Second Chance Mess (Bad News Billionaires #1) - Lucia Jordan Page 0,58

about the whole thing, and I got the feeling that she and Nick were probably going to be next in line for an engagement announcement.

We sent out the guest list and invited only people who we wanted, nothing too big or too fancy, just what was absolutely perfect for our closest friends and us to enjoy. Brooke and I went to pick out wedding bands, and I took her right back to the same jewelry shop that I had gotten her ring from. I was pleased to see that the same young woman who had helped me before was still there. The grumpy older sales associate lady was there, too, and I thought I'd have some fun with her first. I waved at the saleswoman that I liked, but she was busy with another customer. So I brought Brooke with me as we went up to the older lady and asked to see some wedding bands.

"I remember you," she said as she eyed us up and down. "You were the man who wanted a ring made out of stars. I assume this is the young lady wearing it?"

"Yep," I said as I held up Brooke's hand for the woman to see which ring her associate had sold to me. I knew that she had to have known that the commission on such an expensive piece of jewelry was very substantial, even besides the giant gratuity that I had left.

"So what can I help you with today?" she asked.

"Well, I think we are looking for bands that look like they're made out of moonlight," I said with a smirk on my face. I could see the other associate trying not to laugh as she finished ringing up her customer.

The older lady rolled her eyes. "Moonlight?" she said. "I'm afraid you'll need to be a bit more clear in your description than that if you'd like an actual piece of jewelry instead of an abstract concept."

I looked over to see if the other lady was without a customer now, which she was, and then politely excused ourselves so that we could go ask for her help instead. She smiled at Brooke and me and complimented how beautiful the ring looked on Brooke's hand.

"I see it was a perfect fit," she said. "Now we know what size she is. So you want wedding bands, right?"

"Yes, please," Brooke smiled.

"Silver bands, that glow as if they're made of moonlight, right?"

"Wow," Brooke said to me as she smiled at the girl. "You're right; she is an amazing salesgirl."

The woman laughed and lifted the counter for us again so that we could go back and pick out the wedding bands. Brooke and I sat in the little fitting room together, and the woman returned back after a few minutes with a tray of a few choices, just like the last time.

Immediately Brooke and I both spotted the same ring in the center of the tray. It looked like it was glowing, and even though it was silver, it had a blueish tint in the light that made it seem just like moonlight.

"It's perfect," Brooke said.

The saleswoman measured the two bands to size and then put them into neat little boxes and rang us up. I tipped her generously again, and this time she thanked me gratefully before we walked out.

"Okay, so we have the dress, the bands, the guests invited, and Max is done building the arch. This is it," I said. "We're getting married."

The next few days leading up to the wedding were a busy flurry of plans and excitement. But each night, the three of us went out to sit by the bonfire to talk and laugh and talk about things we wanted to do. On the night before the wedding, we even invited Nick and Kate up to the house, and we opened a couple of bottles of wine, brought out a pile of blankets, and all five of us sat around the warm fire in the cold snow. It was actually a pretty magical night, and everyone ended up enjoying themselves and staying in the evening.

The next morning, there was an excitement in the air when we woke up. The wedding wasn't until that night, and we had plenty of time to spend together and still get everything prepared, but there was a definite buzz of energy that we all felt in anticipation of what would be a wonderful night.

I made coffee for everyone and held Brooke in my arms as we drank