Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 33887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
However, it wasn’t lost on anybody I was living with him both in NYC and LA.
Not to mention, I had a huge, gorgeous rock on my left finger.
I’d been gaining fame on my own merits before I met Hale, and that would have continued even if I hadn’t met him.
However, needless to say, being engaged to the richest man in the world, the one who also happened to be tall, fit, young, unbelievably handsome and undeniably a good guy made my celebrity hit the stratosphere the minute the first picture of us came out post-engagement. A picture that featured a little square box to the side of the one of the two of us together, that box a blown-up shot of my hand and ring.
So, the day after we got our texts from Tom, and I did some emergency texting of my own, as I wended my way through an upscale restaurant that was only three-quarters full due to the hour (that being three in the afternoon) toward Imogen Swan, America’s Sweetheart, even the cynical, snobbish, well-to-do of New York couldn’t hide their interest.
Many sets of eyes followed me.
Fortunately, as with everything, you got used to it.
And with this, I did what Hale did.
I ignored it.
Genny was in a corner back booth, and she slid out of it when I made the table.
We touched cheek to cheek, both sides, before she slid back in, and I took the chair opposite her.
She began our discussion by begging, “Please tell me this urgent meeting is about the fact you’re ready to start planning your wedding. I never thought I’d say this after Chloe’s extravaganza and all the moving parts that nearly did both our heads in. But in retrospect, I have to admit, it was really fun. The party was even more fun. And with Sasha firmly engaged in finding herself, and not even dating, right now, you’re my only hope.”
Oh boy.
Although I was excited she was excited to help me plan my wedding (Genny and I had a bumpy start too, though I’d won her over in less than an hour), this wasn’t a good start to our current conversation.
Hale and I got engaged early, just months into our relationship.
We’d then made a pact not to start planning the wedding for a year so we had more time to settle in, not only to our relationship, but to the big changes happening in both our jobs that included having homes and offices on two different coasts.
It’d taken us two months just to figure out what to do with Cheddar and Frosty when we were in LA (after consultations with three different vets, all of which Hale patiently attended with me (even if they all three said the same thing), it was decided, since he had a personal jet, they’d go with us, and fortunately, with us being their touchstones, they didn’t show any stress at doing this).
I hadn’t even broached the wedding with him, and not just because we had over half a year to go before we could dig into plans.
No.
It was because I already knew what I wanted—precisely what I wanted—so when it came down to the actual planning, it was going to be a piece of cake.
Now, it’d have to wait even longer, because my vision for my gown did not go with a baby bump.
“No,” I answered Genny. “We’re still a few months out on that.”
She fake pouted her disappointment, and then I saw it hit her that I’d asked for this urgent meeting, just her and me, and it wasn’t about something joyous, like planning a wedding.
It was about something joyous, just not planning a wedding.
However she didn’t know what that joyous thing was.
“Is everything all right?” she asked carefully, watching me closely.
“I have something important to talk to you about.”
“Does this something important involve Hale?”
“Yes,” I confirmed.
“And diamonds?” she went on.
Diamonds?
Oh.
Chloe and Judge’s wedding bands.
I shook my head.
“I can verify, as you’d expect, it was a hit,” I informed her.
I then went forth delicately, because the hits Hale kept getting from his dad were the same Genny was getting, considering Corey was her best friend.
“But we talked about it and he told me it felt like his dad was around for the important stuff, even if he isn’t around. Obviously, that part feels good to him. It’s just frustrating that his father gets all the say, and Hale can’t share important things he has to share.”
“Corey wasn’t one to let many get a word in anyway,” she replied.
This didn’t come as a surprise. Even though I hadn’t met him, Hale’s dad still made it clear he’d indisputably had a forceful personality.
“I know this hurts you as much as it hurts Hale,” I said quietly.
She smiled a small smile, but I was pleased to see it wasn’t sad, then explained her smile.