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“The one and only.”
“What are you doing here? And where is here?”
“Sorry, you’ll find out soon.” The excitement in her voice belies her apology.
“I can just remove this blindfold. What will you do then?” I raise my hand in a silent dare.
“Not a damn thing. It’s time for the reveal, anyway.” She pushes the silk cover off my face.
I blink until everything comes into focus. I’m in my bedroom at Sansone’s Haven mansion. I frown and am in the middle of turning to Max for an explanation when I gasp at the sight in front of me.
“What is that?” I point toward a mannequin garbed in a gorgeous white wedding gown.
“Oh, I don’t know. Shouldn’t the person with an engagement ring the size of a country know what it is?” Max turns me away from the dress to another setup. A team of three women stand in front of a chair that wasn’t here when we still lived here.
“Zakiya, meet your glam team. Tell them what look you want and they’ll make it happen.” Max checks her watch. “You have four hours and counting.”
“Four hours?” When I look toward Max this time, I notice her hair and makeup don’t match her casual attire. I begin to hyperventilate with the speed of these revelations. “Am I getting married today?” I ask still unable to believe what I’m seeing.
“As long as you say I do and not I don’t, I’d say you are.” Max sits on the bed and crosses her legs.
“I’m getting married.” I repeat the phrase, letting it sink in. I should probably be mad at Sansone for arranging everything, since planning anything feeds my little heart, but I’m not. My heart is galloping trying to leap out of my chest. “I’m getting married!”
“Only if you let your team get you ready. Now will you sit your ass in the chair and get the beautifying process started?” Max hops off the bed and pushes me toward the mobile spa chair.
After studying the dress, I select the styles I want for hair and makeup and allow the women to work their brilliance. While the three women work in tandem, Max disappears but reappears later in her dress, a spicy gold number that matches her personality.
To avoid Max’s active curiosity, I escape to the bathroom and hide the knives I always carry on me. The first item I see upon reentering the room is the shapewear. I twist and gyrate my way into the underwear I need for the gown, a twisted off-the-shoulder dress that frames my breasts and flatters my waist. If sexy and flirty and whimsical made a baby, it would be this dress.
As I admire the lines, I remember Sansone taking me to task about not believing in magic when I am the magic. With a dress like this, I can believe him.
“Damn, we’re cutting it close. Let’s get you in this dress.” Max helps me put on the gown, pair my look with lavish jewelry, and pin the veil to my bun.
On the way downstairs, she hands me a bouquet of white and gold flowers, and I steady myself and my breathing. Max leads me to a room where a lone man stands, his back to me.
“I’ll see you as you walk down the aisle,” Max says before disappearing.
The man in the room turns and stares in awe at me. He stands above six feet with the muscular build of a bodybuilder. His round baby face seems nonthreatening, and his thick, glossy dreads transform him from boyish to super sexy.
Uncomfortable under his scrutiny, I twist the bouquet in my hands.
“You don’t want to destroy those flowers. They’re too beautiful to end up on the floor.”
The man’s familiar raspy baritone shocks me. “Omari?”
“In the flesh.” He smiles and opens his arms.
“How? Oh my God, you look incredible!”
“I’m here to give the bride away.”
I launch into his arms, amazed at my first glimpse of him after years of never meeting in person, and humbled he would honor me in this way.
“Be careful, we don’t want to mess with this masterpiece. And I’ve been warned not to delay a certain man from seeing his wife.” He places my hand on his elbow and leads me out of the house. “Seeing this place in real life instead of from a laptop screen is wild. And you chose to live in your little house.”
I chuckle at his comparison. “My house isn’t that small compared to the rest of America.”
“True, but this place can easily fit three of yours in it with room for more. Then you have all the other buildings on theproperty. A man who’s used to this level of luxury must love you.” He heads toward the garden pavilion.
