Page 131 of Big D!ck Energy

She spun in her chair, grabbed a laptop from beneath a pile of what appeared to be listener mail, and started typing.

“When Matt and I were planning our wedding, before we decided on Vegas, we looked at this winery venue a few hours outside of Tampa. Sunset Ridge Vineyards.” She turned the laptop to show me a website featuring a beautiful landscape covered in grapevines, a rustic barn converted into an event space, and enough golden-hour photography to make even the most cynical person believe in romance. “It's gorgeous. Intimate and the best part?”

I scanned the photos, my heart rate picking up. “What?”

“They have cabins.” Brooke clicked through the gallery to images of a small, beautiful cottage nestled among the vines. “Private cabins for the wedding party. Which means you could take Davina there for a romantic getaway without her knowing about the wedding plans until you're ready to reveal them.”

“That's...” I trailed off, clicking through the images. A ceremony space under a massive oak tree strung with lights. A reception area with exposed beams and crystal chandeliers. Views of the sunset over endless rows of grapevines. “That's perfect.”

“It accommodates about twenty-five to thirty guests, so we're talking family and close friends only. Very intimate, very personal.” Brooke was practically vibrating with excitement now, her earlier exhaustion completely forgotten. “And the venue comes with a wedding planner who handles flowers, food, drinks, cake, lodging for guests, basically everything.”

“I need everything. I know nothing about weddings.”

“You planned one in Vegas.”

“I was blackout drunk. That doesn't count.”

“Fair point.” She pulled the laptop back toward her, already taking notes. “Okay, venue is handled. What else?”

I hesitated. This was the part I'd been dreading.

“A dress.”

Brooke's eyebrows rose. “A dress.”

“Davina needs... I want her to have the perfect dress. Something that makes her feel...” I gestured vaguely, struggling for words that could capture what I meant. “Like herself. Like the incredible woman she is. Something that shows off every curve and makes her feel like…”

“You really love her.”

The statement was simple. Quiet. Not a question.

“More than I knew I was capable of.”

Brooke's smile turned soft. “Well, you're in luck, Dallas Dodger. Because one of the very first sketches Davina ever did when she started designing clothes was her dream wedding dress.”

My heart stuttered. “What?”

“I'm serious. She was still working as a plus-size model, and she was just starting to think about fashion as a career, and she filled this sketchbook with designs.” Brooke was already on her feet, moving toward a filing cabinet. “Most of them became early Curvy Closet pieces, but there was this one dress she always said she was saving. For someday.”

“Do you have it?”

“I have everything.” She pulled open a drawer, rifled through folders, and emerged triumphant with a worn sketchbook. “Said she didn't need it anymore because all the designs were now real. She was going to throw it out, but something told me to save it.”

She flipped to the very first page, and then she stopped.

The sketch was simple. A bit rough around the edges, clearly the work of someone still learning their craft. But even on yellowed paper, the dress was stunning. In the corner, in Davina's handwriting: “My someday dress.”

My throat felt tight.

“We need to find someone to make this.”

“Already ahead of you.” Brooke was typing furiously on her phone. “Marcus knows every designer and seamstress from the Tampa Bay area to Paris. If I bring him in on this…”

“Do it.”

“...he'll know exactly who can execute this design and make it even better than the original sketch.” She looked up, grinning. “He'll also be thrilled to be involved in something this romantic. The man lives for this kind of stuff.”

“What about measurements? Davina can't know about any of this.”