“Ooh,” Ellie cooed over Braden’s shoulder as she tilted the laptop screen. “The Balmoral? What do you think, Joss?”
“I think it’s beautiful,” I replied honestly, having already decided after looking at the photos that I was just going to agree to Braden’s ideas. It would make the process a lot less of a headache, and it wasn’t like we didn’t share the same taste.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Definitely.” I approached him with a plate of curry and rice, my eyes dipping to the floor. My gaze caught on Ellie’s feet. I tried and failed not to smile as I asked Els, “Sweetie, have you looked at your feet lately?”
Wrinkling her nose in confusion, Ellie looked down. She sighed. “Bugger.”
Curious, Braden looked down too after accepting his plate from me and immediately choked on his bite of curry.
I laughed.
Ellie was wearing two different shoes. They were flats of a similar style, but one was definitely brown and the other black. “I’ve been wandering all day over New Town like this.”
“I doubt many people noticed your feet, Els.”
She kicked off her shoes and we all settled around the table, eating and planning. Well, Braden had done all the planning, so it was mostly just me nodding my head to his suggestions and covering Ellie’s mouth when she got too vocal in her opinions over the flowers.
We were just winding down when Ellie’s phone rang. It was Adam, requesting her company, although from the way she blushed I doubted the request was that polite or lacking in sexual innuendo.
She got up hurriedly, giving me a smile and her brother a kiss on the cheek. “This was fun. Thanks for letting me crash it. Speak soon!” She floated out of the kitchen, in her mind already out of the flat and with Adam.
“Tell Adam I said hey!” I called to her.
“Will do!” The door slammed in her wake.
I pushed my plate away, cupping my chin in my palm as I smiled at Braden. “Thank you for doing all this.”
“You’re welcome.” His smile turned into a yawn. He ran a hand through his hair, looking exhausted. “The only thing left to plan is the hen and stag nights.”
A hen party was what the Brits called a bachelorette party, and a stag night a bachelor party. “Won’t Ellie and Adam be organizing those?”
“Aye, at least that’s something.”
I huffed. “That’s okay for you to say. I doubt Adam is going to arrange an elegant tea party for yours.”
“Nah,” Braden grinned. “Casino night.”
I pouted. “I want a casino night.”
“Have a casino night. I’ll get Adam to nudge Ellie in the right direction.”
“We can’t end up in the same place for our parties.”
Braden leaned toward me, his gaze curious. “Why not?”
Surprised by the question since I thought the answer was pretty straightforward, I blinked a few times. “Uh, because it’s supposed to be a symbolic evening where we celebrate our last night of singledom.”
“But we’re not single. We’re married without the certificate. Let’s change the symbolism of it. We’ll celebrate together. We’ll celebrate how we mean to go on for the rest of our lives.”
I loved the way he looked at me. So full of . . . everything. “You could charm the pants off absolutely anyone,” I told him quietly.
He smirked. “I take it that means you like the idea?”
“I love the idea. I love everything you’ve said. But I know Ellie’s excited about this, so we’re going to give our friends what they want.”
“Adam mentioned strippers,” Braden warned me, his eyes twinkling.