. You flew all the way out here for me.”
“Pfft. I’m just here for the beach.”
She laughed. “I love you.”
“Love you too. I just hate when you spend money on me.” Maybe I should have worked this summer instead of signing up for a medical mission trip to Cambodia. But no, I’d wanted to do that, and I was leaving in two weeks. It would be a good experience, and as corny as it sounded, I wanted to do something that made a difference. So, it was the right decision. But still. I hated that I didn’t have a lot of disposable income. And I hated feeling like a charity case.
“Someday, when you’re a hotshot doctor, you can buy me shoes and earrings foryourwedding.”
“Yeah, well, don’t hold your breath. The chances of me ever getting married are slim to none.”
“You don’t really believe that do you?”
I shrugged. “Right now, my priority is getting through medical school. I don’t have the time or energy for a relationship.”
“Is that the only thing holding you back?”
No. But I didn’t want to talk about how screwed up I was or how much I still thought about Ridge even after all these years. You would think by now I would have found a way to move on and let him go.
After all, I was the one who left him.
But apparently, my heart hadn’t gotten the memo.
