Page 34 of Priceless
My entire face flushed with heat. “Hi.”
“Ocean?” He must have heard the shake in my voice. “Are you all right?”
“I think so. I’m having lunch with my friends, and a photographer came up and took my picture. I didn’t know if this was all… secret or not. I was eating cake, and you probably don’t want the first image of your new wife to be with a face full of cake.”
He chuckled in my ear. But it wasn’t a laugh of mockery. Instead, it was warm and honeyed, giving me chills despite the heat. “No matter the photo, I have no doubt it’s lovely. But you’re right, we were hoping to come out with the wedding pictures all in one go. Do you know who took it?”
“Do you know the guy’s name?” I asked Rin.
She shouted it loudly enough for Micah to hear, making him laugh all over again. “That makes sense. He’s one of the ones who likes to try to catch us with our pants down. Not that he’s ever done that, because there’s nothing to find.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I haven’t told anyone other than my friends, and they’ve been with me the whole time.”
“Don’t be sorry,” he said gently. “You telling someone hadn’t even entered my mind. But I appreciate you telling me so we can take care of it. Or rather, Cameron will take care of it.”
The way he said it made it feel like ‘take care of you.’
“Thank you.”
“Has Geneva called you yet?”
I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “No, not yet.”
“She should be doing it soon. And we still need to hear about your rings.”
“I’ll…” I swallowed. “I’ll think about it.”
“Please do. And call me if anyone else gives you trouble. We’ll hire you a bodyguard if we have to.”
My mind stuttered. “I’m sure that’s not necessary.”
He chuckled again. I was going to have to build up some kind of immunity to that sound if he—or any of them—continued to make it. There was only so much I could do to keep myself from melting. “If it is, we’ll make it happen. Please have fun with your friends and don’t worry about this.”
“Can they come to the wedding?”
A silence stretched out on the other end of the phone. When he spoke, I realized it was a silence borne of shock. “Of course, Ocean. It’s your wedding too. Whoever you want to be there is more than welcome.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll talk to you soon.”
He ended the call, and I stared at the phone until Rin laughed. “You’re so fucked, aren’t you?”
“No,” I said immediately. “And yes, you guys are invited.”
“Perfect. Now we can really help you plan.”
She dove into talking about the kind of flowers I should request based on meaning, but I kept glancing at my phone. I had a sneaking suspicion that Trinity was right.
I was well and truly fucked.
13
CANTERBURY BELLS
(BELL FLOWER)
MEANING: THINKING OF YOU
