Apparently, she had, because for the first time in…forever…the idea of becoming a mother didn’t totally freak her out as it had in the past. Still, that stage of her life—if she ever got there—was still a long way away.
Let’s see how this thing with Lucky goes first. Then we can worry about other, larger life decisions.
Now that was a plan she could get behind. Live for today and all that.
The past was the past, and she was finally learning to take advantage of the present. Tomorrow was never a guarantee. Not for anyone. And while the uncertainty of the future still terrified her, Ellie refused to remain stuck in place while the rest of the world lived on.
Chapter 16
“Wait, so you’re like…actually living with Lucky?”
Ellie chuckled as she finished zipping up the delicate zipper at her side. “It’s not like that,” she answered Natalie from the privacy of her dressing room.
Okay, so it waskindof like that. But her tentative relationship with Lucky wasn’t something she was ready to share with anyone. Not even her closest friends.
“Then whatisit like?”
That question had come from Cassie, who was in the larger dressing room across from her, along with the bridal shop’s assigned Personal Gown Assistant.
“He’s just letting me stay there until I find a new apartment.”
“Right, but…isn’t that weird?” the bride-to-be asked. “I mean, you don’t even really like the guy, so how is your staying at his place long-term going to—”
“I like Lucky,” she argued back a little too quickly.
It was a truth Ellie couldn’t bring herself to deny.
“You…do?” Natalie’s surprise was obvious even without seeing the petite brunette’ face. “Since when?”
“Since I was practically forced to let him stay at my place by Cassie and Archer, and…I don’t know.” Ellie gave up trying to blame the almost-newlyweds for the one-eighty change in her opinion of the sexy tech god. studied herself in the tiny room’s full-length mirror. “I guess he sort of grew on me during my time holed up with him this past week.”
Silence filled the entire dressing room area, and for a moment, Ellie was fearful she’d said too much. She and Luckyhad both agreed not to make their burgeoning relationship public knowledge until they could see for themselves whether it was even going to work.
But as she opened the door to get a better, more well-rounded view of the dress Cassie had picked out for both Ellie and Natalie to wear, the bride-to-be chose that exact same moment to step out of her nicer, much larger dressing room.
Both women stopped in the middle of the wide-open, mirrored space and smiled.
“Oh, Cassie,” Ellie gushed over the woman dressed in white. “You look absolutely stunning.”
The strapless ballgown-style dress her friend had chosen was long and white. With a sweetheart neckline, the gown’s bodice was embellished with beaded embroidered appliques while the full, sleek skirt was left plain.
A pearl-lined, fingertip veil attached to a hidden comb finished the look with perfection.
Simple.
Elegant.
And when Cassie moved just right, the gown’s peekaboo slit exposed just a touch of the woman’s left thigh.
Archer’s going to lose his mind when he sees her.
Without conscious effort, Ellie imaginedshewas the one in the white dress and veil. That it was almostherwedding day, and the face she pictured standing at the end of the aisle waiting for her…
Lucky.
Jason.
It was amusing, the way her mind bounced between the two names. Lucky. Jason. The two names were usually as interchangeable as the man’s ridiculous dad joke punchlines.