Page 85 of Faking I Do
I almost headed right for the stairs, but Bodie didn’t let go of my hand. I whirled around. “You can’t come with us, sugar pie. No peeking at the dress ahead of time.”
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on the cheek. “I don’t want to ruin the surprise. I’ll wait down here for you, but I’ll be missing you the whole time we’re apart.”
I rolled my eyes, making sure he was the only one who could see me. “Think you’re laying it on a bit thick?” I whispered.
“Never.” He grinned against my ear. I could feel his lips lifting into a smile. Then he palmed my ass and gave it a squeeze. “Hurry back, honeybuns.”
I nipped at his earlobe in retaliation. He chuckled, the rumble in his chest vibrated against mine, making me wish we weren’t standing in the middle of the sitting room trying to convince a reporter that the feelings we had for each other were real when I’d been struggling so hard over the past few weeks to convince myself they weren’t.
“Right this way.” I pulled away from Bodie, letting my fingers linger in his for a long moment before leading Samantha and Jay up the stairs.
“You’ve done an amazing job with this place,” Samantha said as she trailed behind me.
“Thanks. It’s been a labor of love for the whole town. They need something to believe in, something to put their hope in now that the import business is gone.” I led Samantha into the larger bedroom, the one I would have chosen for myself if I’d been staying the night. Dark wood complemented the pale ivory walls. Stained glass windows lined the curve of the turret. I had always wanted to be a princess when I was younger. What little girl didn’t?
“This room is gorgeous.” Samantha turned in a wide circle. “Is this where you and Bodie will be spending your wedding night?”
“What?” I reached for the handle of the closet door, glad to have something to grab on to.
“You’ve got to admit, it’s so romantic.” Samantha jotted notes as Jay snapped photos of the room.
“It is.” For a moment I let myself imagine what it would feel like to snuggle under the covers of the antique four-poster bed with Bodie next to me. Would he take me fast or slow on our wedding night? How would it feel to have his clean-shavencheeks nestle between my thighs? The full length of him filling me, like he had before? Like I dreamed about him doing again?
Samantha cleared her throat. “Lacey?”
“Hmm?” Pulled from thoughts that I had no business thinking, I focused my attention on the closet. The dress. “You wanted to see the dress?”
Samantha stepped closer. “Is there a story here? How did you know it was the one?”
I opened the door, my breath catching in my throat like it did every time I set eyes on my mama’s wedding dress. “It belonged to my mama. She died when I was little.”
“I’m so sorry.” Samantha’s hand rested on my shoulder, offering comfort. “It’s got to be hard for you to wear it.”
I lifted the hanger from the rod and turned around, holding the dress in front of me. “It is. Or I should say, it will be.” I turned to face my reflection in the full-length mirror. “But it’s also a way of having her with me on my wedding day.” I would have rather worn a white dress from the clearance rack of any one of the bridal shops Adeline planned on visiting that weekend we’d spent in Dallas. But time and budget constraints had forced me to reconsider my options. Wearing my mother’s dress was the economical choice, even though it would wreak havoc on my already raw emotions.
“You’re going to be a stunning bride,” Samantha said as Jay lifted the camera to snap a few photos. “We won’t publish those until after the wedding. Want to make sure your groom doesn’t see the dress before the big day. You know it’s bad luck.”
I nodded as I put the dress back in the closet. I needed all the luck I could get to make sure the big day went off without a hitch.
The sound of someone coming through the front door interrupted my thoughts. Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs. “Lacey? The florist is here,” Bodie called.
“Ready to see the bouquet?” I turned to Samantha with a smile, hoping with all of my heart that putting my faith in Suzy wasn’t about to bite me in the ass.
CHAPTER 42
BODIE
I wantedto warn Lacey before she walked in on the spectacle Suzy had created in the sitting room. But unless I wanted to tempt fate and catch a glimpse of the wedding dress, I couldn’t very well get to her before she came downstairs. Which meant I was on my own with the taxidermist florist.
“What do you think?” Suzy stepped back to survey her handiwork.
Displays of silk flowers in every shape, size, and color rimmed the room. I shrugged. “Is this what you and Lacey talked about?”
“I did take some creative liberties.” She adjusted the ribbon stretching between two horseshoe-shaped floral arrangements. “I wanted to surprise her.”
“Oh, she’ll be surprised, all right.” I could absolutely positively guarantee that. I took a deep breath and headed back up the steps, hoping I could give Lacey a heads-up on the landing.
“I think it’s so romantic you’re wearing your mother’s wedding dress.” Samantha’s feet came into view through the ornate wooden railing, followed by Lacey’s heels.
