I am in love with him. That’s the problem.
“Let’s just get this thing over with. The less time I spend trying on wedding dresses that I’ll never wear, the less I have to think about all of the hoops I’m jumping through for Jorge and a wedding that isn’t real.”
Eva set down her champagne glass, walked over to me, and took both of my hands. “Ginger, I’ve never seen you this happy. Obviously not at this moment, but in general. Try not to be so upset at Jorge. He might be asking a lot of you, but it’s only because he loves you.”
Margo put her hand on my shoulder. “Eva’s right, Ginger. Chase is always telling me how much Jorge has changed for the better. You two are meant to be together. So let’s pick out an expensive wedding dress, and then use his credit card for a bite to eat afterward.”
“Now, I’m starting to feel better,” I said while smiling at them. “But only because we’re going to eat after this and Jorge is paying.”
After the sales associate put another few dresses on the rack for me to try, I went into the dressing room, donning each one. The first few didn’t suit my figure at all, and the next two weren’t nearly as pretty on me as they were on the rack. But the final dress, a stunning, cream-colored satin number with a long, floral train seemed to be the winner.
As I stared at myself in the mirror, the sales associate kept looking at my jewelry. “That ring and tennis bracelet are gorgeous.”
“Thank you,” I said while admiring both of them. “All of my jewelry is from my fiancée.”
She clicked her tongue while straightening out my train. “He’s obviously a keeper because I can tell that neither of those has fake stones. Good for you.”
I smiled while admiring both the ring and bracelet and how they glistened from the light beaming off the chandelier.
“Her fiancée is a diamond broker,” Eva said while pouring herself another glass of champagne.
I shot her a dirty look, begging her not to talk any more than absolutely necessary, especially since she was hitting the complimentary champagne pretty hard and hadn’t eaten that day.
The sales associate’s mouth fell open. “Oh, my. No wonder Natalia told us to take extra good care of you.” For a woman who worked at a bridal salon and seemed to know a lot about diamonds, her hands sure were bare.
“That was sweet of her. So, what about you?”
She waved while admiring the dress on me. “I gave up on love a long time ago, which is odd, seeing how I work for a bridal designer. But I just love everything that has to do with weddings.”
I knew Eva would chime in with her thoughts about love.
“It’s hard finding the right guy, but everybody has a soulmate. You just have to keep putting yourself out there.”
“She’s right,” Margo said. “I found mine with Chase, and we had a pretty rocky start. If I gave up every time I wanted to, then I wouldn’t be happily married with a baby.”
All three of them turned toward me as I continued standing in front of the mirror. I knew what the ladies were waiting for me to say. They wanted me to tell them that Jorge was my soulmate. But if he and I were destined to be together, then why was I having to go to such great lengths to be with him?
“The dating scene can be rough,” I finally said, “but if you let your intuition be your navigation system, then you’ll survive.” It might have been one of the corniest things I’d ever said, but it was all I could come up with.
Until Ria was finally out of the picture, I refused to believe that Jorge was my soulmate. I would only be setting myself up for disappointment.
Once the sales associate was out of sight again, I slipped out of the dress and threw another few into the dressing room. Even though it was for a fake wedding, I wanted to make sure that I picked out the best dress. I wanted Ria’s eyes to pop out of her silicone face when she saw me wearing the most elaborate gown in Miami. Because once that fake wedding ceremony was over, I would make sure that she never came between Jorge and me ever again.
Two hours, three bottles of champagne, and dozens of dresses later, all of us were officially exhausted and in dire need of some food. Eva had worked up a significant buzz and was in urgent need of something to soak it all up, while Margo looked like she could fall asleep at any moment. Our sales associate had given us some space, and as I stood there, looking at myself in the mirror, Margo piped up.
“I know we told you to have some fun with this whole thing, but aren’t you a little too invested in this bridal gown?”
“Yeah,” Eva said. “I think that one from two hours ago, with the crystals, is what you should get.”
I reached for it on the rack, held it up to my body, and nodded.
“Sold. All right, let’s get out of here. I’m about to faint from lack of food.”
The sales associate’s eyes lit up when Jorge’s credit card was instantly approved, and I knew what she was thinking: gold digger. Sure, she had been courteous and treated us with nothing but respect, but I would think the same thing in her position. It wasn’t like I had acted even remotely excited about the process, so I was sure—from an outsider’s perspective—that I came across as shallow.
I considered taking the wedding dress home first, but all of our stomachs were grumbling so loud that I knew it wasn’t an option. So, I hung it in the backseat of my car, deciding that we’d ask for a table outside. That way, I could keep an eye on it, especially since it was impossible to hang it without exposing the price tag.
We pulled into the parking lot of Seafood Divine, the same restaurant that Jorge had taken me to the other night.
