“Sayla told me,” I say.
She puffs out a laugh. “Figures.”
“There are shoes and a veil and a matching clutch in the bag, too. The saleslady thought you might need them. I wasn’t even sure what a clutch was.”
“Wow.” Loren blinks up at me. “Wow, wow, wow. You reallyarerich, aren’t you?”
I wince a little, and I hope she doesn’t catch it. But as aman who’s determined not to toss wealth around like a weapon or a source of manipulation, I can’t help the reaction.
I know she’s not calling me out. I think she’s just a bit taken aback. Bewildered, even. Which makes sense. Still, I worry.
“Does that bother you?” I ask. “Because I promise I’m still the man you’ve always known.”
“No, I totally believe that.” She wrinkles her nose. “I’m just trying to feel a little less guilty about how much I’ve cost you already.”
“You shouldn’t feel any amount of guilt,” I insist. “Without you, I’d be losing control of my trust. Or marrying a virtual stranger instead of a friend. So whatever money I’ve spent—or will spend—is a drop in the bucket. Truly. That’s not a flex. It’s just reality.”
“So.” She chews her lip. “The dress and the rings and the tux?”
“Drop. Drop. Drop.”
“The mansion?”
“Drop.”
“And my dad’s expenses?” She pauses. “He hassomany expenses.”
“Drop,” I say. “All of them.”
She averts her eyes. “There’s something I have to tell you, though.”
My heart feels like it’s stopped beating. Especially when she swallows so hard I can practically hear the gulp. “Whatever it is,” I say, “I can take it.”
Just … please don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts.
“I texted with Noah today,” she blurts.
Mr. Super Man Bun? The man she and her father need so much?
Great.
“Oh, yeah?” I work my jaw. “How’s he doing?”
She hesitates before responding. “Fine, I guess,” she says. “I reached out because I was looking for a contact at Havenwood. Someone who could help me with my dad. And he gave me a name. Joanna Parker.”
“That’s good, right?”
“But I already emailed her.”
I exhale. “We talked about that, Loren. I’m glad you took the first step.”
“Oh, I took a couple of steps,” she admits. Chewing her lip again. “Like, I told her we might be open to making donations there in the future. And that we might be interested in covering the costs of other people who can’t afford residency.”
We.
“I thought making those offers might help get my dad a spot.” Her voice catches. “But I shouldn’t have done that without talking to you first.”
“You absolutely should,” I say. “This is exactly what we planned, Loren. It’s the whole reason we’re doing any of this.”