Page 47 of Meet Me at the Altar

“Oh. Is that what she’s calling it now?” Khatya asked, laughing and wiping her tears.

“You didn’t hear it from me.”

“I swear that woman can be so extra at times.”

“You have to see her side of it too, though. You’re her firstborn, and she just wanted the opportunity to plan a beautiful wedding for her daughter. She couldn’t guarantee that either of us would ever marry, and she felt like you deserved all the fuss.”

“I know, Sis. I’ll include her in our renewal ceremony in four years for our twentieth wedding anniversary.”

“She’ll love that.”

“Come on. Let’s go see Emma before your guests arrive.”

“Yes, ma’am. Because I’m ready to paaahtay tonight,” I stated, clapping my hands together.

“Oh, and one more thing,” she stated, grabbing my arm and pulling me back.

“What’s that?”

“When you do get married, I want you to wear this,” she stated, removing her diamond tennis bracelet from her wrist and placing it on mine.

“Girl, you love that bracelet. He brought this for your tenth anniversary,” I proclaimed.

“I love you, and I trust you to wear this. With his permission, he said that this could be your something borrowed.”

“I love you, Khat,” I whispered, leaning in to kiss her.

“Uh-uh. You’re not about to mess up my hair with all that kissing. Besides, you’ll have me in tears in a minute, and I don’t need that.”

“Fine,” I replied, pulling back and following her out of my master suite. When we stepped on the first step, I stopped and frowned at my mother standing on the landing.

“Mommy, what are you doing here?”

She waved her hand. “Girl, you know your daddy likes to be early for everything.”

“Where is he?” I gasped.

“Down there talking to Drè.”

“Drè can’t see me yet.”

“He won’t. They’re outside in the front, running off at the mouth about the landscaping. You’d better hurry up and get in there with Emma, though, because he’ll be in here shortly demanding a tour of your new house,” Mommy stated.

“Oh my goodness. I knew this wasn’t a good idea,” I fussed, rushing down the steps with Mommy and Khatya behind me.

I stepped into my studio where Emma waited. “Come on. Hurry, I must get to the airport soon,” she fussed.

I frowned. “Well, you’re the one who wanted me to do a last-minute fitting,” I complained with a pout.

“Hush. Stand still and let me see you,” she argued, moving around me.

She had a couple of pins in her mouth, but I wasn’t certain where she was tucking anything. She kept spinning me around and adjusting my dress in different ways.

“I need to see her with her shoes on,” Emma declared.

“These are her something new from her husband. He brought her these shoes, and they were supposed to be a surprise, but I think he won’t mind for this purpose,” Mommy stated, pulling an oversized bag out with the words Jimmy Choo written on the front.

I gasped. “Are you serious?” I giggled.