you. No one could ever replace you. And I’ll come visit you and you can visit me and we’ll do girls’ nights.”
“Right.”
But my promise felt a little hollow. Things were going to change completely. While I was ninety-nine percent thrilled for her that she was marrying the man she loved, that one percent twinged with sadness at the idea that we weren’t going to be living together anymore.
Noah and Allan were arguing. Allan said, “You can’t do this. You can’t hire a private jet to fly us to Las Vegas.”
“It’s already done.”
“I’ll pay you back,” Allan insisted.
“No, you won’t. It’s a wedding gift. I also made hotel arrangements for all of us.”
Allan looked exasperated and like he didn’t know what to do.
“Give it up, Allan,” I called out. “You won’t win.”
Noah grinned at me and winked, and Shelby sighed. “I love how he looks at you. Do you even see it? How soft his gaze is every time you speak? It happens when he and I are talking about you, too.”
They talked about me? Like how? I wanted to ask her, but given that we had company, I couldn’t really dive into it. So I settled on, “I don’t know what you’re trying to say here.”
“He’s about to fly us on a private jet to Las Vegas, which I personally have always dreamed about doing, and he’s made hotel and car arrangements. And no matter how good I am at interior design, this is not for me. This is all for you. Because I’m your best friend and he wants to make you happy.”
“No,” I protested. “He’s a really generous person. We—”
“I swear on all that is holy, if you say that you are only friends, I will hurt you. This is my wedding day. You have to humor me. And I say you may not know it yet, but that boy is falling for you.”
My throat suddenly felt too tight, and my head went a little woozy. That couldn’t be true. I was about to say as much, but Shelby continued, “I am also officially asking you to be my maid of honor. I stopped by our favorite rental shop and picked up a white dress for me and a purple one for you.”
“I’ve been waiting my whole life to be your maid of honor.” We hugged again. Allan came back, wanting to talk to Shelby—probably to tell her this was all too much—but Noah seemed determined, and Shelby was even more determined to get her way and seemed enthusiastic about the luxury setup.
I made my way over to Noah and pulled him aside.
“You don’t have to do all this,” I told him.
“I want to. And technically, I’m not doing it. My new assistant is.”
“You hired another assistant?” His last one had moved to Florida, and I knew he’d been looking to replace her. “When?”
“A few days ago. Reina helped pick him out. His name is Kyle. He’s very good. I needed one.”
“For things like last-minute Vegas weddings?” I asked, shaking my head. I was pretty sure this didn’t fall under poor Kyle’s job description.
“Exactly. I did try to tell you about hiring him, but then you did that thing to my earlobe that makes me lose track of space and time and so I forgot.”
I blushed at his words and hoped that Allan and Shelby hadn’t overheard.
Noah cleared his throat and announced to everyone, “The plane will be ready to go in about three hours, which gives us time to pack up and head out to the private airport. Let’s meet back here and I’ll have a car ready to take us over.”
Both Allan and Shelby thanked him profusely, but Noah just waved it away. They left, promising to rejoin us soon, and when the door closed, I hugged Noah. “Thank you. This means a lot.”
“You’re welcome.”
I breathed him in. “Chartering a private plane is expensive.”
“It’s not that much to go to Vegas. Only a few thousand.”
I let out a short laugh. “Oh. Silly me. Just a few thousand.”
This made him pull back to look down at me with an amused smile. “I do have a lot of money.”
“Like, my brain knows that, but I forget because of how you live. You could be in a mansion with servants, and instead you’re in this hovel.”
“Soon-to-be completely renovated hovel,” he reminded me. “And I don’t know. I don’t need more house than this.”
I so liked that he was practical, because that’s exactly how I was, too.